Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Temporal fractal in the feeding behavior ofDrosophila melanogaster

  • Published:
Journal of Ethology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A temporal fractal is clearly shown in the feeding behavior ofDrosophila as a self-similar pattern of locomotive velocity and inverse power law distributions of food dwelling time over the time scale range of 103. The fractality was observed in the dwelling time distribution immediately after the fly was placed to feeding site or on inferior food in a two-choice situation. Fractality may be understood as adaptive, and an intrinsic property of animal behavior that reflects complex information processing in the CNS ofDrosophila.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Dethier, V.G. 1976 The hungry fly. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dick, M. & P.A. Burrough 1988 Using fractal dimensions for characterizing tortuosity of animal trails.Physiol. Entomol. 13: 393–398.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fagan, R.M. & D.Y. Young 1978 Temporal patterns of behaviors: durations, intervals, latencies and sequences. In: Colgan PW (ed) Quantitative Ethology. John Wiley & Sons, New York, pp. 43–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hara, H., O.K. Chung & J. Koyama 1992 Dynamical activation processes described by generalized random walks.Phys. Rev. B46: 838–845.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koyama, J. & H. Hara 1992 Scaled Langevins equation to describe the 1/f spectrum.Phys. Rev. A46: 1844–1849.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mandelbrot, B.B. 1982 The fractal geometry of nature. Freeman, San Francisco.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shimada, I., Y. Kawazoe & H. Hara 1993 A temporal model of animal behavior based on a fractality in the feeding ofDrosophila melanogaster.Biol Cybern 68: 477–481.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shimada, I., Y. Minesaki, Y. Hayakawa, Y. Kawazoe & H. Hara 1990 Automatic analysis of the feeding behavior inDrosophila and long time autocorrelation.Zool. Sci. 7(6) {cm(Abstr.)}.

  • Shimada, I., M. Nakao & Y. Kawazoe 1987 Acute differential sensitivity and role of the central nervous system in the feeding behavor ofDrosophila melanogaster.Chemical Senses 12(3): 481–490.

    Google Scholar 

  • West, B.J. 1990 Fractal physiology and chaos in medicine. World Scientific, Singapore, New Jersey, London, Hong Kong, pp. 67–76.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. Yoshiaki Minesaki

    Present address: Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Tohoku University, Aramaki

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biological Institute, Faculty of Science, Tohoku University, Kawauchi, 980, Sendai, Japan

    Ichiro Shimada & Yoshiaki Minesaki

  2. Department of Computer and Mathematical Sciences, Graduate School of Information Sciences, Tohoku University, Aramaki, 980, Sendai, Japan

    Hiroaki Hara

Authors
  1. Ichiro Shimada
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yoshiaki Minesaki
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hiroaki Hara
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

About this article

Cite this article

Shimada, I., Minesaki, Y. & Hara, H. Temporal fractal in the feeding behavior ofDrosophila melanogaster . J. Ethol. 13, 153–158 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02350106

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02350106

Keywords

Search

Navigation