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Contest experience enhances aggressive behaviour in a fly: when losers learn to win
Giovanni Benelli1, Nicolas Desneux2, Donato Romano1
1Insect Behaviour Group, Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
Scientific Reports
|March 21, 2015
Summary
In olive fruit flies, prior fighting experience, whether winning or losing, boosts subsequent aggression and success. This effect stems from the contest experience itself, not just the outcome, benefiting both previous winners and losers against naive males.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Ecology
- Animal Behavior
- Insect Behavior
Background:
- In many species, prior aggressive encounters influence future conflict outcomes, leading to winner and loser effects.
- These effects suggest that winning increases future success, while losing decreases it.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of winner and loser effects in male-olive fruit fly (Bactrocera oleae) territorial contests.
- To determine if contest outcomes or the experience of fighting itself drives these effects.
Main Methods:
- Male olive fruit flies were subjected to consecutive territorial encounters.
- Aggression intensity, fight duration, and fighting success were measured.
- Performance was compared between flies with prior contest experience and naive flies.
Main Results:
- Both previous winners and losers exhibited increased aggression intensity and longer fight durations in subsequent contests.
- Flies with prior fighting experience, regardless of outcome, achieved higher fighting success than naive males.
- The enhanced performance was linked to the experience of having fought, not solely the win/loss outcome.
Conclusions:
- Previous victories and defeats both enhance aggressive behavior in male olive fruit flies.
- The mere experience of a contest, rather than its specific outcome, is sufficient to induce enhanced fighting performance.
- This suggests a general effect of fighting experience on subsequent aggressive interactions in this species.
