Control of daily locomotor activity patterns in Drosophila suzukii by the circadian clock, light, temperature and social interactions

Abstract

Understanding behavioural rhythms in a pest species can contribute to improving the efficacy of control methods targeting that pest. However, in some species the behavioural patterns recorded in artificial conditions contrast greatly with observed ‘wild-type’ behavioural rhythms. In this study we identify the determinants of daily activity rhythms of the soft and stone fruit pest Drosophila suzukii. The impact of gender, space, social housing, temperature, light, fly morph and the circadian clock on D. suzukii locomotor rhythms were investigated. Assays were performed under artificial laboratory conditions or more natural semi-field conditions to identify how these factors impacted daily locomotor behaviour. Daily locomotor activity patterns collected under semi-field conditions varied very little between the various sex and social condition combinations. However, in lab-based assays, individual and group-housed males often exhibited divergent activity patterns with more prominent hyperactivity at light/dark transitions. In contrast, hyperactivity responses were suppressed under lab protocols mimicking summer conditions for groups of females and mixed sex groups. Moreover, when environmental cues were removed, flies held in groups displayed stronger rhythmicity than individual flies. Thus, social interactions can reinforce circadian behaviour and resist hyperactivity responses in D. suzukii. Fly morph appeared to have little impact on behavioural pattern, with winter and summer morph flies displaying similar activity profiles under ‘April’ semi-field and laboratory mimic environmental conditions. In conclusion, separate and combined impacts of light, temperature, circadian clock function and social interactions were apparent in the daily activity profiles of D. suzukii. When groups of female or mixed sex flies were used, implementation of matching photoperiods and realistic daily temperature gradients in the lab was sufficient to recreate behavioural patterns observed in summer semi-field settings. The ability to leverage lab assays to predict D. suzukii field behaviour promises to be a valuable asset in improving control measures for this pest.

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ORCID for Herman Wijnen: orcid.org/0000-0002-8710-5176

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