DOI: 10.5061/dryad.w3r22814k
title: Variation in social feeding behaviors and interactions among Caenorhabditis nematodes

description: The ability to respond to complex stimuli and environmental cues is
 essential for organisms to survive and reproduce. Evolution of behaviors
 occurs ubiquitously in most established ecological niches, even among
 closely related species. We have taken advantage of the large and
 relatively ancient divergence in the Caenorhabditis genus to ask how
 different Caenorhabditis nematodes respond to environmental stimuli and
 whether behavioral traits are shared or distinct. Here, we assayed
 foraging behaviors of twelve members of the Caenorhabditis clade. For each
 species, we analyzed social feeding and bordering behaviors, which are
 well characterized in C. elegans. These behaviors are the functional
 readout of complex sensory integration of multiple sensory cues including
 pheromones, touch, O2/CO2 concentration, and attractive and noxious
 stimuli. We hypothesized that the evolutionary divergence between species
 would correlate to divergence in these behaviors. We observed a wide
 variation in social aggregate feeding and bordering behaviors of
 hermaphrodite and female animals, but the variation did not correlate with
 evolutionary relatedness of the species. Addition of male animals with
 female or hermaphrodite animals of the same species increased aggregation
 behavior of a subset of species. Combination of a second species with C.
 elegans significantly reduced aggregate feeding behavior of C. elegans.
 Overall, we find that foraging and social feeding behaviors vary widely
 across Caenorhabditis species and that intraspecies and interspecies
 interactions modify behavioral paradigms. In general, the clade represents
 a compelling model to dissect evolution of behavior across diverse
 environments and a large timescale.
description: # Variation in social feeding behaviors and interactions among
 Caenorhabditis nematodes Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.w3r22814k](10.5061/dryad.w3r22814k) ## Description of the
 data and file structure **Variation in social feeding behaviors and
 interactions among** ***Caenorhabditis*** **nematodes**  Different species
 of roundworms (nematodes) are frequently found together in the wild and
 can aggregate in groups while feeding. We find that different species of
 worms display a range of feeding behaviors, from social to solitary,
 unrelated to evolutionary relatedness. Population context can change
 social feeding behaviors within species, where mixing sexes can increase,
 and mixing species can decrease, social feeding. Therefore, environmental
 and population variables strongly influence social behaviors. ### Files
 and variables #### File: Haskell__2025_DATA.xlsx **Description:** Each tab
 has raw data for panels by figure. ##### Variables * **Figure
 2:** **Aggregation behavior is diverse across *Caenorhabditis* clade**.
 Tables show aggregation (B) and bordering (C) values for individual
 replicates. **(B)** Aggregation values represent the number of aggregating
 animals out of 50 for each replicate. **(C)** Bordering values represent
 the percent bordering animals for each replicate. * **Figure 3:
 Statistical analysis of phenotypes.** Data represents ANOVA-generated
 p-values for all pairwise comparisons of each species **(A&B)** as
 well as averages of aggregation and bordering values for each species used
 to generate an XY plot comparison and linear regression analysis **(C).**
 * **Figure 4: Ecological drivers modulate social feeding behaviors in a
 species-specific manner. (A)** Aggregation values represent the number of
 aggregating animals out of 50 for each replicate within a species across
 both hermaphrodite/female only assays and male/female
 assays. **(C)** Aggregation values for *C. elegans*, *C. monodelphis*,
 and *C. nigoni* controls out of 30 animals. **(D)** Aggregation values
 for *C. elegans, C. nigoni and* C. monodelphis (out of 15) in an assay
 where 15 *nigoni* or *monodelphis* were mixed with 15 myo-2p+ *C.
 elegans* and both species aggregation was quantified. * **Supplemental
 Figure 2: Comparison of aggregation between elegans and japonica
 subgroups.** Aggregation data points from all members of the elegans and
 japonica subgroups were compiled and plotted as composites. ##
 Code/software none