Neighborhood Interactions and Larval Dispersal Behavior in Blowflies

Abstract

We performed a computational analysis employing a cellular automata model to investigate the larval dispersal behavior of blowflies. The spatially discrete model developed here, incorporates simple behavioral rules in local interactions to produce the large-scale patterns observed in the larval dispersal process. We were able to find parameter ranges that could simulate the required experimental dispersal patterns in the study. In particular, oscillations, initially explained as a response to larval aggregation, could be explained by the combination of different mechanisms acting during the dispersal process. Peaks have characterized the interaction between dispersing larvae, but as a function of time. Then, the number of larvae decreased as a result of the pupation process, and neighborhood interaction became stingy.