DOI: 10.5061/dryad.r7sqv9spr
title: Data from: Foraging actively can be advantageous in heterogeneous environments

description: A wealth of evidence indicates that behavioral polymorphism is widespread
 in nature. While some organisms search for food by moving almost
 continuously throughout their environment, other organisms forage in one
 place for long periods of time. Although such a dichotomy has been
 previously documented in Drosophila melanogaster, the question remains
 which foraging strategy is better suited to maximize energy intake in a
 particular environment. We designed an experiment to evaluate whether the
 configuration of food in the environment alters the foraging behavior of
 two larval strains. Assuming that one of the strains acquires more food
 than the other in a given environment, we examined whether variation in
 growth occurred between them. Our results indicate that foraging behavior
 is a plastic trait, shaped by the configuration of food in the
 environment. Regardless of the foraging strategy, we found that larvae
 generally increased their locomotion when food was patchy rather than
 clumped. Even though we observed that some individuals actively sought
 food while others stayed foraging at nearby sites, we found no differences
 in growth rate between them. However, we suggest that foraging actively
 may be advantageous in polymorphic populations because such behavior
 facilitates local adaptation via founder effect and gene flow.
description: # Foraging actively can be advantageous in heterogeneous environments
 Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.r7sqv9spr](10.5061/dryad.r7sqv9spr) ## GENERAL
 INFORMATION 1. Title of Dataset: Data from: Foraging actively can be
 advantageous in heterogeneous environments 2. Author Information A.
 Principal Investigator Contact Information Name: Dylan J. Padilla Perez
 Institution: Yale University Address: Peabody Museum Email:
 [dylan.padilla@yale.edu](mailto:dylan.padilla@yale.edu) ## DATA & FILE
 OVERVIEW 1. Description of dataset The data described below correspond to
 the results of experiments conducted to investigate the effects of the
 distribution of food in the environment on the foraging behavior and
 life-history traits of *Drosophila melanogaster*. 1. File List: File 1
 Name: data.csv File 1 Description: growth rate dataset. File 2 Name:
 Results_by_ind.csv File 2 Description: Output of the video-tracking
 software (AnimalTA). File 3 Name: movement.csv File 3 Description:
 locomotion dataset. File 4 Name: Proportion-of-area-visited.csv.csv File 4
 Description: Data of the proportion of area covered given by AnimalTA.
 File 5 Name: index.Rmd File 5 Description: Rmarkdown file containing the
 fully reproducible workflow of the analyses. File 6 Name: index.html File
 6: Description: Built reproducible workflow containing all data analyses,
 including good quality figures and tables. ## SHARING/ACCESS INFORMATION
 1. Licenses/restrictions placed on the data: NA 2. Was data derived from
 another source? No. ## METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION 1. Instrument- or
 software-specific information needed to interpret the data: We performed
 all the analyses using the free software R 4.3.3 for Mac OS
 ([https://AQ11](https://AQ11)
 [www.R-project.org/](http://www.R-project.org/)). ### DATA-SPECIFIC
 INFORMATION FOR: data.csv 1. Number of variables: The dataset consist of a
 data frame containing 229 observations of 6 variables. 2. Number of
 cases/rows: 229 observations 3. Missing data codes: NA 4. See below the
 description of the variable used in the study: * ``` initial_mass: Initial
 mass of individuals (g) ``` * ``` final_mass: Final mass of individuals
 (g) ``` * ``` strain: Factor with two levels defined as "r" for
 rover and "s" for sitter ``` * ``` env: Factor with two levels
 defined as "p" for patchy and "u" for clumped ``` *
 ``` adult: This variable consists of NA values. It is irrelevant for the
 analyses ``` * ``` comments: General comments on the experiments ``` ---
 ### DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Results\_by\_ind.csv 1. Number of
 variables: The dataset consist of a data frame containing 92 observations
 of 25 variables. 2. Number of cases/rows: 92 observations 3. Missing data
 codes: NA 4. This .csv file is the standard output generated by the
 software used in the study (i.e., AnimalTA).  Because the output is
 standard, we encourage the readers to find a detailed description of each
 variable in the manual of the software
 ([http://vchiara.eu/index.php/animalta](http://vchiara.eu/index.php/animalta)).  The only variables extracted from this dataset that are relevant for our study is the following: * ``` Traveled_Dist_Moving: Total distance traveled by individuals while moving (no units) ``` * ``` Prop_time_moving: Proportion of time spent while moving (no units) ``` --- ### DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: movement.csv 1. Number of variables: The dataset consist of a data frame containing 92 observations of 6 variables. 2. Number of cases/rows: 92 observations 3. Missing data codes: NA 4. See below the description of the variable used in the study: * ``` mass: Body mass of individuals tested in the experiments (g) ``` * ``` strain: Factor with two levels defined as "r" for rover and "s" for sitter ``` * ``` dis_trav: Vector of NAs. Irrelevant for the analyses ``` * ``` video: Number of the video recorded in the experiment ``` * ``` comments: General comments on the experiments ``` --- ### DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Proportion-of-area-visited.csv 1. Number of variables: The dataset consist of a data frame containing 92 observations of 2 variables. 2. Number of cases/rows: 92 observations 3. Missing data codes: NA 4. This .csv file is the standard output generated by the software used in the study (i.e., AnimalTA).  Because the output is standard, we encourage the readers to find a detailed description of each variable in the manual of the software ([http://vchiara.eu/index.php/animalta](http://vchiara.eu/index.php/animalta)). The only variable extracted from this dataset that is relevant for our study is the following: * ``` prop_area_visited: Proportion of are covered by individuals while foraging (no units) ``` --- RELEVANT INFORMATION: If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to the corresponding author at [dylan.padilla@yale.edu](mailto:dylan.padilla@yale.edu)