Collective selection of food patches in Drosophila
Authored by Mathieu Lihoreau, Jerome Buhl, Stephen J Simpson, David J T Sumpter, Ireni M Clarke
Date Published: 2016
DOI: 10.1242/jeb.127431
Sponsors:
Australian Research Council (ARC)
Platforms:
MATLAB
Model Documentation:
Other Narrative
Model Code URLs:
Model code not found
Abstract
The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has emerged as a model organism
for research on social interactions. Although recent studies have
described how individuals interact on foods for nutrition and
reproduction, the complex dynamics by which groups initially develop and
disperse have received little attention. Here we investigated the
dynamics of collective foraging decisions by D. melanogaster and their
variation with group size and composition. Groups of adults and larvae
facing a choice between two identical, nutritionally balanced food
patches distributed themselves asymmetrically, thereby exploiting one
patch more than the other. The speed of the collective decisions
increased with group size, as a result of flies joining foods faster.
However, smaller groups exhibited more pronounced distribution
asymmetries than larger ones. Using computer simulations, we show how
these non-linear phenomena can emerge from social attraction towards
occupied food patches, whose effects add up or compete depending on
group size. Our results open new opportunities for exploring complex
dynamics of nutrient selection in simple and genetically tractable
groups.
Tags
behavior
Decision-Making
Pheromone
Social interactions
Aggregation
Aggression
Fruit-flies
Natural genetic-variation
Melanogaster
Nutrition