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Lateralisation of aggressive displays in a tephritid fly

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Abstract

Lateralisation (i.e. different functional and/or structural specialisations of the left and right sides of the brain) of aggression has been examined in several vertebrate species, while evidence for invertebrates is scarce. In this study, we investigated lateralisation of aggressive displays (boxing with forelegs and wing strikes) in the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata. We attempted to answer the following questions: (1) do medflies show lateralisation of aggressive displays at the population-level; (2) are there sex differences in lateralisation of aggressive displays; and (3) does lateralisation of aggression enhance fighting success? Results showed left-biased population-level lateralisation of aggressive displays, with no consistent differences among sexes. In both male-male and female-female conflicts, aggressive behaviours performed with left body parts led to greater fighting success than those performed with right body parts. As we found left-biased preferential use of body parts for both wing strikes and boxing, we predicted that the left foreleg/wing is quicker in exploring/striking than the right one. We characterised wing strike and boxing using high-speed videos, calculating mean velocity of aggressive displays. For both sexes, aggressive displays that led to success were faster than unsuccessful ones. However, left wing/legs were not faster than right ones while performing aggressive acts. Further research is needed on proximate causes allowing enhanced fighting success of lateralised aggressive behaviour. This is the first report supporting the adaptive role of lateralisation of aggressive displays in insects.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to three anonymous reviewers for their comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. We would like to thank Giulia Giunti and Augusto Loni for assistance in medfly mass-rearing. Giovanni Benelli is supported by a Mis. 124 MODOLIVI grant. Funds were also provided by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR). Funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Insect Behaviour Group, Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, via del Borghetto 80, 56124, Pisa, Italy

    Giovanni Benelli, Donato Romano & Angelo Canale

  2. The BioRobotics Institute, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, Pontedera, 56025, Pisa, Italy

    Elisa Donati & Cesare Stefanini

  3. Kauai Agricultural Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 7370 Kuamo’o Road, Kapaa, HI, 97646, USA

    Russell H. Messing

Authors
  1. Giovanni Benelli
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  2. Elisa Donati
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  3. Donato Romano
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  4. Cesare Stefanini
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  5. Russell H. Messing
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  6. Angelo Canale
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Correspondence to Giovanni Benelli.

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Communicated by: Sven Thatje

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Benelli, G., Donati, E., Romano, D. et al. Lateralisation of aggressive displays in a tephritid fly. Sci Nat 102, 1 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-014-1251-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-014-1251-6

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