Influences of age and density on spatial distribution in male flesh flies, Sarcophaga crassipalpis

Previous work has shown that male flies are spatially dispersed in a test arena, reflecting their territorial behavior, compared to a spatially random distribution in non-territorial females. Since male flies show an ontogeny of increased aggressive behavior, we examined whether there are age related changes of spatial distribution patterns in the male flesh fly, Sarcophaga crassipalpis, using a Nearest Neighbor Analysis. The effect of arena size (fly density effects) was also examined by determining the spatial distribution of male flies in different size arenas. Behavioral interactions will be analyzed to define the behaviors by which the flies establish and maintain their spatial distribution.