An analysis of the energetic reward offered by field bean (<i>Vicia faba</i>) flowers: Nectar, pollen, and operative force

Bailes, Emily J.; Pattrick, Jonathan G.; Glover, Beverley J.

doi:10.1002/ece3.3851

Cited by 57 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Laboratory studies of consumption at the colony level have suggested a preference by workers for sugar concentrations of between 30 and 50%, when presented with choices ranging from 10 to 70% (Pouvreau 1974). In contrast, individual workers have been shown to prefer 60% over 45% concentrations, based on consumption (Konzmann and Lunau 2014), or 55% over 40%, with no differentiation between 55 and 68% when measured by number of visits (Bailes et al 2018). To our knowledge, the current study is the first to assess male preferences for different sugar concentrations, mimicking the variation in nectar quality they will experience under natural conditions (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, studies of workers have shown that they make clear foraging choices based on sugar concentration (e.g. Bailes et al 2018), which appear to trade-off choosing higher concentration sources versus the time taken to consume the nectar (which increases with concentration due to increases in viscosity ;Harder 1986). However, extrapolating from worker foraging preferences to the decisions that males may make is not straightforward, as workers are foraging for the colony, rather than just for themselves, and must also make trade-offs between nectar and pollen foraging (Konzmann and Lunau 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Nectar preferences in male bumblebees

Brown

2020

Insect. Soc.

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Social insect males are relatively understudied, but knowledge of their biology is increasingly important for conservation of declining groups. Bumblebees are important pollinators in temperate, sub-arctic, and Alpine regions, but many species are in decline across the globe. Agri-environment schemes have been designed to support female bumblebees, but free-living males may also need support. Male bumblebees have an energetically expensive lifestyle, and so understanding their foraging choices may provide a first step towards designing interventions to support them in the wild. Using a series of controlled laboratory choice experiments, we demonstrate that males prefer sugar concentrations of between 50 and 60% when under either simple (binary) or complex (octanary) choice conditions when presented with a broad range of sugar concentrations. When presented with concentrations within this preferred range, males exhibit a clear preference for sugar solutions of 56% w/w sucrose when solutions differ by 4%. These results suggest that males maximise their rate of energy intake, as predicted by theoretical models, rather than minimise their water consumption. In the future, male preferences for high sugar concentrations can be combined with knowledge of baseline nectar concentrations and flower phenology to maximise the value of conservation interventions for this neglected sex.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Nectar preferences in male bumblebees

Brown

2020

Insect. Soc.

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“…Previous work has shown that foraging worker bumblebees have a preference for nectars that contain 55% (wt/wt) sugar concentration (Bailes et al ., 2018). Critically, this sugar concentration falls within the range where the greatest drop in infection prevalence and intensity occurs in our results.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exposure to nectar‐realistic sugar concentrations negatively impacts the ability of the trypanosome parasite (Crithidia bombi) to infect its bumblebee host

Folly

Barton‐Navarro

Brown

2020

Ecological Entomology

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1. The ideal conditions for a parasite are typically found with its preferred host. However, prior to transmission to a naïve host and successful infection, a parasite may have to withstand extrinsic environmental conditions. Some parasites have adapted to time away from hosts, for example, by co-opting vectors or by having drought-resistant growth stages. However, other parasites may have no obvious adaptations to persist during prolonged transmission cycles. Consequently, the environment may detrimentally impact parasite fitness and ultimately epidemiology. 2. Here, we investigate the impact of nectar-realistic sugar concentrations on the ability of the trypanosome parasite Crithidia bombi, which may be transmitted between conspecifics at flowers, to infect its bumblebee host Bombus terrestris and to reproduce during the infection (parasitaemia). Our results show, following 30 min exposure to our experimental nectars that as sugar concentration increases, infection prevalence and parasitaemia decrease. This is likely due to the increased osmotic stress C. bombi experiences in high sugar, aqueous environments. 3. Consequently, if C. bombi transmission is facilitated by nectar or a high-sugar environment, it may have a negative impact on parasite fitness.

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“…Traditional models of animal and human choice assume that individuals act to maximise the value they obtain from their choices (MacArthur & Pianka, 1966; Rapoport, 1989; Stephens & Krebs, 1986). For example, when presented with a set of otherwise identical options, honeybee colonies will choose the most concentrated sugar syrup (up to a threshold concentration; Bailes et al., 2018; Seeley et al., 1991) and female crickets will choose males with the highest chirp rate (Wagner & Reiser, 2000). These ‘single‐attribute’ decisions (where only one characteristic distinguishes options from one another) are often trivial to solve, as they only require the decision‐maker to compare options across a single factor of interest.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How do insects choose flowers? A review of multi‐attribute flower choice and decoy effects in flower‐visiting insects

Latty

Trueblood

2020

Journal of Animal Ecology

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1. Understanding why animals (including humans) choose one thing over another is one of the key questions underlying the fields of behavioural ecology, behavioural economics and psychology. Most traditional studies of food choice in animals focus on simple, single-attribute decision tasks. However, animals in the wild are often faced with multi-attribute choice tasks where options in the choice set vary across multiple dimensions. Multi-attribute decision-making is particularly relevant for flower-visiting insects faced with deciding between flowers that may differ in reward attributes such as sugar concentration, nectar volume and pollen composition as well as non-rewarding attributes such as colour, symmetry and odour. How do flower-visiting insects deal with complex multi-attribute decision tasks? 2. Here we review and synthesise research on the decision strategies used by flowervisiting insects when making multi-attribute decisions. In particular, we review how different types of foraging frameworks (classic optimal foraging theory, nutritional ecology, heuristics) conceptualise multi-attribute choice and we discuss how phenomena such as innate preferences, flower constancy and context dependence influence our understanding of flower choice. 3. We find that multi-attribute decision-making is a complex process that can be influenced by innate preferences, flower constancy, the composition of the choice set and economic reward value. We argue that to understand and predict flower choice in flower-visiting insects, we need to move beyond simplified choice sets towards a view of multi-attribute choice which integrates the role of non-rewarding attributes and which includes flower constancy, innate preferences and context dependence. We further caution that behavioural experiments need to consider the possibility of context dependence in the design and interpretation of preference experiments. 4. We conclude with a discussion of outstanding questions for future research. We also present a conceptual framework that incorporates the multiple dimensions of choice behaviour.

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An analysis of the energetic reward offered by field bean (Vicia faba) flowers: Nectar, pollen, and operative force

Cited by 57 publications

References 55 publications

Nectar preferences in male bumblebees

Nectar preferences in male bumblebees

Exposure to nectar‐realistic sugar concentrations negatively impacts the ability of the trypanosome parasite (Crithidia bombi) to infect its bumblebee host

How do insects choose flowers? A review of multi‐attribute flower choice and decoy effects in flower‐visiting insects

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