Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 26, 2026
05:57
Quantifying Bacterial Surface Swarming Motility on Inducer Gradient Plates
Published on: January 5, 2022
Serotonin mediates behavioral gregarization underlying swarm formation in desert locusts
Michael L Anstey1, Stephen M Rogers, Swidbert R Ott
1Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|January 31, 2009
Summary
Serotonin is essential for desert locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) to transition from solitary to gregarious behavior. This neurotransmitter is sufficient to trigger swarm formation, revealing a neurochemical basis for mass migration.
Area of Science:
- Zoology
- Neurobiology
- Ecology
Background:
- Desert locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) exhibit remarkable phenotypic plasticity.
- They shift between a solitary phase and a gregarious, swarming phase based on population density.
- The transition involves a critical change from social aversion to group cohesion and increased activity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neurochemical mechanisms underlying the behavioral transformation in desert locusts.
- To determine the role of serotonin in the switch from solitary to gregarious behavior.
Main Methods:
- Experimental manipulation of serotonin levels in desert locusts.
- Observation and analysis of behavioral changes in response to serotonin.
- Linking individual interactions to population-level phenomena.
Main Results:
- Serotonin is both necessary and sufficient to induce the gregarization of desert locusts.
- This neurotransmitter mediates the switch from mutual aversion to group formation.
- Demonstrated a neurochemical pathway connecting individual behavior to mass migration.
Conclusions:
- Serotonin acts as a key mediator in the behavioral plasticity of desert locusts.
- This finding provides a neurochemical explanation for locust swarm formation and mass migration.
- Highlights the link between neurobiology and large-scale ecological events.
