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Grüter C, Segers FHID, Hayes L. Extensive loss of forage diversity in social bees owing to flower constancy in simulated environments. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20241036. [PMID: 39082242 PMCID: PMC11289734 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.1036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2024] [Revised: 05/30/2024] [Accepted: 05/30/2024] [Indexed: 08/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Many bees visit just one flower species during a foraging trip, i.e. they show flower constancy. Flower constancy is important for plant reproduction but it could lead to an unbalanced diet, especially in biodiversity-depleted landscapes. It is assumed that flower constancy does not reduce dietary diversity in social bees, such as honeybees or bumblebees, but this has not yet been tested. We used computer simulations to investigate the effects of flower constancy on colony diet in plant species-rich and species-poor landscapes. We also explored if communication about food sources, which is used by many social bees, further reduces forage diversity. Our simulations reveal an extensive loss of forage diversity owing to flower constancy in both species-rich and species-poor environments. Small flower-constant colonies often discovered only 30-50% of all available plant species, thereby increasing the risk of nutritional deficiencies. Communication often interacted with flower constancy to reduce forage diversity further. Finally, we found that food source clustering, but not habitat fragmentation impaired dietary diversity. These findings highlight the nutritional challenges flower-constant bees face in different landscapes and they can aid in the design of measures to increase forage diversity and improve bee nutrition in human-modified landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Grüter
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, BristolBS8 1TQ, UK
| | | | - Lucy Hayes
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, BristolBS8 1TQ, UK
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2
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Shakeel M, Brockmann A. Temporal effects of sugar intake on fly local search and honey bee dance behaviour. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2024; 210:415-429. [PMID: 37624392 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-023-01670-6] [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: 06/10/2023] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Honey bees communicate flight navigational information of profitable food to nestmates via their dance, a small-scale walking pattern, inside the nest. Hungry flies and honey bee foragers exhibit a sugar-elicited search involving path integration that bears a resemblance to dance behaviour. This study aimed to investigate the temporal dynamics of the initiation of sugar-elicited search and dance behaviour, using a comparative approach. Passive displacement experiments showed that feeding and the initiation of search could be spatially and temporally dissociated. Sugar intake increased the probability of initiating a search but the actual onset of walking triggers the path integration system to guide the search. When prevented from walking after feeding, flies and bees maintained their motivation for a path integration-based search for a duration of 3 min. In flies, turning and associated characters were significantly reduced during this period but remained higher than in flies without sugar stimulus. These results suggest that sugar elicits two independent behavioural responses: path integration and increased turning, with the initiation and duration of path integration system being temporally restricted. Honey bee dance experiments demonstrated that the motivation of foragers to initiate dance persisted for 15 min, while the number of circuits declined after 3 min following sugar ingestion. Based on these findings, we propose that food intake during foraging increases the probability to initiate locomotor behaviours involving the path integration system in both flies and honey bees, and this ancestral connection might have been co-opted and elaborated during the evolution of dance communication by honey bees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manal Shakeel
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, 560065, India.
- University of Trans-Disciplinary Health Science and Technology, Bangalore, 560064, India.
| | - Axel Brockmann
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, 560065, India
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Alves DA, George EA, Kaur R, Brockmann A, Hrncir M, Grüter C. Diverse communication strategies in bees as a window into adaptations to an unpredictable world. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2219031120. [PMID: 37279263 PMCID: PMC10268221 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2219031120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Communication is a fundamental feature of animal societies and helps their members to solve the challenges they encounter, from exploiting food sources to fighting enemies or finding a new home. Eusocial bees inhabit a wide range of environments and they have evolved a multitude of communication signals that help them exploit resources in their environment efficiently. We highlight recent advances in our understanding of bee communication strategies and discuss how variation in social biology, such as colony size or nesting habits, and ecological conditions are important drivers of variation in communication strategies. Anthropogenic factors, such as habitat conversion, climate change, or the use of agrochemicals, are changing the world bees inhabit, and it is becoming clear that this affects communication both directly and indirectly, for example by affecting food source availability, social interactions among nestmates, and cognitive functions. Whether and how bees adapt their foraging and communication strategies to these changes represents a new frontier in bee behavioral and conservation research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denise A. Alves
- Department of Entomology and Acarology, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Lausanne,13418-900Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - Ebi A. George
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, Bristol1015, Switzerland
| | - Rajbir Kaur
- School of Biological Sciences, University of BristolBS8 1TQ, United Kingdom
| | - Axel Brockmann
- National Centre for Biological Sciences – Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bengaluru560065, India
| | - Michael Hrncir
- Department of Physiology, Bioscience Institute, University of São Paulo05508-090São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Christoph Grüter
- School of Biological Sciences, University of BristolBS8 1TQ, United Kingdom
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4
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Rajagopal S, Brockmann A, George EA. Environment-dependent benefits of interindividual variation in honey bee recruitment. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
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5
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Veiner M, Morimoto J, Leadbeater E, Manfredini F. Machine Learning models identify gene predictors of waggle dance behaviour in honeybees. Mol Ecol Resour 2022; 22:2248-2261. [PMID: 35334147 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Revised: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The molecular characterisation of complex behaviours is a challenging task as a range of different factors are often involved to produce the observed phenotype. An established approach is to look at the overall levels of expression of brain genes - or 'neurogenomics' - to select the best candidates that associate with patterns of interest. However, traditional neurogenomic analyses have some well-known limitations; above all, the usually limited number of biological replicates compared to the number of genes tested - known as "curse of dimensionality". In this study we implemented a Machine Learning (ML) approach that can be used as a complement to more established methods of transcriptomic analyses. We tested three supervised learning algorithms (Random Forests, Lasso and Elastic net Regularized Generalized Linear Model, and Support Vector Machine) for their performance in the characterization of transcriptomic patterns and identification of genes associated with honeybee waggle dance. We then intersected the results of these analyses with traditional outputs of differential gene expression analyses and identified two promising candidates for the neural regulation of the waggle dance: boss and hnRNP A1. Overall, our study demonstrates the application of Machine Learning to analyse transcriptomics data and identify candidate genes underlying social behaviour. This approach has great potential for application to a wide range of different scenarios in evolutionary ecology, when investigating the genomic basis for complex phenotypic traits and can present some clear advantages compared to the established tools of gene expression analysis, making it a valuable complement for future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcell Veiner
- The School of Natural and Computing Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen Scotland, UK
| | - Juliano Morimoto
- The School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen Scotland, UK
| | - Ellouise Leadbeater
- School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham Surrey, UK
| | - Fabio Manfredini
- The School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen Scotland, UK.,School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham Surrey, UK
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6
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Borofsky TM, Feldman MW. Static environments with limited resources select for multiple foraging strategies rather than conformity. ECOL MONOGR 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Talia M. Borofsky
- Department of Biology Stanford University 371 Jane Stanford Way Stanford California 94305 USA
| | - Marcus W. Feldman
- Department of Biology Stanford University 371 Jane Stanford Way Stanford California 94305 USA
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7
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Nauta J, Khaluf Y, Simoens P. Resource ephemerality influences effectiveness of altruistic behavior in collective foraging. SWARM INTELLIGENCE 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s11721-021-00205-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Bell HC, Hsiung K, Pasberg P, Broccard FD, Nieh JC. Responsiveness to inhibitory signals changes as a function of colony size in honeybees ( Apis mellifera). J R Soc Interface 2021; 18:20210570. [PMID: 34753311 PMCID: PMC8580440 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2021.0570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Biological collectives, like honeybee colonies, can make intelligent decisions and robustly adapt to changing conditions via intricate systems of excitatory and inhibitory signals. In this study, we explore the role of behavioural plasticity and its relationship to network size by manipulating honeybee colony exposure to an artificial inhibitory signal. As predicted, inhibition was strongest in large colonies and weakest in small colonies. This is ecologically relevant for honeybees, for which reduced inhibitory effects may increase robustness in small colonies that must maintain a minimum level of foraging and food stores. We discuss evidence for size-dependent plasticity in other types of biological networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather C Bell
- Division of Biological Sciences, Section of Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution and, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Kevin Hsiung
- Division of Biological Sciences, Section of Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution and, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Patrick Pasberg
- Division of Biological Sciences, Section of Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution and, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.,Department of Mechanical Engineering, Section of Biomimetics, Westphalian University of Applied Sciences, Münsterstrasse 265, 46397 Bocholt, Germany
| | - Frédéric D Broccard
- Institute for Neural Computation, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - James C Nieh
- Division of Biological Sciences, Section of Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution and, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
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9
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Cini A, Casacci LP, Nehring V. Uncovering variation in social insect communication. Curr Zool 2021; 67:515-518. [PMID: 34616949 PMCID: PMC8489175 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoab065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Cini
- Centre for Biodiversity & Environment Research, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via Madonna del Piano, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, 50019, Italy
| | - Luca Pietro Casacci
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina 13, Turin, 10123, Italy
| | - Volker Nehring
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Institute of Biology I (Zoology), University of Freiburg, Hauptstraße 1, Freiburg (Brsg.), 79104, Germany
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10
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Honeybee Cognition as a Tool for Scientific Engagement. INSECTS 2021; 12:insects12090842. [PMID: 34564282 PMCID: PMC8471026 DOI: 10.3390/insects12090842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Revised: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary Global scientific literacy can be improved through widespread and effective community engagement by researchers. We propose honeybees (Apis mellifera) as a public engagement tool due to widespread awareness of colony collapse and the bees’ importance in food production. Moreover, their cognitive abilities make for engaging experiments. Their relative ease of cultivation means that studies can be performed cost-effectively, especially when partnering with local apiarists. Using a proxy for honeybee learning, a group of non-specialist high-school-aged participants obtained data suggesting that caffeine, but not dopamine, improved learning. This hands-on experience facilitated student understanding of the scientific method, factors that shape learning and the importance of learning for colony health. Abstract Apis mellifera (honeybees) are a well-established model for the study of learning and cognition. A robust conditioning protocol, the olfactory conditioning of the proboscis extension response (PER), provides a powerful but straightforward method to examine the impact of varying stimuli on learning performance. Herein, we provide a protocol that leverages PER for classroom-based community or student engagement. Specifically, we detail how a class of high school students, as part of the Ryukyu Girls Outreach Program, examined the effects of caffeine and dopamine on learning performance in honeybees. Using a modified version of the PER conditioning protocol, they demonstrated that caffeine, but not dopamine, significantly reduced the number of trials required for a successful conditioning response. In addition to providing an engaging and educational scientific activity, it could be employed, with careful oversight, to garner considerable reliable data examining the effects of varying stimuli on honeybee learning.
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Meena A, Kumar AMV, Balamurali GS, Somanathan H. Visual detection thresholds in the Asian honeybee, Apis cerana. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2021; 207:553-560. [PMID: 34152429 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-021-01496-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2020] [Revised: 05/26/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
To understand how insect pollinators find flowers against complex backgrounds in diverse natural habitats, it is required to accurately estimate the thresholds for target detection. Detection thresholds for single targets vary between bee species and have been estimated in the Western honeybee, a species of bumblebee and in a stingless bee species. We estimated the angular range of detection for coloured targets in the Asian honeybee Apis cerana. Using a Y-maze experimental set up, we show that targets that provided both chromatic and green receptor contrast were detected at a minimum visual angle of 7.7°, while targets with only chromatic contrast were detected at a minimum angle of 13.2°. Our results thus provide a robust foundation for future studies on the visual ecology of bees in a comparative interspecific framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abhishek Meena
- School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali, 140306, India
| | - Arya M V Kumar
- IISER TVM Centre for Research and Education in Ecology and Evolution (ICREEE), School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 695551, India
| | - G S Balamurali
- IISER TVM Centre for Research and Education in Ecology and Evolution (ICREEE), School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 695551, India.
| | - Hema Somanathan
- IISER TVM Centre for Research and Education in Ecology and Evolution (ICREEE), School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 695551, India
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12
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George EA, Thulasi N, Kohl PL, Suresh S, Rutschmann B, Brockmann A. Distance estimation by Asian honey bees in two visually different landscapes. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:jeb.242404. [PMID: 33795415 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.242404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Honey bees estimate distances to food sources using image motion experienced on the flight path and they use this measure to tune the waggle phase duration in their dance communication. Most studies on the dance-related odometer are based on experiments with Apis mellifera foragers trained into small tunnels with black and white patterns which allowed quantifiable changes in the optic flow. In this study, we determined the calibration curves of two Asian honey bee species, A. florea and A. cerana, in two different natural environments with clear differences in the vegetation conditions and hence visual contrast. We found that the dense vegetation condition (with higher contrast) elicited a more rapid increase in the waggle phase duration with distance than the sparse vegetation in A. florea but not in A. cerana Our findings suggest that contrast sensitivity of the waggle dance odometer might vary among honey bee species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Neethu Thulasi
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore 560065, India
- Department of Apiculture, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bellary Road, Bangalore 560065, India
| | - Patrick L Kohl
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Sachin Suresh
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore 560065, India
| | - Benjamin Rutschmann
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Axel Brockmann
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore 560065, India
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13
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Wilson ML. Insights into human evolution from 60 years of research on chimpanzees at Gombe. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2021; 3:e8. [PMID: 33604500 PMCID: PMC7886264 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2021.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Sixty years of research on chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) at Gombe National Park, Tanzania have revealed many similarities with human behaviour, including hunting, tool use, and coalitionary killing. The close phylogenetic relationship between chimpanzees and humans suggests that these traits were present in the last common ancestor of Pan and Homo (LCAPH). However, findings emerging from studies of our other closest living relative, the bonobo (Pan paniscus), indicate that either bonobos are derived in these respects, or the many similarities between chimpanzees and humans evolved convergently. In either case, field studies provide opportunities to test hypotheses for how and why our lineage has followed its peculiar path through the adaptive landscape. Evidence from primate field studies suggests that the hominin path depends on our heritage as apes: inefficient quadrupeds with grasping hands, orthograde posture, and digestive systems that require high quality foods. Key steps along this path include: (1) changes in diet; (2) increased use of tools; (3) bipedal gait; (4) multilevel societies; (5) collective foraging, including a sexual division of labor and extensive food transfers; and (6) language. Here I consider some possible explanations for these transitions, with an emphasis on contributions from Gombe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Lawrence Wilson
- Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, 395 Humphrey Center, 301 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN55455, USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 140 Gortner Laboratory, 1479 Gortner Avenue, Saint Paul, MN55108, USA
- Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota, 1954 Buford Avenue, Saint Paul, MN55108, USA
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14
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Linn M, Glaser SM, Peng T, Grüter C. Octopamine and dopamine mediate waggle dance following and information use in honeybees. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20201950. [PMID: 33049176 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Honeybees can be directed to profitable food sources by following waggle dances performed by other bees. Followers can often choose between using this social information or relying on memories about food sources they have visited in the past, so-called private information. While the circumstances that favour the use of either social or private information have received considerable attention, still little is known about the neurophysiological basis of information use. We hypothesized that octopamine and dopamine, two biogenic amines with important functions in reward signalling and learning, affect dance use in honeybees. We orally administered octopamine and dopamine when bees collected food at artificial feeders and tested if this affected interest in dance information about a new food source. We predicted that octopamine reduces interest in dances and strengthens private information use via an increase in the perceived value of the previously exploited resource. Since dopamine has been shown to lower reward perception, we expected it to act in the opposite direction. Octopamine-treated foragers indeed followed 32% fewer dances than control bees and increased the use of private information. Conversely, dopamine-treated bees followed dances 15% longer than control bees, but surprisingly did not use social information more. Overall, our results suggest that biogenic amine signalling affects interactions among dancers and dance followers and, thus, information flow about high-quality food sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Linn
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Simone M Glaser
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Tianfei Peng
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Christoph Grüter
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, 55128 Mainz, Germany
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15
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The storytelling arms race: origin of human intelligence and the scientific mind. Heredity (Edinb) 2019; 123:67-78. [PMID: 31189903 DOI: 10.1038/s41437-019-0214-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2018] [Revised: 01/27/2019] [Accepted: 01/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Human language and intelligence go far beyond biological needs, allowing us to discuss abstract ideas, construct imaginary worlds, and do science and mathematics. How did such an ability arise? I propose that a major contributing factor was an arms race between truth and deception in storytelling. In honeybees, an elaborate language could evolve because reproductive conflicts of interest between individuals were reduced. For humans, however, reproductive conflicts of interest became a spur for increasing intelligence. Through the drive to negotiate social interactions, primate intelligence reached the point where knowledge could be shared through basic problem-resolution proto-stories, building on the way animals learn. As soon as honest proto-stories became possible, so did dishonest ones, ushering in an arms race between truth and deception, through which stories, language and skills in detecting lies through contradictions, were driven to ever greater heights. In telling stories to others, humans also told them to themselves, allowing them to think consciously and plan ahead. Through fictions they could share understanding by making discrepancies stronger and more engaging. Science arose when skills in detecting lies through empirical contradictions were applied to stories about how the world operates, whereas mathematics arose when skills in discerning lies through self-contradiction were applied to abstract reasoning. Both scientists and mathematicians used the storytelling structure of problem-chain-resolution to share their findings, founded on the principles of animal learning. Human intelligence thus arose through, and continues to depend upon, a balance between trust and doubt in the stories we share.
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16
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Grüter C, Wüst M, Cipriano AP, Nascimento FS. Tandem Recruitment and Foraging in the Ponerine Ant Pachycondyla harpax (Fabricius). NEOTROPICAL ENTOMOLOGY 2018; 47:742-749. [PMID: 29322382 DOI: 10.1007/s13744-017-0571-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2017] [Accepted: 11/21/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Tandem running is a common recruitment strategy in ant species with small colony sizes. During a tandem run, an informed leader guides a usually naïve nestmate to a food source or a nest site. Some species perform tandem runs only during house hunting, suggesting that tandem running does not always improve foraging success in species known to use tandem running as a recruitment strategy, but more natural history information on tandem running under natural conditions is needed to better understand the adaptive significance of tandem recruitment in foraging. Studying wild colonies in Brazil, we for the first time describe tandem running in the ponerine ant Pachycondyla harpax (Fabricius). We asked if foragers perform tandem runs to carbohydrate- (honey) and protein-rich (cheese) food items. Furthermore, we tested whether the speed and success rate of tandem runs depend on the foraging distance. Foragers performed tandem runs to both carbohydrate food sources and protein-rich food items that exceed a certain size. The probability to perform a tandem run and the travelling speed increase with increasing foraging distances, which could help colonies monopolize more distant food sources in a competitive environment. Guiding a recruit to a food source is costly for leaders as ants are ~66% faster when travelling alone. If tandem runs break up (~23% of all tandem runs), followers do not usually discover the food source on their own but return to the nest. Our results show that tandem running to food sources is common in P. harpax, but that foragers modify their behaviour according to the type of food and its distance from the nest. Competition with other ants was intense and we discuss how tandem running in P. harpax might help colonies to build-up a critical number of ants at large food items that can then defend the food source against competitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Grüter
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Johannes Gutenberg Univ Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
- Depto de Biologia da Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Univ de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil.
| | - M Wüst
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Johannes Gutenberg Univ Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - A P Cipriano
- Depto de Biologia da Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Univ de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil
| | - F S Nascimento
- Depto de Biologia da Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Univ de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil
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Schatton A, Mendoza E, Grube K, Scharff C. FoxP in bees: A comparative study on the developmental and adult expression pattern in three bee species considering isoforms and circuitry. J Comp Neurol 2018. [PMID: 29536541 DOI: 10.1002/cne.24430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Mutations in the transcription factors FOXP1, FOXP2, and FOXP4 affect human cognition, including language. The FoxP gene locus is evolutionarily ancient and highly conserved in its DNA-binding domain. In Drosophila melanogaster FoxP has been implicated in courtship behavior, decision making, and specific types of motor-learning. Because honeybees (Apis mellifera, Am) excel at navigation and symbolic dance communication, they are a particularly suitable insect species to investigate a potential link between neural FoxP expression and cognition. We characterized two AmFoxP isoforms and mapped their expression in the brain during development and in adult foragers. Using a custom-made antiserum and in situ hybridization, we describe 11 AmFoxP expressing neuron populations. FoxP was expressed in equivalent patterns in two other representatives of Apidae; a closely related dwarf bee and a bumblebee species. Neural tracing revealed that the largest FoxP expressing neuron cluster in honeybees projects into a posterior tract that connects the optic lobe to the posterior lateral protocerebrum, predicting a function in visual processing. Our data provide an entry point for future experiments assessing the function of FoxP in eusocial Hymenoptera.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Schatton
- Institute for Animal Behavior, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, 14195, Germany
| | - Ezequiel Mendoza
- Institute for Animal Behavior, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, 14195, Germany
| | - Kathrin Grube
- Institute for Animal Behavior, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, 14195, Germany
| | - Constance Scharff
- Institute for Animal Behavior, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, 14195, Germany
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Barron AB, Plath JA. The evolution of honey bee dance communication: a mechanistic perspective. J Exp Biol 2017; 220:4339-4346. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.142778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Honey bee dance has been intensively studied as a communication system, and yet we still know very little about the neurobiological mechanisms supporting how dances are produced and interpreted. Here, we discuss how new information on the functions of the central complex (CX) of the insect brain might shed some light on possible neural mechanisms of dance behaviour. We summarise the features of dance communication across the species of the genus Apis. We then propose that neural mechanisms of orientation and spatial processing found to be supported by the CX may function in dance communication also, and that this mechanistic link could explain some specific features of the dance form. This is purely a hypothesis, but in proposing this hypothesis, and how it might be investigated, we hope to stimulate new mechanistic analyses of dance communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew B. Barron
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Jenny Aino Plath
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
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