https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.ttdz08m60

Description of the data

We present a comprehensive dataset of behavioral trajectories for 36,600 individuals from 105 genetically distinct strains of Drosophila melanogaster, including 104 wild-type strains from the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel and one visually impaired mutant. We observed the flies’ behavior in an experimental arena for 15 minutes, during which a looming stimulus was introduced for 5 minutes to elicit fear responses. The data are categorized by genetic background, sex, and social context (isolated or in groups).

The dataset consists of raw videos and tracked data, which are organized by subdirectories gunzipped for each strain and named as ${experiment}_${type}_${strain}.tar.gz. Supplementary files are contained in SupplementaryFiles.zip.

${experiment}

• 1_monostrain: single-strain experiment (n = 20 for each)
• 2_mixedstrain: mixed-strain experiment (n = 10 for each)

${type}

• video: raw movie files (.mp4)
• track: tracking dataset (.tsv)

${strain}

• DGRP* or norpA: strains derived from DGRP or visually impaired mutant strain
• (DGRP*|norpA)_DGRP*: strain pairs used in the mixed-strain group experiment

Code/Software

Codes used for analyzing the data are available on Github.

Structure of the data

*_video_*

├── 1_monostrain_video_DGRP101.tar.gz
│   ├── female
│   │   ├── group
│   │   │   ├── 20211117111002_900s_no12-DGRP101-female-2to4-6-1.mp4
.   .   .   .
.   .   .   .
│   │   ├── single
.   .   .
.   .   .
│   ├── male
.   .
.   .

*_track_*

├── 1_monostrain_track_DGRP101.tar.gz
│   ├── female
│   │   ├── group
│   │   │   ├── 20211117111002_900s_no12-DGRP101-female-2to4-6-1_tracked.csv
│   │   │   ├── 20211117111002_900s_no12-DGRP101-female-2to4-6-1_tracked_fixed_final.tsv
.   .   .   .
.   .   .   .
│   │   ├── single
.   .   .
.   .   .
│   ├── male
.   .
.   .

Fields in the tracking dataset

*_tracked.csv

frame: Frame number, starting from 3
pos_x/y: Coordinates of the fly
id: ID of the fly
center_x/y: Coordinates of arena center

*_tracked_fixed_final.tsv

frame: Frame number, starting from 3
id: ID of the fly
pos_x/y: Corrected coordinates of the fly
prefix: ID of the plate
place: ID of the arena
strain: Strain of the fly / Combination of mixed strains in the group
sex: Sex of the fly
age: Age of the fly (days after eclosion)
n_inds: Number of flies in the arena (1 or 6)
N: Replication ID
timestamp: Actual time of the frame in YYYYMMDDhhmmss format
seconds_diff: Time interval from the previous frame (s)
seconds_total: Accumulated time (s)
stimuli: Whether looming stimulus is presented or not (Y or N)
pos_x/y_wma: Weighted moving average of the coordinates; computed using current frame plus preceding 8 frames; available from frame 11 (frames 3–10
yield NA).
travelled_dist_diff: Distance travelled from the previous frame; derived from pos_x/y_wma differences; available from frame 12 (frames 3–11 yield
0 or NA).
angle_diff_based: Head angle of the fly; calculated from the displacement between positions 50 frames before and 50 frames after (using
pos_x/y_wma, available from frame 11); available from frame 62 (frames 3–61 yield 0 or NA).
Given that some columns contain NA until frame 61 due to the calculation of moving average, we recommend not using data from those frames.

Supplementary files

Supplementary Table 1

Fly strains used in this study.

BSDC_ID: Identifier of fly strains purchased from Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center
genotype: Genotype of the strain
strain: Strain name

Supplementary Table 2

Behavioral metrics for each strain and condition.

strain: Strain name
n_inds: Social condition (Group or Single)
sex: Sex of the fly
speed_mm_s_mean: Mean moving speed of flies (mm/s) measured in the first 5 minutes of the experiment.
speed_mm_s_sd: Standard deviation of moving speed of flies (mm/s) measured in the first 5 minutes of the experiment.
center_time_s_mean: Mean time spent around center of the arena measured in the first 5 minutes of the experiment.
center_time_s_sd: Standard deviation of time spent around center of the arena measured in the first 5 minutes of the experiment.
nnd_mm_mean: Mean nearest neighbor distance measured in the first 5 minutes of the experiment; available for Group condition (Single condition
yield NA).
nnd_mm_sd: Standard deviation of nearest neighbor distance measured in the first 5 minutes of the experiment; available for Group condition
(Single condition yield NA).
freezing_duration_s_mean: Mean freezing duration measured in the middle 5 minutes of the experiment.
freezing_duration_s_sd: Standard deviation of freezing duration measured in the middle 5 minutes of the experiment.

Supplementary Data 1

STL file of the experimental arena design.

Supplementary Video 1

Example movie of a single fly (DGRP324, female).

Supplementary Video 2

Example movie of a single-strain fly group (DGRP324, female).

Supplementary Video 3

Example movie of a mixed-strain fly group (DGRP324/norpA, female).

Version changes

11-Mar-2025: Added additional SupplementaryData1.stl and SupplementaryVideo[1-3].mp4 to the SupplementaryFiles.zip.