Learning Ability and Longevity: A Symmetrical Evolutionary Trade-Off in Drosophila

Burger, Joep; Kolß, Munjong; Pont, Juliette; Kawecki, Tadeusz J.

doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00376.x

Cited by 110 publications

(111 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…longer-lived butterflies should repeatedly employ their learning abilities, enabling them to gain more benefits than costs of learning. Such costs of learning have been reported in fruit flies, whereby flies from lines selected for improved learning ability had reduced larval competitive ability (Mery and Kawecki, 2003), lower egg-laying rates (Mery and Kawecki, 2004) and decreased lifespan (Burger et al, 2008) compared with flies from unselected lines.…”

Section: Learning Rate Differences In Butterfliesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interspecific and intersexual learning rate differences in four butterfly species

Kandori

Yamaki

Okuyama

et al. 2009

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYLearning plays an important role in food acquisition for a wide range of insects and has been demonstrated to be essential during flower foraging in taxa such as bees, parasitoid wasps, butterflies and moths. However, little attention has been focused on differences in floral cue learning abilities among species and sexes. We examined the associative learning of flower colour with nectar in four butterfly species: Idea leuconoe, Argyreus hyperbius, Pieris rapae and Lycaena phlaeas. All butterflies that were trained learned the flower colours associated with food. The flower colour learning rates were significantly higher in I. leuconoe and A. hyperbius than in P. rapae and L. phlaeas. Among the four species examined, the larger and longer-lived species exhibited higher learning rates. Furthermore, female butterflies showed a significantly higher learning rate than males. This study provides the first evidence that learning abilities related to floral cues differ among butterfly species. The adaptive significance of superior learning abilities in the larger and longer-lived butterfly species and in females is discussed.Key words: associative learning, forewing length, innate colour preference, Lepidoptera, lifespan. THE JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY3811 Learning rate differences in butterflies Idea leuconoe (Butler) (Danaidae)We used laboratory-reared individuals from the Itami City Museum of Insects, Itami, Osaka, Japan. Butterflies were originally collected in Ishikawa, Uruma, Okinawa, Japan. One to three larvae were reared in a 500ml or 860ml transparent plastic cup on fresh leaves of Parsonia alboflavescens (Dennstedt) Mabberley at 22-25°C and 15h:9h L:D in an incubation room. Argyreus hyperbius hyperbius (Linnaeus) (Nymphalidae)Adult females and larvae were obtained near the Nara campus of Kinki University, Nakamachi, Nara, Japan, from July to August 2004. Adult females were then allowed to oviposit eggs. About 10 larvae were reared together on fresh leaves of several Viola species in 450ml transparent plastic cups at room temperature (range of daily mean: 24-30°C) and natural daylength (range: 14h:10h L:D to 15.5h:8.5h L:D) within the laboratory. Pieris rapae crucivora (Boisduval) (Pieridae)Adult females and larvae ware collected near the Nara campus of Kinki University from September to October 2004. Adult females oviposited eggs, and the larvae were reared on fresh leaves of Brassica oleracea L. and Raphanus sativus L. in 450ml transparent plastic cups (10 larvae per cup) at room temperature (14-29°C) and natural daylength (12h:12h L:D to 14h:10h L:D) within the laboratory.

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Section: Learning Rate Differences In Butterfliesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interspecific and intersexual learning rate differences in four butterfly species

Kandori

Yamaki

Okuyama

et al. 2009

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…Kolss & Kawecki [72] artificially selected flies for adaptation to larval nutritional stress over several generations and observed a decrease of learning ability in selected lines when compared with control lines. Using a similar approach, Burger et al [73] described a symmetrical trade-off in Drosophila between learning ability and adult longevity. By contrast, a recent study [74] showed a positive relationship in honeybees between learning ability and resistance to oxidative stress resistance, which is often related to overall longevity, and Bombus terrestris shows a positive relationship between learning ability and antibacterial immune response at the colony level [75].…”

Section: Experimental Evidence For a Cost Of Learning And Memory In Imentioning

confidence: 99%

Costs of memory: lessons from ‘mini’ brains

2010

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Variation in learning and memory abilities among closely related species, or even among populations of the same species, has opened research into the relationship between cognition, ecological context and the fitness costs, and benefits of learning and memory. Such research programmes have long been dominated by vertebrate studies and by the assumption of a relationship between cognitive abilities, brain size and metabolic costs. Research on these 'large brained' organisms has provided important insights into the understanding of cognitive functions and their adaptive value. In the present review, we discuss some aspects of the fitness costs of learning and memory by focusing on 'mini-brain' studies. Research on learning and memory in insects has challenged some traditional positions and is pushing the boundaries of our understanding of the evolution of learning and memory.

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“…The energetic constraints are not negligible. Larger brains and more neurons incur a higher metabolic cost than smaller brains [15] and have been shown to result in shorter life spans and lower fecundity in late life (e.g., in Drosophila, [16]). …”

Section: Energetic Constraintsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Constraints of Biological Neural Networks and Their Consideration in AI Applications

Stafford

2010

Advances in Artificial Intelligence

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Biological organisms do not evolve to perfection, but to out compete others in their ecological niche, and therefore survive and reproduce. This paper reviews the constraints imposed on imperfect organisms, particularly on their neural systems and ability to capture and process information accurately. By understanding biological constraints of the physical properties of neurons, simpler and more efficient artificial neural networks can be made (e.g., spiking networks will transmit less information than graded potential networks, spikes only occur in nature due to limitations of carrying electrical charges over large distances). Furthermore, understanding the behavioural and ecological constraints on animals allows an understanding of the limitations of bio-inspired solutions, but also an understanding of why bio-inspired solutions may fail and how to correct these failures.

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Learning Ability and Longevity: A Symmetrical Evolutionary Trade-Off in Drosophila

Cited by 110 publications

References 65 publications

Interspecific and intersexual learning rate differences in four butterfly species

Interspecific and intersexual learning rate differences in four butterfly species

Costs of memory: lessons from ‘mini’ brains

Constraints of Biological Neural Networks and Their Consideration in AI Applications

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