Ecology dictates the value of memory for foraging bees

Current Biology, Год журнала: 2022, Номер 32(19), С. 4279 - 4285.e4

Опубликована: Авг. 19, 2022

"Ecological intelligence" hypotheses posit that animal learning and memory evolve to meet the demands posed by foraging and, together with social intelligence cognitive buffer hypotheses, provide a key framework for understanding evolution.1-5 However, identifying critical environments where investment reaps significant benefits has proved challenging.6-8 Here, we capitalize upon seasonal variation in forage availability insect model (Bombus terrestris audax) establish how of short-term memory, assayed using radial arm maze (RAM), vary resource availability. Following staggered design over 2 years, whereby bees from standardized colonies at identical life-history stages underwent testing before wild, found RAM performance predicts efficiency-a determinant colony fitness-in plentiful spring conditions but this relationship is reversed during summer floral dearth. Our results suggest selection enhanced abilities unlikely be limited harsh food hard find or extract,5,9-11 highlighting instead challenges rich environments, which present multiple options short succession, could broad driver evolution certain traits. VIDEO ABSTRACT.

Язык: Английский

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Neonicotinoid effects on tropical bees: Imidacloprid impairs innate appetitive responsiveness, learning and memory in the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata

The Science of The Total Environment, Год журнала: 2023, Номер 877, С. 162859 - 162859

Опубликована: Март 16, 2023

Язык: Английский

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How do neonicotinoids affect social bees? Linking proximate mechanisms to ecological impacts

Advances in insect physiology, Год журнала: 2023, Номер unknown, С. 191 - 253

Опубликована: Янв. 1, 2023

Язык: Английский

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The role of cognition in nesting

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Год журнала: 2023, Номер 378(1884)

Опубликована: Июль 10, 2023

For many animals, nests are essential for reproductive success. Nesting individuals need to carry out a range of potentially challenging tasks, from selecting an appropriate site and choosing suitable materials constructing the nest defending it against competitors, parasites predators. Given high fitness stakes involved, diverse impacts both abiotic social environment can have on nesting success, we might expect cognition facilitate efforts. This should be especially true under variable environmental conditions, including those changing due anthropogenic impacts. Here, review, across wide taxa, evidence linking behaviours, selection sites materials, construction, defence. We also discuss how different cognitive abilities may increase individual's Finally, highlight combining experimental comparative research uncover links between abilities, behaviours evolutionary pathways that led associations them. In so doing, review highlights current knowledge gaps provides suggestions future research. article is part theme issue ‘The ecology nests: cross-taxon approach’.

Язык: Английский

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Pair-bond strength is consistent and related to partner responsiveness in a wild corvid

Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Год журнала: 2025, Номер 292(2040)

Опубликована: Фев. 1, 2025

The need to maintain strong social bonds is widely thought be a key driver of cognitive evolution. Cognitive abilities track and respond information about partners may favoured by selection if they vary within populations confer fitness benefits. Here we evaluate four assumptions this argument in wild jackdaws (Corvus monedula), corvids whose long-term pair exemplify one the putative drivers evolution birds. Combining observational experimental behavioural data with breeding records, found support for three assumptions: (i) pair-bond strength varies across population, (ii) consistent pairs over time (iii) positively associated partner responsiveness, measure socio-cognitive performance. However, (iv) did not find clear evidence that stronger lead better outcomes. Strongly bonded were able adjust hatching synchrony environmental conditions but fledge more or higher quality offspring. Together, these findings suggest maintaining linked performance facilitate effective coordination between partners. also imply benefits are insufficient explain how acts on cognition. We argue evaluating animals navigate trade-offs investing relationships versus optimizing interactions their wider networks will crucial avenue future research.

Язык: Английский

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Increasing Welfare of Honey Bees: Sweet Spot for Violence Prevention

Veterinary medicine and science, Год журнала: 2025, Номер unknown

Опубликована: Апрель 2, 2025

This chapter describes the current plight of honey bees, focusing on Apis mellifera, who are exploited for food and medicine, pollination, as sentinels, to decrease violence; they also serve cultural inspiration an important interface between humans non-humans. In spite their importance willingness work with human beings, harvesting, beekeeping, bee farming often violent destructive operations. Many, if not most, bees die by hands wielding fire, pesticides, diseases, poor care. addition, many mellifera spp. moved into ecosystems which native, through essential act collecting pollen nectar, disrupt those ecosystems. Collecting products is done honey-hunting, natural industrialized farming. Bee highly associated disease, displacing local pollinators. To less violently more peacefully spp., need de-emphasize emphasize beekeeping native bees. health achieved rejuvenating foraging plants allows periodic swarming. Beekeepers should be supported simple tools training employ harvesting practices that aggressive defense responses will result in violent, peaceful interactions well help stabilize

Язык: Английский

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What maintains variation in flower accessibility to pollinators in plant communities? A simulation study

Research Square (Research Square), Год журнала: 2025, Номер unknown

Опубликована: Апрель 11, 2025

Background: Flowers in natural plant communities come many shapes. Flowers with restrictive morphologies are considered complex, because only a subset of pollinators able to learn how access their nectar and pollen. Other flowers easily accessible diverse pollinating insects, regarded as simple. How why do the two types coexist communities? We developed spatially explicit evolutionary simulation framework explore this question. modeled dynamics (‘complex’ ‘simple’) that differ accessibility simulated food rewards. The visited by population pollinators, which initially possess heritable variation ability forage on complex flowers. manipulated pollinators’ flying distances flowers’ overall density, spatial distribution, starting proportion simple recorded resulting flower community, learning rates, over 100 generations. Results: Complex coexisted under all conditions. steady-state community always contained more than ones. Complex attained higher frequencies when were highly aggregated aggregation was low. Long-distance fliers evolved abilities short-distance fliers. Pollinator abilities, turn, positively correlated frequency Conclusions: Frequencies vary among communities. Our model predicts is shaped plants’ distribution well cognitive pollinators. generates novel testable hypotheses for understanding diversity shapes maintained

Язык: Английский

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Memory and the scheduling of parental care in an insect population in the wild

Current Biology, Год журнала: 2025, Номер unknown

Опубликована: Май 1, 2025

Animals are expected to schedule their activities so as maximize fitness. Vertebrates achieve this using memories of previous events-what happened, where, and when1,2-but most studies have been lab based.3 Here, we investigate the scheduling parental care by progressively provisioning digger wasps (Ammophila) in natural environment, where fitness consequences observable can relate behavior its ecological context. Despite miniature brains, females used information including all three elements what-where-when paradigm. Remarkably, they remember locations up 9 separate nests simultaneously (where), each nest containing a single offspring. Without having resample, feed offspring order age (when), reducing chance starvation, adjust sequence flexibly. Memory capacity might sometimes constrain performance: were fed out when there more them choose between or if was altered following deaths. Mothers delayed feeding that had given larger first food items experimentally (what), enabling initiate additional earlier, but case decisions based on resampling needs directly rather than provided during egg-laying. Resampling could reflect pressures cognitive constraints: mothers relied memory would expose parasites resampled risks reduced. Progressive requires coordinate multiple assess maternity development. These skills may preadapted some lineages for sociality.

Язык: Английский

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What maintains variation in flower accessibility to pollinators in plant communities? A simulation study

BMC Ecology and Evolution, Год журнала: 2025, Номер 25(1)

Опубликована: Май 9, 2025

Язык: Английский

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Pollinator cognition in a plant network

Biology Letters, Год журнала: 2025, Номер 21(5)

Опубликована: Май 1, 2025

Cognitive abilities evolve within the context of ecological communities. Honeybees and bumblebees have become model systems for cognitive ecology, but pollination is performed by a diverse group insects under similar pressures to forage efficiently in mixed floral community. We studied colour learning six species Hymenoptera (two eusocial bumblebees, cuckoo bumblebee, two wasps leaf-cutter bee) an island plant used records insect visits flowers field determine index specialization each plant–pollinator network, measured spectral reflectance they visit. Species with higher indices our network made larger proportion correct choices task than more generalist species. The also visited other hymenopteran vision space. These results indicate that better may enable on plants different colours, whereas are visiting colour, therefore less reliant repeated efficiently.

Язык: Английский

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