The control of nest climate in bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) colonies: interindividual variability and self reinforcement in fanning response

Weidenmüller, Anja

doi:10.1093/beheco/arg101

Cited by 146 publications

(144 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Nest air temperature was the task stimulus, and ventilation (fanning) was the behavioral response. We found that ventilation response thresholds do not decrease either with age or experience in workers of B. impatiens, contrary to what has been reported for B. terrestris workers (Weidenmüller, 2004). Instead, we found high levels of intra-individual variation in response thresholds.…”

contrasting

confidence: 99%

Ventilation response thresholds do not change with age or self-reinforcement in workers of the bumble bee Bombus impatiens

Duong

Dornhaus

2011

Insect. Soc.

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The response threshold model is a potential mechanism for task allocation in social insects, and it assumes that workers vary in the levels of task stimuli to which they respond. Furthermore, response thresholds of individual workers may change over time through selfreinforcement (experience), such that workers become more sensitive to task stimuli. However, in addition to self-reinforcement, aging is another process that occurs through time. Distinguishing whether response thresholds change within workers due to self-reinforcement or aging may give insight into the flexibility of this task allocation mechanism. Using a ventilation paradigm, we manipulated workers of Bombus impatiens to have either repeated or lack of exposures to increases in nest air temperature, thereby allowing us to manipulate experience and thus self-reinforcement. Nest air temperature was the task stimulus, and ventilation (fanning) was the behavioral response. We found that ventilation response thresholds do not decrease either with age or experience in workers of B. impatiens, contrary to what has been reported for B. terrestris workers (Weidenmüller, 2004). Instead, we found high levels of intra-individual variation in response thresholds. Our results also show that workers with lower average response thresholds respond to heating events with higher probability than those with higher ventilation thresholds. These results provide insight into the role of the response threshold framework for task allocation; we also discuss how response probabilities may play a role in task allocation among workers.

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confidence: 99%

Ventilation response thresholds do not change with age or self-reinforcement in workers of the bumble bee Bombus impatiens

Duong

Dornhaus

2011

Insect. Soc.

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“…The second hypothesis considers the nature of the dance followers themselves. It is possible that dance-following activity was enhanced in some proportion of the worker population in multiple-patriline colonies for one or a number of the following reasons: because some workers had (1) a genetic propensity to participate in dance following (Arnold et al, 2002), (2) generally lower thresholds for initiating a dance-following response to dance-signal stimuli (Robinson and Page, 1988), (3) faster response times to dances--which are often short--once they began, (4) greater attention spans, which could result in greater time spent attending a dance, (5) differences in the probability of response once thresholds were exceeded (Weidenmüller, 2004), or (6) a strong inclination to advertise a nectar resource over other types of forage, such as pollen (Hunt et al, 1995;Oldroyd et al, 1991). Any combination of these trait differences would generate a boost in the dance-following activity of workers and increase the size of the audience that heeds the signals that are produced in multiple-patriline colonies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recruitment-dance signals draw larger audiences when honey bee colonies have multiple patrilines

2010

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Honey bee queens (Apis mellifera) who mate with multiple males produce colonies that are filled with numerous genetically distinct patrilines of workers. A genetically diverse colony benefits from an enhanced foraging effort, fuelled in part by an increase in the number of recruitment signals that are produced by foragers. However, the influence of patriline diversity on the attention paid to these signals by audiences of potentially receptive workers remains unexplored. To determine whether recruitment dances performed by foragers in multiple-patriline colonies attract a greater number of dance followers than dances in colonies that lack patriline diversity, we trained workers from multiple-and singlepatriline colonies to forage in a greenhouse and monitored their dance-following activity back in the hives. On average, more workers followed a dance if it was performed in a multiple-patriline colony rather than a single-patriline colony (33% increase), and for a greater number of dance circuits per follower. Furthermore, dance-following workers in multiple-patriline colonies were more likely to exit their hive after following a dance, although this did not translate to a difference in colony-level exit rates between treatment types. Recruiting nest mates to profitable food sources through dance communication is critical to a colony's foraging success and long-term fitness; polyandrous queens produce colonies that benefit not only from increased recruitment signalling, but also from the generation of larger and more attentive audiences of signal receivers. This study highlights the importance of integrating responses of both signal senders and receivers to understand more fully the success of animal-communication systems.

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“…Bombus terrestris possui a capacidade de ventilar as colônias para mantê-las internamente abaixo do limiar de 30°C. Mas os ambientes que apresentam estas temperaturas altas geram riscos às colônias, pois se as colônias forem elevadas a temperaturas superiores a 30°C, a prole poderá ser prejudicada (Vogt, 1986;Weidenmuller, 2004;Gurel e Gosterit, 2008).…”

Section: Caracterização Ecogeográfica De Bombus Terrestrisunclassified

“…Os máximos das faixas de afinidade em todas as áreas para as temperaturas máximas no mês mais quente do ano (Bio 5; Figura C5-7) e para as médias na estação mais quente do ano (Bio 10; Figura C5-8) estão sempre abaixo do limiar máximo de temperatura que as colônias podem alcançar internamente antes de ocorrem riscos à prole |30°C| (Vogt, 1986;Weidenmuller, 2004, Gurel e Gosterit, 2008. Todavia, Gurel e Gosterit (2008) detectaram experimentalmente que a faixa ótima de temperatura interna para o desenvolvimento das colônias de Bombus terrestris varia entre 24 e 30°C.…”

Section: Caracterização Ecogeográfica De Bombus Terrestrisunclassified

Bombus terrestris chegará ao Brasil? Um estudo preditivo sobre uma invasão em potencial

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The control of nest climate in bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) colonies: interindividual variability and self reinforcement in fanning response

Cited by 146 publications

References 38 publications

Ventilation response thresholds do not change with age or self-reinforcement in workers of the bumble bee Bombus impatiens

Ventilation response thresholds do not change with age or self-reinforcement in workers of the bumble bee Bombus impatiens

Recruitment-dance signals draw larger audiences when honey bee colonies have multiple patrilines

Bombus terrestris chegará ao Brasil? Um estudo preditivo sobre uma invasão em potencial

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