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Ulgezen ZN, Van Langevelde F, van Dooremalen C. Stress-induced loss of social resilience in honeybee colonies and its implications on fitness. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20232460. [PMID: 38196354 PMCID: PMC10777151 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Stressors may lead to a shift in the timing of life-history events of species, causing a mismatch with optimal environmental conditions, potentially reducing fitness. In honeybees, the timing of brood rearing and nest emergence in late winter/early spring is critical as colonies need to grow fast after winter to prepare for reproduction. However, the effects of stress on these life-history events in late winter/early spring and the possible consequences are not well understood. Therefore, we tested whether (i) honeybee colonies shift timing of brood rearing and nest emergence as response to stressors, and (ii) if there is a consequent loss of social resilience, reflected in colony fitness (survival, growth and reproduction). We monitored stressed (high load of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor or nutrition restricted) colonies and presumably non-stressed colonies from the beginning of 2020 till spring of 2021. We found that honeybee colonies do not shift the timing of brood rearing and nest emergence in spring as a coping mechanism to stressors. However, we show that there is loss of social resilience in stressed colonies, leading to reduced growth and reproduction. Our study contributes to better understanding the effects of stressors on social resilience in eusocial organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeynep N. Ulgezen
- Wageningen Plant Research, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Group, Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Frank Van Langevelde
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Group, Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Coby van Dooremalen
- Wageningen Plant Research, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
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Smith ML, Loope KJ, Chuttong B, Dobelmann J, Makinson JC, Saga T, Petersen KH, Napp N. Honey bees and social wasps reach convergent architectural solutions to nest-building problems. PLoS Biol 2023; 21:e3002211. [PMID: 37498968 PMCID: PMC10374112 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The hexagonal cells built by honey bees and social wasps are an example of adaptive architecture; hexagons minimize material use, while maximizing storage space and structural stability. Hexagon building evolved independently in the bees and wasps, but in some species of both groups, the hexagonal cells are size dimorphic-small worker cells and large reproductive cells-which forces the builders to join differently sized hexagons together. This inherent tiling problem creates a unique opportunity to investigate how similar architectural challenges are solved across independent evolutionary origins. We investigated how 5 honey bee and 5 wasp species solved this problem by extracting per-cell metrics from 22,745 cells. Here, we show that all species used the same building techniques: intermediate-sized cells and pairs of non-hexagonal cells, which increase in frequency with increasing size dimorphism. We then derive a simple geometric model that explains and predicts the observed pairing of non-hexagonal cells and their rate of occurrence. Our results show that despite different building materials, comb configurations, and 179 million years of independent evolution, honey bees and social wasps have converged on the same solutions for the same architectural problems, thereby revealing fundamental building properties and evolutionary convergence in construction behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael L Smith
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, United States of America
| | - Kevin J Loope
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Bajaree Chuttong
- Meliponini and Apini Research Laboratory, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
| | - Jana Dobelmann
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - James C Makinson
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
| | - Tatsuya Saga
- Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan
| | - Kirstin H Petersen
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - Nils Napp
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
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Metz BN, Tarpy DR. Variation in the reproductive quality of honey bee males affects their age of flight attempt. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13859. [PMID: 35935251 PMCID: PMC9354755 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Honey bee males (drones) exhibit life histories that enable a high potential for pre- or post-copulatory sperm competition. With a numerical sex ratio of ∼11,000 drones for every queen, they patrol flyways and congregate aerially to mate on the wing. However, colonies and in fact drones themselves may benefit from a relative lack of competition, as queens are highly polyandrous, and colonies have an adaptive advantage when headed by queens that are multiply mated. Previous research has shown that larger drones are more likely to be found at drone congregation areas, more likely to mate successfully, and obtain a higher paternity share. However, the reproductive quality and size of drones varies widely within and among colonies, suggesting adaptive maintenance of drone quality variation at different levels of selection. Methods We collected drones from six colony sources over the course of five days. We paint marked and individually tagged drones after taking body measurements at emergence and then placed the drones in one of two foster colonies. Using an entrance cage, we collected drones daily as they attempted flight. We collected 2,420 drones live or dead, analyzed 1,891 for attempted flight, collected emergence data on 207 drones, and dissected 565 upon capture to assess reproductive maturity. We measured drone body mass, head width, and thorax width at emergence, and upon dissection we further measured thorax mass, seminal vesicle length, mucus gland length, sperm count, and sperm viability from the seminal vesicles. Results We found that drones that were more massive at emergence were larger and more fecund upon capture, suggesting that they are of higher reproductive quality and therefore do not exhibit a trade-off between size and fecundity. However, smaller drones tended to attempt initial flight at a younger age, which suggests a size trade-off not with fecundity but rather developmental maturation. We conclude that smaller drones may take more mating flights, each individually with a lower chance of success but thereby increasing their overall fitness. In doing so, the temporal spread of mating attempts of a single generation of drones within a given colony increases colony-level chances of mating with nearby queens, suggesting an adaptive rationale for high variation among drone reproductive quality within colonies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bradley N. Metz
- Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States of America
| | - David R. Tarpy
- Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States of America
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4
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Jeanne RL, Loope KJ, Bouwma AM, Nordheim EV, Smith ML. Five decades of misunderstanding in the social Hymenoptera: a review and meta-analysis of Michener's paradox. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2022; 97:1559-1611. [PMID: 35338566 PMCID: PMC9546470 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2019] [Revised: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
In a much-cited 1964 paper entitled "Reproductive efficiency in relation to colony size in hymenopterous societies," Charles Michener investigated the correlation between a colony's size and its reproductive efficiency - the ability of its adult females to produce reproductives, measured as per-capita output. Based on his analysis of published data from destructively sampled colonies in 18 species, he reported that in most of these species efficiency decreased with increasing colony size. His conclusion that efficiency is higher in smaller groups has since gained widespread acceptance. But it created a seeming paradox: how can natural selection maintain social behaviour when a female apparently enjoys her highest per-capita output by working alone? Here we treat Michener's pattern as a hypothesis and perform the first large-scale test of its prediction across the eusocial Hymenoptera. Because data on actual output of reproductives were not available for most species, Michener used various proxies, such as nest size, numbers of brood, or amounts of stored food. We show that for each of Michener's data sets the reported decline in per-capita productivity can be explained by factors other than decreasing efficiency, calling into question his conclusion that declining efficiency is the cause of the pattern. The most prominent cause of bias is the failure of the proxy to capture all forms of output in which the colony invests during the course of its ontogeny. Other biasing factors include seasonal effects and a variety of methodological flaws in the data sets he used. We then summarize the results of 215 data sets drawn from post-1964 studies of 80 species in 33 genera that better control for these factors. Of these, 163 data sets are included in two meta-analyses that statistically synthesize the available data on the relationship between colony size and efficiency, accounting for variable sample sizes and non-independence among the data sets. The overall effect, and those for most taxonomic subgroups, indicates no loss of efficiency with increasing colony size. Two exceptional taxa, the halictid bees and independent-founding paper wasps, show negative trends consistent with the Michener hypothesis in some species. We conclude that in most species, particularly those with large colony sizes, the hypothesis of decreasing efficiency with increasing colony size is not supported. Finally, we explore potential mechanisms through which the level of efficiency can decrease, be maintained, or even increase, as colonies increase in size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert L Jeanne
- Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, U.S.A
| | - Kevin J Loope
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Cheatham Hall, 310 W. Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, 24060, U.S.A
| | - Andrew M Bouwma
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Cordley Hall, 3029, 2701 SW Campus Way, Corvallis, OR, 97331, U.S.A
| | - Erik V Nordheim
- Department of Statistics, University of Wisconsin, 1300 University Avenue, Madison, WI, 53706, U.S.A
| | - Michael L Smith
- Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, U.S.A
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Smith ML, Napp N, Petersen KH. Imperfect comb construction reveals the architectural abilities of honeybees. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2103605118. [PMID: 34312229 PMCID: PMC8346884 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2103605118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Honeybees are renowned for their perfectly hexagonal honeycomb, hailed as the pinnacle of biological architecture for its ability to maximize storage area while minimizing building material. However, in natural nests, workers must regularly transition between different cell sizes, merge inconsistent combs, and optimize construction in constrained geometries. These spatial obstacles pose challenges to workers building perfect hexagons, but it is unknown to what extent workers act as architects versus simple automatons during these irregular building scenarios. Using automated image analysis to extract the irregularities in natural comb building, we show that some building configurations are more difficult for the bees than others, and that workers overcome these challenges using a combination of building techniques, such as: intermediate-sized cells, regular motifs of irregular shapes, and gradual modifications of cell tilt. Remarkably, by anticipating these building challenges, workers achieve high-quality merges using limited local sensing, on par with analytical models that require global optimization. Unlike automatons building perfectly replicated hexagons, these building irregularities showcase the active role that workers take in shaping their nest and the true architectural abilities of honeybees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael L Smith
- Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849;
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Nils Napp
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850
| | - Kirstin H Petersen
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850
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López-Incera A, Nouvian M, Ried K, Müller T, Briegel HJ. Honeybee communication during collective defence is shaped by predation. BMC Biol 2021; 19:106. [PMID: 34030690 PMCID: PMC8147350 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-021-01028-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2021] [Accepted: 04/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Social insect colonies routinely face large vertebrate predators, against which they need to mount a collective defence. To do so, honeybees use an alarm pheromone that recruits nearby bees into mass stinging of the perceived threat. This alarm pheromone is carried directly on the stinger; hence, its concentration builds up during the course of the attack. We investigate how bees react to different alarm pheromone concentrations and how this evolved response pattern leads to better coordination at the group level. RESULTS We first present a dose-response curve to the alarm pheromone, obtained experimentally. This data reveals two phases in the bees' response: initially, bees become more likely to sting as the alarm pheromone concentration increases, but aggressiveness drops back when very high concentrations are reached. Second, we apply Projective Simulation to model each bee as an artificial learning agent that relies on the pheromone concentration to decide whether to sting or not. Individuals are rewarded based on the collective performance, thus emulating natural selection in these complex societies. By also modelling predators in a detailed way, we are able to identify the main selection pressures that shaped the response pattern observed experimentally. In particular, the likelihood to sting in the absence of alarm pheromone (starting point of the dose-response curve) is inversely related to the rate of false alarms, such that bees in environments with low predator density are less likely to waste efforts responding to irrelevant stimuli. This is compensated for by a steep increase in aggressiveness when the alarm pheromone concentration starts rising. The later decay in aggressiveness may be explained as a curbing mechanism preventing worker loss. CONCLUSIONS Our work provides a detailed understanding of alarm pheromone responses in honeybees and sheds light on the selection pressures that brought them about. In addition, it establishes our approach as a powerful tool to explore how selection based on a collective outcome shapes individual responses, which remains a challenging issue in the field of evolutionary biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea López-Incera
- Institute for Theoretical Physics, Universität Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Austria
| | - Morgane Nouvian
- Department of Biology, Universität Konstanz, Konstanz, 78457, Germany.
- Zukunftskolleg, Universität Konstanz, Konstanz, 78457, Germany.
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behavior, Universität Konstanz, Konstanz, 78457, Germany.
| | - Katja Ried
- Institute for Theoretical Physics, Universität Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Austria
| | - Thomas Müller
- Department of Philosophy, Universität Konstanz, Konstanz, 78457, Germany
| | - Hans J Briegel
- Institute for Theoretical Physics, Universität Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 6020, Austria
- Department of Philosophy, Universität Konstanz, Konstanz, 78457, Germany
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7
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Halak AL, Santos PDR, Rossi RM, Wielewski P, Moraes GVD, Toledo VDAAD. Drone production, semen viability and spermatozoa longevity of Africanized Apis mellifera. ACTA SCIENTIARUM: ANIMAL SCIENCES 2020. [DOI: 10.4025/actascianimsci.v42i1.49050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Characteristics correlated with beekeeping production, less influenced by the environment and that can be controlled by management techniques, can help in the selection of colonies with higher production capacity, aiming to improve breeding programs. This research was carried out to evaluate the production of Africanized Apis mellifera drones and the longevity of spermatozoa from different genetic groups when supplemented with protein or not. Two genetic groups were used: one selected for royal jelly production from the Africanized honeybee breeding program and another without genetic selection. In both groups, the number of drone brood and the quality of semen were evaluated every 30 days, for five months. Statistical analysis was performed using Bayesian Inference. Statistical difference was found for the drone production among the treatments, and colonies without genetic selection produced more males (187.80 ± 11.15) than the selected colonies (93.07 ± 8.88). The selected colonies for royal jelly production presented greater efficiency in the reproductive cycle of males, because they produced fewer drones than colonies without genetic selection, however, with 31% greater semen viability.
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8
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Szentgyörgyi H, Czekońska K, Tofilski A. Honey bees are larger and live longer after developing at low temperature. J Therm Biol 2018; 78:219-226. [PMID: 30509639 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2018.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2018] [Revised: 08/06/2018] [Accepted: 09/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are known to be temperature specialist and actively maintain brood temperature in a very narrow temperature range. Developing larvae are sensitive to changes of temperature in the nest. Temperatures lower than generally assumed as optimal have been shown to cause a number of negative developmental and behavioural changes in honey bees. We have reared both worker and drone larvae during the capped brood stage in cold (32 °C) and in warm temperatures (35 °C). Next, we measured their body mass at emergence and the longevity of individuals either caged in incubator (workers) or placed in maintaining colonies (drones). For drones, the reproductive caste, we also compared the mass and ratio of body parts (head, thorax, and abdomen) to body mass. As expected, both castes were heavier when reared in cold, but contrary to our expectations, both castes survived longer after emergence than bees reared in warm. Drones reared in cold were characterized by proportionally larger abdomens, in comparison to drones reared in warm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hajnalka Szentgyörgyi
- Department of Pomology and Apiculture, Faculty of Biotechnology and Horticulture, University of Agriculture in Kraków, Al. 29. Listopada 54, 31-425 Kraków, Poland.
| | - Krystyna Czekońska
- Department of Pomology and Apiculture, Faculty of Biotechnology and Horticulture, University of Agriculture in Kraków, Al. 29. Listopada 54, 31-425 Kraków, Poland
| | - Adam Tofilski
- Department of Pomology and Apiculture, Faculty of Biotechnology and Horticulture, University of Agriculture in Kraków, Al. 29. Listopada 54, 31-425 Kraków, Poland
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9
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Smith ML. Queenless honey bees build infrastructure for direct reproduction until their new queen proves her worth. Evolution 2018; 72:2810-2817. [PMID: 30334259 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2018] [Revised: 10/05/2018] [Accepted: 10/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The terminal investment hypothesis predicts that individuals will alter their reproductive investments based on reproductive prospects. This hypothesis, however, has never been tested at the colony-level, where reproductive prospects for thousands of individuals can change instantly with the death of a single individual: the queen. A honey bee queen's death also changes the reproductive mechanism; if the queen is not replaced, then workers reproduce directly, by producing males in reproductive comb-drone comb-before the colony dies. To test how workers respond to reproductive uncertainty, I made colonies queenless and measured comb building throughout the stages of rearing a replacement queen. Queenless workers built only drone comb throughout queen rearing, even when the colony possessed a virgin or mated queen. Only when the new queen started laying fertilized eggs did workers stop building drone comb. Despite queenless colonies being more likely to eventually rear a replacement queen (88%), than to fail (12%), workers still built drone comb for direct reproduction, even when the colony was provided with ample drone comb. Therefore, workers "pessimistically" invest in drone comb to prepare for direct reproduction, even while rearing a replacement queen to prevent that outcome. When faced with reproductive uncertainty, honey bees may "hope" for the best, but they prepare for the worst.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael L Smith
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853.,Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Konstanz, Germany
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10
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Strain-specific effects of crowding on long-term memory formation in Lymnaea. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2018; 222:43-51. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2018.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2018] [Revised: 04/16/2018] [Accepted: 04/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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11
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Smith ML, Koenig PA, Peters JM. The cues of colony size: how honey bees sense that their colony is large enough to begin to invest in reproduction. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 220:1597-1605. [PMID: 28468813 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.150342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2016] [Accepted: 02/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
As organisms develop, they first invest resources in survival and growth, but after reaching a certain condition they start to also invest in reproduction. Likewise, superorganisms, such as honey bee colonies, first invest in survival and growth, and later commit resources to reproduction once the number of workers in the colony surpasses a reproductive threshold. The first form of reproductive investment for a honey bee colony is the building of beeswax comb made of special large cells used for rearing males (drones). How do the workers sense that their colony is large enough to start building this 'drone comb'? To address this question, we experimentally increased three possible cues of colony size - worker density, volatile pheromone concentration and nest temperature - and looked for effects on the bees' comb construction. Only the colonies that experienced increased worker density were stimulated to build a higher proportion of drone comb. We then monitored and quantified potential cues in small and large colonies, to determine which cues change with colony size. We found that workers in large colonies, relative to small ones, have increased contact rates, spend more time active and experience less variable worker density. Whereas unicellular and multicellular organisms use mainly chemical cues to sense their sizes, our results suggest that at least one superorganism, a honey bee colony, uses physical cues to sense its size and thus its developmental state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael L Smith
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Phoebe A Koenig
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Jacob M Peters
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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12
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Larger but not louder: bigger honey bee colonies have quieter combs. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-017-2399-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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13
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The ecological and genetic basis of annual worker production in the desert seed harvesting ant, Veromessor pergandei. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-017-2333-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
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14
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Lemanski NJ, Fefferman NH. Coordination Between the Sexes Constrains the Optimization of Reproductive Timing in Honey Bee Colonies. Sci Rep 2017; 7:2740. [PMID: 28572582 PMCID: PMC5453950 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-02878-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2017] [Accepted: 04/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Honeybees are an excellent model system for examining how trade-offs shape reproductive timing in organisms with seasonal environments. Honeybee colonies reproduce two ways: producing swarms comprising a queen and thousands of workers or producing males (drones). There is an energetic trade-off between producing workers, which contribute to colony growth, and drones, which contribute only to reproduction. The timing of drone production therefore determines both the drones’ likelihood of mating and when colonies reach sufficient size to swarm. Using a linear programming model, we ask when a colony should produce drones and swarms to maximize reproductive success. We find the optimal behavior for each colony is to produce all drones prior to swarming, an impossible solution on a population scale because queens and drones would never co-occur. Reproductive timing is therefore not solely determined by energetic trade-offs but by the game theoretic problem of coordinating the production of reproductives among colonies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie J Lemanski
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States of America.
| | - Nina H Fefferman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States of America
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15
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Keiser CN, Pruitt JN. Personality composition is more important than group size in determining collective foraging behaviour in the wild. Proc Biol Sci 2014; 281:20141424. [PMID: 25320170 PMCID: PMC4213636 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.1424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2014] [Accepted: 09/19/2014] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Describing the factors that shape collective behaviour is central to our understanding of animal societies. Countless studies have demonstrated an effect of group size in the emergence of collective behaviours, but comparatively few have accounted for the composition/diversity of behavioural phenotypes, which is often conflated with group size. Here, we simultaneously examine the effect of personality composition and group size on nest architecture and collective foraging aggressiveness in the social spider Stegodyphus dumicola. We created colonies of two different sizes (10 or 30 individuals) and four compositions of boldness (all bold, all shy, mixed bold and shy, or average individuals) in the field and then measured their collective behaviour. Larger colonies produced bigger capture webs, while colonies containing a higher proportion of bold individuals responded to and attacked prey more rapidly. The number of attackers during collective foraging was determined jointly by composition and size, although composition had an effect size more than twice that of colony size: our results suggest that colonies of just 10 bold spiders would attack prey with as many attackers as colonies of 110 'average' spiders. Thus, personality composition is a more potent (albeit more cryptic) determinant of collective foraging in these societies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carl N Keiser
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 182 Crawford Hall, 4249 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Jonathan N Pruitt
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 182 Crawford Hall, 4249 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
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