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Sex-specific effects of social environment on behaviour and their correlations in Drosophila melanogaster
  • +7
  • Erin Macartney,
  • Samantha Burke,
  • Patrice Pottier,
  • Zina Hamoudi,
  • Chloe Hart,
  • Radiah Ahmed,
  • Yong Qi Lin,
  • Gregory Neely,
  • Szymon Drobniak,
  • Shinichi Nakagawa
Erin Macartney
University of New South Wales
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Samantha Burke
University of New South Wales
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Patrice Pottier
University of New South Wales
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Zina Hamoudi
University of Sydney
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Chloe Hart
University of Sydney
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Radiah Ahmed
University of Sydney
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Yong Qi Lin
University of Sydney
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Gregory Neely
University of Sydney
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Szymon Drobniak
Jagiellonian University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Shinichi Nakagawa
University of New South Wales
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Abstract

Environmental and individual experiences can result in immediate and persistent changes in behaviour. Often, such effects are also sex-dependent. Interspecific interactions can be one of the most important environments an individual faces. Such social interactions are expected to affect a suite of behavioural traits and their correlations. Here, we used Drosophila melanogaster and high-throughput automated behavioural phenotyping to determine how social environment (group mixed sex, group single sex, and social isolation) and sex interact to affect basic behaviours (exploration, movement within a y-maze, and habituation to a startle) that likely underlie more complex behaviours such as mate searching and foraging. We show that such behaviours and some behavioural correlations are indeed context- and sex-dependent. Males tended to show greater exploration, while females were more likely to show a habituation response to startle. Males and females from the mixed sex and isolated treatments showed opposite exploratory behaviour in the Y-maze, and social treatment interacted with sex to affect the rate of habituation to a startle. Females also tended to have slightly stronger trait correlations compared to males. These results show that social environment and sex can play a significant role in shaping behaviour in Drosophila melanogaster. Our study provides insights into how the type of social stimulation and sex can interact to affect behaviours that are important in forming critical behaviours related to foraging and mate searching.
20 Feb 2024Submitted to Ecology and Evolution
21 Aug 2024Submission Checks Completed
21 Aug 2024Assigned to Editor
23 Aug 2024Reviewer(s) Assigned
14 Oct 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
25 Oct 2024Editorial Decision: Revise Minor