Data for: Beyond Simple vs Complex: Exploring the Nuanced and Unexpected Effects of Spatial Environmental Complexity on Mating Patterns and Female Fecundity

We found that realized offspring production patterns differed dramatically between all three environments, indicating that that the effects of increasing spatial complexity on mating outcomes are not one-size-fits all, and appear to be sensitive to the specific type of environmental complexity present in the environment. Furthermore, we observed female fecundities were higher for flies in both complex environments compared those in the simple environment, supporting its role as a mediator of sexual conflict.

Together, these results show that the union of gametes within a population can be greatly influenced by the specific spatial features of the environment and that simply comparing a “simple” environment with a “complex” environment may underestimate plasticity in mating decisions, and its potentially its consequences for the future. This dataset contains recorded observation data on behaviour and count data on offspring production.