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Jernigan CM, Uy FM. Impact of the social environment in insect sensory systems. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2023; 59:101083. [PMID: 37423425 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2023.101083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
The social environment has a direct impact on sensory systems and unquestionable consequences on allocation of neural tissue. Although neuroplasticity is adaptive, responses to different social contexts may be mediated by energetic constraints and/or trade-offs between sensory modalities. However, general patterns of sensory plasticity remain elusive due to variability in experimental approaches. Here, we highlight recent studies in social Hymenoptera showing effects of the social environment on sensory systems. Further, we propose to identify a core set of socially mediated mechanisms that drive sensory plasticity. We hope this approach is widely adopted in different insect clades under a phylogenetic framework, which will allow for a more direct integration of the how and why questions exploring sensory plasticity evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher M Jernigan
- Laboratory for Animal Social Evolution and Recognition, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, NY, USA.
| | - Floria Mk Uy
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.
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2
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da Silva RC, Aguiar JMRBV, Oi CA, Batista JE, Giurfa M, do Nascimento FS. Sex and lifestyle dictate learning performance in a neotropical wasp. iScience 2023; 26:106469. [PMID: 37091245 PMCID: PMC10113769 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023] Open
Abstract
In contrast to extensive investigations on bee cognition, the cognitive capacities of wasps remain largely unexplored despite their key role as pollinators and predators of insect pests. Here we studied learning and memory in the neotropical wasp Mischocyttarus cerberus using a Pavlovian conditioning in which harnessed wasps respond with conditioned movements of their mouthparts to a learned odorant. We focused on the different castes, sexes, and ages coexisting within a nest and found that adults of M. cerberus learned and memorized efficiently the odor-sugar associations. In contrast, newly emerged females, but not males, were unable to learn odorants. This difference concurs with their different lifestyle as young males perform regular excursions outside the nest while young females remain in it until older age. Our results thus highlight the importance of socio-ecological constraints on wasp cognition and set the basis for mechanistic studies on learning differences across ages and castes.
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Pardo-Sanchez J, Tibbetts EA. Social experience drives the development of holistic face processing in paper wasps. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:465-476. [PMID: 36066686 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01666-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Revised: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Most recognition is based on identifying features, but specialization for face recognition in some taxa relies on a different mechanism, termed 'holistic processing' where facial features are bound together into a gestalt which is more than the sum of its parts. Although previous work suggests that extensive experience may be required for the development of holistic processing, we lack experiments that test how age and experience interact to influence holistic processing. Here, we test how age and experience influence the development of holistic face processing in Polistes fuscatus paper wasps. Previous work has shown that P. fuscatus use facial patterns to individually identify conspecifics and wasps use holistic processing to discriminate between conspecific faces. We tested face processing in three groups of P. fuscatus: young (1-week-old), older, experienced (2-weeks-old, normal experience), and older, inexperienced (2-weeks-old, 1 week normal social experience and 1 week social isolation). Older, experienced wasps used holistic processing to discriminate between conspecific faces. In contrast, older inexperienced wasps used featural rather than holistic mechanisms to discriminate between faces. Young wasps show some evidence of holistic face processing, but this ability was less refined than older, experienced wasps. Notably, wasps only required 2 weeks of normal experience to develop holistic processing, while previous work suggests that humans may require years of experience. Overall, P. fuscatus wasps rapidly develop holistic processing for conspecific faces. Experience rather than age facilitates the transition between featural and holistic face processing mechanisms.
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Frizzi F, Buonafede L, Masoni A, Balzani P, Santini G. Comparative Analysis of Facial Coloration between Introduced and Source Populations of the Red Wood Ant Formica paralugubris. INSECTS 2022; 13:1137. [PMID: 36555047 PMCID: PMC9787359 DOI: 10.3390/insects13121137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Revised: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The variation in the typical black-reddish color of red wood ants (Formica rufa group) has been recently suggested as a good indicator of habitat quality, being dependent on environmental conditions. However, the relative contribution of external factors and heritability in shaping this trait is poorly investigated. In this study, we compared the facial coloration of workers from four introduced populations of Formica paralugubris with those of the two Alpine populations from which they had been taken. We used a Relative Warp Analysis to describe the variations in the shape of this trait. We expected each introduced population to be more similar to its population of origin if the color pattern was predominantly genetically determined. On the contrary, due to the considerable differences in habitat type and climate between the Alps and the Apennines, we expected to observe differences between the introduced population and their origin population if the coloration was mostly environmentally determined. With one exception that we discuss, the results showed that ants from the two source populations had different phenotypes, and that the introduced populations had a shape similar to the population of origin, suggesting a stable genetic background. Surprisingly, the habitat type seems to have a less clear effect, even if within-population differences suggest the influence of very localized environmental factors. Finally, we found that the facial coloration shape is affected by the ant’s size, a result in line with previous studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filippo Frizzi
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via Madonna del Piano, 6, Sesto F.No., 50019 Florence, Italy
| | - Laura Buonafede
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via Madonna del Piano, 6, Sesto F.No., 50019 Florence, Italy
| | - Alberto Masoni
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via Madonna del Piano, 6, Sesto F.No., 50019 Florence, Italy
| | - Paride Balzani
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via Madonna del Piano, 6, Sesto F.No., 50019 Florence, Italy
- Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters, South Bohemian Research Center of Aquaculture and Biodiversity of Hydrocenoses, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Zátiší 728/II, 38925 Vodňany, Czech Republic
| | - Giacomo Santini
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via Madonna del Piano, 6, Sesto F.No., 50019 Florence, Italy
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5
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Type and amount of social experience influences individual face learning in paper wasps. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03257-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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6
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Weise C, Ortiz CC, Tibbetts EA. Paper wasps form abstract concept of 'same and different'. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20221156. [PMID: 35855600 PMCID: PMC9297017 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Concept formation requires animals to learn and use abstract rules that transcend the characteristics of specific stimuli. Abstract concepts are often associated with high levels of cognitive sophistication, so there has been much interest in which species can form and use concepts. A key abstract concept is that of sameness and difference, where stimuli are classified as either the same as or different than an original stimulus. Here, we used a simultaneous two-item same-different task to test whether paper wasps (Polistes fuscatus) can learn and apply a same-different concept. We trained wasps by simultaneously presenting pairs of same or different stimuli (e.g. colours). Then, we tested whether wasps could apply the concept to new stimuli of the same type (e.g. new colours) and to new stimulus types (e.g. odours). We show that wasps learned a general concept of sameness or difference and applied it to new samples and types of stimuli. Notably, wasps were able to transfer the learned rules to new stimuli in a different sensory modality. Therefore, P. fuscatus can classify stimuli based on their relationships and apply abstract concepts to novel stimulus types. These results indicate that abstract concept learning may be more widespread than previously thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chloe Weise
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 7347633564, USA
| | - Christian Cely Ortiz
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 7347633564, USA
| | - Elizabeth A. Tibbetts
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 7347633564, USA
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Milewski TM, Lee W, Champagne FA, Curley JP. Behavioural and physiological plasticity in social hierarchies. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200443. [PMID: 35000436 PMCID: PMC8743892 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals occupying dominant and subordinate positions in social hierarchies exhibit divergent behaviours, physiology and neural functioning. Dominant animals express higher levels of dominance behaviours such as aggression, territorial defence and mate-guarding. Dominants also signal their status via auditory, visual or chemical cues. Moreover, dominant animals typically increase reproductive behaviours and show enhanced spatial and social cognition as well as elevated arousal. These biobehavioural changes increase energetic demands that are met via shifting both energy intake and metabolism and are supported by coordinated changes in physiological systems including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axes as well as altered gene expression and sensitivity of neural circuits that regulate these behaviours. Conversely, subordinate animals inhibit dominance and often reproductive behaviours and exhibit physiological changes adapted to socially stressful contexts. Phenotypic changes in both dominant and subordinate individuals may be beneficial in the short-term but lead to long-term challenges to health. Further, rapid changes in social ranks occur as dominant animals socially ascend or descend and are associated with dynamic modulations in the brain and periphery. In this paper, we provide a broad overview of how behavioural and phenotypic changes associated with social dominance and subordination are expressed in neural and physiological plasticity. This article is part of the theme issue 'The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies'.
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Affiliation(s)
- T. M. Milewski
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - W. Lee
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - F. A. Champagne
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - J. P. Curley
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
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Tibbetts EA, Pardo-Sanchez J, Weise C. The establishment and maintenance of dominance hierarchies. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200450. [PMID: 35000449 PMCID: PMC8743888 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal groups are often organized hierarchically, with dominant individuals gaining priority access to resources and reproduction over subordinate individuals. Initial dominance hierarchy formation may be influenced by multiple interacting factors, including an animal's individual attributes, conventions and self-organizing social dynamics. After establishment, hierarchies are typically maintained over the long-term because individuals save time, energy and reduce the risk of injury by recognizing and abiding by established dominance relationships. A separate set of behaviours are used to maintain dominance relationships within groups, including behaviours that stabilize ranks (punishment, threats, behavioural asymmetry), as well as signals that provide information about dominance rank (individual identity signals, signals of dominance). In this review, we describe the behaviours used to establish and maintain dominance hierarchies across different taxa and types of societies. We also review opportunities for future research including: testing how self-organizing behavioural dynamics interact with other factors to mediate dominance hierarchy formation, measuring the long-term stability of social hierarchies and the factors that disrupt hierarchy stability, incorporating phenotypic plasticity into our understanding of the behavioural dynamics of hierarchies and considering how cognition coevolves with the behaviours used to establish and maintain hierarchies. This article is part of the theme issue 'The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies'.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Chloe Weise
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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Individual recognition and individual identity signals in Polistes fuscatus wasps vary geographically. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.03.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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Cely Ortiz C, Tibbetts EA. Visual and chemical signals provide different information in
Polistes fuscatus
wasps. Ethology 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Christian Cely Ortiz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USA
| | - Elizabeth A. Tibbetts
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USA
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Pahlke S, Jaumann S, Seid MA, Smith AR. Brain differences between social castes precede group formation in a primitively eusocial bee. Naturwissenschaften 2019; 106:49. [DOI: 10.1007/s00114-019-1644-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2019] [Revised: 07/20/2019] [Accepted: 08/05/2019] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
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Gong Z, Tan K, Nieh JC. Hornets possess long-lasting olfactory memories. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 222:jeb.200881. [PMID: 31138638 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.200881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2019] [Accepted: 05/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The ability of animals to learn and remember is an important adaptation for coping with environmental changes. The fitness benefits provided by these cognitive skills, in conjunction with social behaviours, contribute to the success of social insects. How these abilities are shared among the different castes and the long-term persistence of memory are now being elucidated in diverse systems, work that should shed light on general principles underlying cognitive evolution. Here, we provide the first evidence of olfactory learning and long-term olfactory memory in all three castes of an Asian hornet, Vespa velutina Using the first proboscis extension reflex assay developed for hornets or wasps, we found that all hornet castes could learn and remember odours associated with a food reward. Moreover, long-lasting memory was retained without significant decay in gynes (virgin queens) and drones even up to 30 days (workers did not survive for 30 days). Drones learned and remembered simple odorant molecules and gyne sex pheromone with equal facility. These results increase our understanding of the outstanding cognitive abilities of social insects and suggest the likely importance of long-lasting memory in different castes of the same species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiwen Gong
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.,Southeast Asia Biodiversity Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Science, Menglun 666300, China
| | - Ken Tan
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China .,Southeast Asia Biodiversity Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Science, Menglun 666300, China
| | - James C Nieh
- Division of Biological Sciences, Section of Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
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Jaumann S, Seid MA, Simons M, Smith AR. Queen Dominance May Reduce Worker Mushroom Body Size in a Social Bee. Dev Neurobiol 2019; 79:596-607. [PMID: 31207130 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.22705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2019] [Revised: 06/10/2019] [Accepted: 06/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
The mushroom body (MB) is an area of the insect brain involved in learning, memory, and sensory integration. Here, we used the sweat bee Megalopta genalis (Halictidae) to test for differences between queens and workers in the volume of the MB calyces. We used confocal microscopy to measure the volume of the whole brain, MB calyces, optic lobes, and antennal lobes of queens and workers. Queens had larger brains, larger MB calyces, and a larger MB calyces:whole brain ratio than workers, suggesting an effect of social dominance in brain development. This could result from social interactions leading to smaller worker MBs, or larger queen MBs. It could also result from other factors, such as differences in age or sensory experience. To test these explanations, we next compared queens and workers to other groups. We compared newly emerged bees, bees reared in isolation for 10 days, bees initiating new observation nests, and bees initiating new natural nests collected from the field to queens and workers. Queens did not differ from these other groups. We suggest that the effects of queen dominance over workers, rather than differences in age, experience, or reproductive status, are responsible for the queen-worker differences we observed. Worker MB development may be affected by queen aggression directly and/or manipulation of larval nutrition, which is provisioned by the queen. We found no consistent differences in the size of antennal lobes or optic lobes associated with differences in age, experience, reproductive status, or social caste.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Jaumann
- Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - Marc A Seid
- Biology Department, University of Scranton, Scranton, Pennsylvania
| | - Meagan Simons
- Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - Adam R Smith
- Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
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Tibbetts EA, Pandit S, Nondorf D. Developmental plasticity and the origin of novel communication systems: Individual recognition in
Polistes
wasps*. Evolution 2018; 72:2728-2735. [DOI: 10.1111/evo.13613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2018] [Accepted: 09/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A. Tibbetts
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Michigan Ann Arbor Michigan 48109‐1085
| | - Sohini Pandit
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Michigan Ann Arbor Michigan 48109‐1085
| | - Daniel Nondorf
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Michigan Ann Arbor Michigan 48109‐1085
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