Environmental enrichment improves mating success in fruit flies

Environmental enrichment, defined as housing conditions that include a combination of complex inanimate and social stimulation, has strong positive effects on brain and behaviour in various species. We extended previous studies to evaluate how enrichment affects mating success. In a series of experiments, we found that male fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, reared in an enriched environment were twice as successful in acquiring mates as …