title: Collective selection of food patches in Drosophila.
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.
authors.affiliation: Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia mathieu.lihoreau@univ-tlse3.fr.
authors.forename: Mathieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lihoreau
authors.affiliation: Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Ireni M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.affiliation: Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Camille
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Buhl
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, Uppsala University, Uppsala 751 06, Sweden.
authors.forename: David J T
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Sumpter
authors.affiliation: Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Simpson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007814:Larva / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D012919:Social Behavior
keywords: Aggregation; Collective behavior; Drosophila melanogaster; Foraging; Fruit flies; Individual-based model; Social attraction