Presentation Details
| How to Become an Influencer: Behavioral Drivers of Social Network Variation in Fruit Flies Katie West , Julia Saltz. Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, USA |
Abstract
How individual behavior scales to shape social structure is a central question in animal behavior. In social networks, an individual's influence is often quantified as centrality, a measure of how well-connected an individual is to other highly connected individuals. Despite the progress in quantifying relationships between individuals, the traits driving variation in influence remain unclear. This project investigates how behavioral traits contribute to social network positions in D. melanogaster. Using 16 natural genotypes with known centrality metrics (n = 896), we quantified aggression and courtship behavior across five nutritional environments varying in protein-to-carbohydrate ratios. Results showed aggression and courtship are positively associated with centrality across sex and nutritional environment, indicating these behaviors may shape centrality across environments. Hence, aggression and courtship may be key mechanisms through which high-centrality individuals exert greater influence, while less aggressive individuals have a limited impact on social dynamics. Overall, this work advances our understanding of how variation among individuals generates network structure.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
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