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The Effect of Social Isolation on Locomotor Activity in the Houseflies (Musca Domestica)

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Abstract

Social behavior is broadly defined as the interaction between members of the same species that changes their subsequent behavior. Isolation has been shown to affect behavioral traits such as courtship, mating aggression, foraging, learning and memory. This study investigated the effect of isolation (8 days) on adult Musca domestica locomotion. We found that isolation significantly affected male locomotor activity and that the effect of isolation was reduced over time giving a significant interaction of isolation and time. Females’ locomotion was not affected by isolation. These results suggest differences in response to social deprivation between sexes and add to the understanding of immediate consequences of behavioral interactions between houseflies.

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Acknowledgments

SB was supported by a grant from the Danish Research Council for Technology and Innovation (Grant 11–116256). AK was supported by a grant from the Danish Natural Sciences Research Council (FNU) (Grant 0602-01916B). CP was supported by a grant from Danish Natural Science Research Council (grant numbers: 11–103926, 09–065999, 95095995) and the Carlsberg Foundation (grant number 2011-01-0059). A special thank to the Aalborg Zoo Conservation Foundation (AZCF) for financial support to CP and SB.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of York, PO Box 373, York, YO10 5YW, UK

    Kayla McCarthy

  2. Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 116, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark

    Anders Kjærsgaard, Toke Munk Schou, Tommaso Manenti & Volker Loeschcke

  3. Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland

    Anders Kjærsgaard

  4. Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, 9220, Aalborg East, Denmark

    Simon Bahrndorff & Cino Pertoldi

  5. Aalborg Zoo, Mølleparkvej 63, 9000, Aalborg, Denmark

    Cino Pertoldi

Authors
  1. Kayla McCarthy
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  2. Anders Kjærsgaard
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  3. Simon Bahrndorff
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  4. Toke Munk Schou
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  5. Tommaso Manenti
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  6. Volker Loeschcke
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  7. Cino Pertoldi
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Correspondence to Cino Pertoldi.

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McCarthy, K., Kjærsgaard, A., Bahrndorff, S. et al. The Effect of Social Isolation on Locomotor Activity in the Houseflies (Musca Domestica). J Insect Behav 28, 288–296 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-015-9501-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-015-9501-9

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