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Ostap-Chec M, Bajorek D, Antoł W, Stec D, Miler K. Occasional and constant exposure to dietary ethanol shortens the lifespan of worker honey bees. J Comp Physiol B 2024; 194:403-410. [PMID: 38880794 DOI: 10.1007/s00360-024-01571-3] [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: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024]
Abstract
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are one of the most crucial pollinators, providing vital ecosystem services. Their development and functioning depend on essential nutrients and substances found in the environment. While collecting nectar as a vital carbohydrate source, bees routinely encounter low doses of ethanol from yeast fermentation. Yet, the effects of repeated ethanol exposure on bees' survival and physiology remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate the impacts of constant and occasional consumption of food spiked with 1% ethanol on honey bee mortality and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity. This ethanol concentration might be tentatively judged close to that in natural conditions. We conducted an experiment in which bees were exposed to three types of long-term diets: constant sugar solution (control group that simulated conditions of no access to ethanol), sugar solution spiked with ethanol every third day (that simulated occasional, infrequent exposure to ethanol) and daily ethanol consumption (simulating constant, routine exposure to ethanol). The results revealed that both constant and occasional ethanol consumption increased the mortality of bees, but only after several days. These mortality rates rose with the frequency of ethanol intake. The ADH activity remained similar in bees from all groups. Our findings indicate that exposure of bees to ethanol carries harmful effects that accumulate over time. Further research is needed to pinpoint the exact ethanol doses ingested with food and exposure frequency in bees in natural conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Ostap-Chec
- Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Prof. St. Łojasiewicza 11 St., 30-348, Kraków, Poland.
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7 St., 30-387 , Kraków, Poland.
| | - Daniel Bajorek
- Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska 17 St., 31-016, Kraków, Poland
| | - Weronika Antoł
- Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska 17 St., 31-016, Kraków, Poland
| | - Daniel Stec
- Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska 17 St., 31-016, Kraków, Poland
| | - Krzysztof Miler
- Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska 17 St., 31-016, Kraków, Poland.
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2
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Korczyńska J, Szczuka A, Urzykowska J, Kochanowski M, Andrzejczyk NG, Piwowarek KJ, Godzińska EJ. The Effects of Ethanol and Acetic acid on Behaviour of Extranidal Workers of the Narrow-Headed Ant Formica exsecta (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) during a Field Experiment. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:2734. [PMID: 37684998 PMCID: PMC10486794 DOI: 10.3390/ani13172734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2023] [Revised: 08/20/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Ethanol addiction belongs to the most important problems encountered in the domain of human mental health. The research on the behavioural effects of exposure to/consumption of ethanol are investigated largely with the help of animal models that also include insects, mainly fruit flies and honeybees. The effects of ethanol on ant behaviour remain, however, little known. In the present field study, we investigated the behaviour of workers of the narrow-headed ant (Formica exsecta) displayed in the vicinity of cotton pads soaked in water or in water solutions of ethanol or acetic acid during 5 min tests (n = 30 tests in each group). Both ethanol and acetic acid induced significant modifications of ant locomotion, exploratory behaviour, self-grooming behaviour, and aggressive social behaviour. We confirmed that acetic acid is aversive for the ants, but ethanol enhances their exploratory behaviour. We also found out that field studies may document more types of responses to experimental compounds than laboratory ones, as the tested animals may also escape from aversive substances. Our findings documented a wide spectrum of behavioural effects of exposure to ethanol and acetic acid in a highly social animal species and broadened the general knowledge about behavioural responses to these compounds encountered in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julita Korczyńska
- Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology PAS, Ludwika Pasteura 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (J.K.); (A.S.); (J.U.)
| | - Anna Szczuka
- Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology PAS, Ludwika Pasteura 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (J.K.); (A.S.); (J.U.)
| | - Julia Urzykowska
- Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology PAS, Ludwika Pasteura 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (J.K.); (A.S.); (J.U.)
- Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Ilji Miecznikowa 1, PL 02-096 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Michał Kochanowski
- Botanic Garden, University of Warsaw, Aleje Ujazdowskie 4, PL 00-478 Warsaw, Poland;
| | - Neptun Gabriela Andrzejczyk
- Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology PAS, Ludwika Pasteura 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (J.K.); (A.S.); (J.U.)
- Department of Animal Physiology, Institute of Functional Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Ilji Miecznikowa 1, PL 02-096 Warsaw, Poland; (N.G.A.); (K.J.P.)
| | - Kacper Jerzy Piwowarek
- Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology PAS, Ludwika Pasteura 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (J.K.); (A.S.); (J.U.)
- Department of Animal Physiology, Institute of Functional Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Ilji Miecznikowa 1, PL 02-096 Warsaw, Poland; (N.G.A.); (K.J.P.)
| | - Ewa Joanna Godzińska
- Laboratory of Ethology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology PAS, Ludwika Pasteura 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; (J.K.); (A.S.); (J.U.)
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Ahmed I, Abramson CI, Faruque IA. Honey bee flights near hover under ethanol-exposure show changes in body and wing kinematics. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0278916. [PMID: 36520797 PMCID: PMC9754180 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0278916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Flying social insects can provide model systems for in-flight interactions in computationally-constrained aerial robot swarms. The social interactions in flying insects may be chemically modulated and quantified via recent measurement advancements able to simultaneously make precise measurements of insect wing and body motions. This paper presents the first in-flight quantitative measurements of ethanol-exposed honey bee body and wing kinematics in archival literature. Four high-speed cameras (9000 frames/sec) were used to record the wing and body motions of flying insects (Apis mellifera) and automated analysis was used to extract 9000 frame/sec measurements of honey bees' wing and body motions through data association, hull reconstruction, and segmentation. The kinematic changes induced by exposure to incremental ethanol concentrations from 0% to 5% were studied using statistical analysis tools. Analysis considered trial-wise mean and maximum values and gross wingstroke parameters, and tested deviations for statistical significance using Welch's t-test and Cohen's d test. The results indicate a decrease in maximal heading and pitch rates of the body, and that roll rate is affected at high concentrations (5%). The wingstroke effects include a stroke frequency decrease and stroke amplitude increase for 2.5% or greater concentrations, gradual stroke inclination angle increase up to 2.5% concentration, and a more planar wingstroke with increasing concentration according to bulk wingstroke analysis. These ethanol-exposure effects provide a basis to separate ethanol exposure and neighbor effects in chemically mediated interaction studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ishriak Ahmed
- School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Charles I. Abramson
- Laboratory of Comparative Psychology and Behavioral Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States of America
| | - Imraan A. Faruque
- School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States of America
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Dvořáček J, Kodrík D. Drug effect and addiction research with insects - From Drosophila to collective reward in honeybees. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 140:104816. [PMID: 35940307 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2022] [Revised: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Abstract
Animals and humans share similar reactions to the effects of addictive substances, including those of their brain networks to drugs. Our review focuses on simple invertebrate models, particularly the honeybee (Apis mellifera), and on the effects of drugs on bee behaviour and brain functions. The drug effects in bees are very similar to those described in humans. Furthermore, the honeybee community is a superorganism in which many collective functions outperform the simple sum of individual functions. The distribution of reward functions in this superorganism is unique - although sublimated at the individual level, community reward functions are of higher quality. This phenomenon of collective reward may be extrapolated to other animal species living in close and strictly organised societies, i.e. humans. The relationship between sociality and reward, based on use of similar parts of the neural network (social decision-making network in mammals, mushroom body in bees), suggests a functional continuum of reward and sociality in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiří Dvořáček
- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 370 05, České Budĕjovice, Czech Republic; Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, 370 05, České Budĕjovice, Czech Republic.
| | - Dalibor Kodrík
- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 370 05, České Budĕjovice, Czech Republic; Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, 370 05, České Budĕjovice, Czech Republic
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5
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Jones P, Agrawal AA. Caffeine and ethanol in nectar interact with flower color impacting bumblebee behavior. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03208-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Ostap-Chec M, Opalek M, Stec D, Miler K. Discontinued alcohol consumption elicits withdrawal symptoms in honeybees. Biol Lett 2021; 17:20210182. [PMID: 34129796 PMCID: PMC8205535 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2021.0182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The honeybee continues to be developed as a model species in many research areas, including studies related to the effects of alcohol. Here, we investigate whether workers display one of the key features of alcoholism, namely withdrawal symptoms. We show that workers fed for a prolonged time on food spiked with ethanol, after discontinuation of access to such food, exhibited a marked increase in the consumption of ethanol and a slight increase in mortality. We additionally show that withdrawal symptoms do not include an increase in appetitiveness of ethanol diluted in water. Our results demonstrate that workers can develop alcohol dependence, which might be especially important in the natural setting of repeated exposure to ethanol in floral nectar and for their potential as a model of alcohol addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Ostap-Chec
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków, Poland
| | - Monika Opalek
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków, Poland
| | - Daniel Stec
- Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 9, 30-387 Kraków, Poland
| | - Krzysztof Miler
- Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska 17, 31-016 Kraków, Poland
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Miler K, Opalek M, Ostap‐Chec M, Stec D. Diel rhythmicity of alcohol‐induced intoxication in the honeybee workers. J Zool (1987) 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- K. Miler
- Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals Polish Academy of Sciences Kraków Poland
| | - M. Opalek
- Institute of Environmental Sciences Faculty of Biology Jagiellonian University Kraków Poland
| | - M. Ostap‐Chec
- Institute of Environmental Sciences Faculty of Biology Jagiellonian University Kraków Poland
| | - D. Stec
- Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research Faculty of Biology Jagiellonian University Kraków Poland
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8
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Synthetic cathinones and their phenethylamine analogues produce distinct psychomotor and reward behavior in crayfish. Behav Brain Res 2020; 379:112368. [PMID: 31743730 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2019] [Revised: 11/14/2019] [Accepted: 11/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Synthetic cathinones share potent sympathomimetic properties with amphetamines due to their shared phenethylamine backbone. Despite recent work focused on understanding the behavioral effects of synthetic cathinones, a systematic comparison of neuropharmacology, behavior, and physiological effects with other stimulants, has remained elusive. In the present study, we explore the behavioral effects of cathinones in crayfish, a model system which combines a well characterized behavioral paradigm for addiction-like behaviors, a modularly organized nervous system, the lack of a formal blood-brain barrier, and experimental tractability. The objective of this study was to characterize the psychomotor and rewarding effects of methylated cathinones (methylone, mephedrone), and their non β-ketone substituted amphetamine analogs (4-methylmethamphetamine, 4-MMA and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine MDMA) in crayfish. Our results suggest that these drugs produce psychostimulation, which sensitizes upon repeated drug administration. Furthermore, crayfish demonstrated a conditioned substrate preference for mephedrone and 4-MMA drug-pairings at a 10 μg/g dose, a preference which persisted even through a series of extinction trials. Our study indicates that synthetic cathinones and substituted amphetamine analogues produce distinct behavioral effects in an invertebrate system which consists of a relatively simple neuronal organization. The present findings provide an evolutionary context to our understanding about how drugs of abuse initiate reward at levels far beyond those specific to humans.
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Abstract
The honeybee is being developed as a simple invertebrate model for alcohol-related studies. To date, several effects of ethanol consumption have been demonstrated in honeybees, but the tolerance effect, one of the hallmarks of alcohol overuse, has never been shown. Here, we confirm our hypothesis that the response to ethanol (in terms of motor impairment) is lower in bees that have previously experienced intoxication than in bees encountering ethanol for the first time, indicating that the chronic tolerance effect occurs in honeybees. Furthermore, we investigated the basis of this effect and found that it likely results from conditioned compensatory responses to cues associated with ethanol delivery. Our findings significantly improve our understanding of the suitability of honeybees as models for alcoholism-related research and underline the first and foremost function of all conditioned reactions – their adaptive value.
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10
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Van Nest BN, Wagner AE, Marrs GS, Fahrbach SE. Volume and density of microglomeruli in the honey bee mushroom bodies do not predict performance on a foraging task. Dev Neurobiol 2017; 77:1057-1071. [PMID: 28245532 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.22492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2016] [Revised: 02/17/2017] [Accepted: 02/18/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The mushroom bodies (MBs) are insect brain regions important for sensory integration, learning, and memory. In adult worker honey bees (Apis mellifera), the volume of neuropil associated with the MBs is larger in experienced foragers compared with hive bees and less experienced foragers. In addition, the characteristic synaptic structures of the calycal neuropils, the microglomeruli, are larger but present at lower density in 35-day-old foragers relative to 1-day-old workers. Age- and experience-based changes in plasticity of the MBs are assumed to support performance of challenging tasks, but the behavioral consequences of brain plasticity in insects are rarely examined. In this study, foragers were recruited from a field hive to a patch comprising two colors of otherwise identical artificial flowers. Flowers of one color contained a sucrose reward mimicking nectar; flowers of the second were empty. Task difficulty was adjusted by changing flower colors according to the principle of honey bee color vision space. Microglomerular volume and density in the lip (olfactory inputs) and collar (visual inputs) compartments of the MB calyces were analyzed using anti-synapsin I immunolabeling and laser scanning confocal microscopy. Foragers displayed significant variation in microglomerular volume and density, but no correlation was found between these synaptic attributes and foraging performance. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 77: 1057-1071, 2017.
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Affiliation(s)
- Byron N Van Nest
- Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.,Wake Forest School of Medicine, Neuroscience Program, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.,Center for Molecular Communication and Signaling, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
| | - Ashley E Wagner
- Department of Biological Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee
| | - Glen S Marrs
- Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.,Wake Forest School of Medicine, Neuroscience Program, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.,Center for Molecular Communication and Signaling, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
| | - Susan E Fahrbach
- Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.,Wake Forest School of Medicine, Neuroscience Program, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.,Center for Molecular Communication and Signaling, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
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11
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The effect of ethanol on reversal learning in honey bees (Apis mellifera anatolica): Response inhibition in a social insect model. Alcohol 2015; 49:245-58. [PMID: 25837483 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2015.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2014] [Revised: 02/24/2015] [Accepted: 02/28/2015] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
We investigated the effects of ethanol on reversal learning in honey bees (Apis mellifera anatolica). The rationale behind the present experiment was to determine the species generality of the effect of ethanol on response inhibition. Subjects were originally trained to associate either a cinnamon or lavender odor with a sucrose feeding before a reversal of the conditioned stimuli. We administered 15 μL of ethanol at varying doses (0%, 2.5%, 5%, 10%, or 20%) according to group assignment. Ethanol was either administered 5 min before original discrimination training or 5 min before the stimuli reversal. We analyzed the effects of these three manipulations via a recently developed individual analysis that eschews aggregate assessments in favor of a model that conceptualizes learning as occurring in individual organisms. We measured responding in the presence of conditioned stimuli associated with a sucrose feeding, responding in the presence of conditioned stimuli associated with distilled water, and responding in the presence of the unconditioned stimulus (sucrose). Our analyses revealed the ethanol dose manipulation lowered responding for all three measures at increasingly higher doses, which suggests ethanol served as a general behavioral suppressor. Consistent with previous ethanol reversal literature, we found administering ethanol before the original discrimination phase or before the reversal produced inconsistent patterns of responding at varying ethanol doses.
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12
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Amaya-Márquez M, Hill PSM, Abramson CI, Wells H. Honey Bee Location- and Time-Linked Memory Use in Novel Foraging Situations: Floral Color Dependency. INSECTS 2014; 5:243-69. [PMID: 26462587 PMCID: PMC4592622 DOI: 10.3390/insects5010243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2013] [Revised: 01/17/2014] [Accepted: 01/28/2014] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Learning facilitates behavioral plasticity, leading to higher success rates when foraging. However, memory is of decreasing value with changes brought about by moving to novel resource locations or activity at different times of the day. These premises suggest a foraging model with location- and time-linked memory. Thus, each problem is novel, and selection should favor a maximum likelihood approach to achieve energy maximization results. Alternatively, information is potentially always applicable. This premise suggests a different foraging model, one where initial decisions should be based on previous learning regardless of the foraging site or time. Under this second model, no problem is considered novel, and selection should favor a Bayesian or pseudo-Bayesian approach to achieve energy maximization results. We tested these two models by offering honey bees a learning situation at one location in the morning, where nectar rewards differed between flower colors, and examined their behavior at a second location in the afternoon where rewards did not differ between flower colors. Both blue-yellow and blue-white dimorphic flower patches were used. Information learned in the morning was clearly used in the afternoon at a new foraging site. Memory was not location-time restricted in terms of use when visiting either flower color dimorphism.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Peggy S M Hill
- Department of Biological Science, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK 74104, USA.
| | - Charles I Abramson
- Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA.
| | - Harrington Wells
- Department of Biological Science, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK 74104, USA.
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Abstract
Increasingly invertebrates are being used to investigate the molecular and cellular effects of drugs of abuse to explore basic mechanisms of addiction. However, in mammals the principle factors contributing to addiction are long-term adaptive responses to repeated drug use. Here we examined whether adaptive responses to cocaine are also seen in invertebrates using the honey bee model system. Repeated topical treatment with a low dose of cocaine rendered bees resistant to the deleterious motor effects of a higher cocaine dose, indicating the development of physiological tolerance to cocaine in bees. Cocaine inhibits biogenic amine reuptake transporters, but neither acute nor repeated cocaine treatments caused measurable changes in levels of biogenic amines measured in whole bee brains. Our data show clear short and long-term behavioural responses of bees to cocaine administration, but caution that, despite the small size of the bee brain, measures of biogenic amines conducted at the whole-brain level may not reveal neurochemical effects of the drug.
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Sokolowski MBC, Abramson CI, Craig DPA. Ethanol self-administration in free-flying honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) in an operant conditioning protocol. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2012; 36:1568-77. [PMID: 22471300 DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2012.01770.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2011] [Accepted: 01/09/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND This study examines the effect of ethanol (EtOH) on continuous reinforcement schedules in the free-flying honeybee (Apis mellifera L.). As fermented nectars may be encountered naturally in the environment, we designed an experiment combining the tools of laboratory research with minimal disturbance to the natural life of honeybees. METHODS Twenty-five honeybees were trained to fly from their colonies to a fully automated operant chamber with head poking as the operant response. Load size, intervisit interval, and interresponse times (IRTs) served as the dependent variables and were monitored over the course of a daily training session consisting of many visits. Experimental bees were tested using an ABA design in which sucrose only was administered during condition A and a 5% EtOH sucrose solution was administered during condition B. Control bees received sucrose solution only. RESULTS Most bees continued to forage after EtOH introduction. EtOH significantly reduced the load size and the intervisit interval with no significant effect on IRTs. However, a look on individual data shows large individual differences suggesting the existence of different kinds of behavioral phenotypes linked to EtOH consumption and effects. CONCLUSIONS Our results contribute to the study of EtOH consumption as a normal phenomenon in an ecological context and open the door to schedule-controlled drug self-administration studies in honeybees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michel B C Sokolowski
- Jules Verne, INSERM, Groupe de Recherche sur l'Alcool et les Pharmacodépendances, Université de Picardie, Amiens, France.
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Mixson TA, Abramson CI, Bozic J. The behavior and social communication of honey bees (Apis mellifera carnica Poll.) under the influence of alcohol. Psychol Rep 2010; 106:701-17. [PMID: 20712158 DOI: 10.2466/pr0.106.3.701-717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
In this study, the effects of ethanol on honey bee social communication and behavior within the hive were studied to further investigate the usefulness of honey bees as an ethanol-abuse model. Control (1.5 M sucrose) and experimental (1.5 M sucrose, 2.5% w/v ethanol) solutions were directly administered to individual forager bees via proboscis contact with glass capillary tubes. The duration, frequency, and proportion of time spent performing social and nonsocial behaviors were the dependent variables of interest. No differences in the relative frequency or proportion of time spent performing the target behaviors were observed. However, ethanol consumption significantly decreased bouts of walking, resting, and the duration of trophallactic (i.e., food-exchange) encounters. The results of this study suggest that a low dose of ethanol is sufficient to disrupt both social and nonsocial behaviors in honey bees. In view of these results, future behavioral-genetic investigations of honey bee social behavior are encouraged.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Andrew Mixson
- Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA
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16
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Hranitz JM, Abramson CI, Carter RP. Ethanol increases HSP70 concentrations in honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) brain tissue. Alcohol 2010; 44:275-82. [PMID: 20488642 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2010.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2009] [Revised: 11/20/2009] [Accepted: 02/10/2010] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Previous research on the honeybee ethanol model established how acute ethanol exposure altered function at different levels of organization: behavior and learning, ecology, and physiology. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether ethanol doses that affect honeybee behavior also induce a significant stress response, measured by heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) concentrations, in honeybee brain tissues. Experiment 1 examined how pretreatment handling influenced brain HSP70 concentrations in three pretreatment groups of bees; immediately after being collected, after being harnessed and fed, and after 22-24h in a harness. HSP70 concentrations did not differ among pretreatment groups within replicates, although we observed significantly different HSP70 concentrations between the two replicates. Experiment 2 investigated the relationship between ethanol dose and brain HSP70 concentrations. Bees were placed in seven experimental groups, the three pretreatment groups as in Experiment 1 and four ethanol-fed groups. Bees in ethanol treatments were fed 1.5M sucrose (control) and 1.5M sucrose-ethanol solutions containing 2.5, 5, and 10% ethanol, allowed to sit for 4h, and dissected brains were assayed for HSP70. We observed ethanol-induced increases in honeybee brain HSP70 concentrations from the control group through the 5% ethanol group. Only bees in the 5% ethanol group had HSP70 concentrations significantly higher than the control group. The inverted U-shaped ethanol dose-HSP70 concentration response curve indicated that ingestion of 2.5% ethanol and 5% ethanol stimulated the stress response, whereas ingestion of 10% ethanol inhibited the stress response. Doses that show maximum HSP70 concentration (5% ethanol) or HSP70 inhibition (10% ethanol) correspond to those (> or =5% ethanol) that also impaired honeybees in previous studies. We conclude that acute ethanol intoxication by solutions containing > or =5% ethanol causes significant ethanol-induced stress in brain tissue that impairs honeybee behavior and associative learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- John M Hranitz
- Department of Biological and Allied Health Sciences, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, 17815, USA.
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Orbach DN, Veselka N, Dzal Y, Lazure L, Fenton MB. Drinking and flying: does alcohol consumption affect the flight and echolocation performance of phyllostomid bats? PLoS One 2010; 5:e8993. [PMID: 20126552 PMCID: PMC2813879 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0008993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2009] [Accepted: 01/07/2010] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background In the wild, frugivorous and nectarivorous bats often eat fermenting fruits and nectar, and thus may consume levels of ethanol that could induce inebriation. To understand if consumption of ethanol by bats alters their access to food and general survival requires examination of behavioural responses to its ingestion, as well as assessment of interspecific variation in those responses. We predicted that bats fed ethanol would show impaired flight and echolocation behaviour compared to bats fed control sugar water, and that there would be behavioural differences among species. Methodology/Principal Findings We fed wild caught Artibeus jamaicensis, A. lituratus, A. phaeotis, Carollia sowelli, Glossophaga soricina, and Sturnira lilium (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) sugar water (44 g of table sugar in 500 ml of water) or sugar water with ethanol before challenging them to fly through an obstacle course while we simultaneously recorded their echolocation calls. We used bat saliva, a non-invasive proxy, to measure blood ethanol concentrations ranging from 0 to >0.3% immediately before flight trials. Flight performance and echolocation behaviour were not significantly affected by consumption of ethanol, but species differed in their blood alcohol concentrations after consuming it. Conclusions/Significance The bats we studied display a tolerance for ethanol that could have ramifications for the adaptive radiation of frugivorous and nectarivorous bats by allowing them to use ephemeral food resources over a wide span of time. By sampling across phyllostomid genera, we show that patterns of apparent ethanol tolerance in New World bats are broad, and thus may have been an important early step in the evolution of frugivory and nectarivory in these animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dara N. Orbach
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Nina Veselka
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Yvonne Dzal
- Department of Biology, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Louis Lazure
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - M. Brock Fenton
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
- * E-mail:
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Identification of Quantitative Trait Loci and candidate genes influencing ethanol sensitivity in honey bees. Behav Genet 2008; 38:531-53. [PMID: 18661223 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-008-9218-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2007] [Accepted: 07/14/2008] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Invertebrate models have greatly furthered our understanding of ethanol sensitivity and alcohol addiction. The honey bee (Apis mellifera), a widely used behavioral model, is valuable for comparative studies. A quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping experiment was designed to identify QTL and genes influencing ethanol vapor sensitivity. A backcross mating between ethanol-sensitive and resistant lines resulted in worker offspring that were tested for sensitivity to the sedative effects of alcohol. A linkage map was constructed with over 500 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and sequence-tagged site (STS) markers. Four QTL were identified from three linkage groups with log of odds ratio (LOD) scores of 2.28, 2.26, 2.23, and 2.02. DNA from markers within and near QTL were cloned and sequenced, and this data was utilized to integrate our map with the physical honey bee genome. Many candidate genes were identified that influence synaptic transmission, neuronal growth, and detoxification. Others affect lipid synthesis, apoptosis, alcohol metabolism, cAMP signaling, and electron transport. These results are relevant because they present the first search for QTL that affect resistance to acute ethanol exposure in an invertebrate, could be useful for comparative genomic purposes, and lend credence to the use of honey bees as biomedical models of alcohol metabolism and sensitivity.
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19
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Ammons AD, Hunt GJ. Characterization of honey bee sensitivity to ethanol vapor and its correlation with aggression. Alcohol 2008; 42:129-36. [PMID: 18358992 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2007.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2007] [Revised: 11/29/2007] [Accepted: 12/10/2007] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Several candidate genes identified from quantitative trait loci (QTL) for defensive behavior in honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) are homologous to genes known to influence ethanol sensitivity in other organisms. To investigate this possible link between aggression/defense and ethanol sensitivity, assays were developed to evaluate ethanol vapor responses in worker bees from a low-defensive (gentle) colony and a high-defensive colony. Defensive workers exhibited characteristic signs of ethanol-induced sedation significantly faster than gentle workers upon exposure to ethanol vapor. Backcross workers displayed ethanol sensitivity intermediate to the parental defensive and gentle lines, suggesting a genetic basis for the trait. Workers were screened with sequence-tagged site markers linked to three defensive-behavior QTL and their genotypes were tested for associations with ethanol sensitivity. There were no significant associations, indicating that the defensive QTL were not having a pleiotropic effect on ethanol sensitivity. It is possible that gentle-source alleles at these QTL are dominant with respect to sensitivity, one or more of these QTL were not segregating in the backcross family, or unidentified QTL are influencing alcohol sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew D Ammons
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada at Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA. ammons.unlv.nevada.edu
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20
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Bauerfeind SS, Fischer K, Hartstein S, Janowitz S, Martin-Creuzburg D. Effects of adult nutrition on female reproduction in a fruit-feeding butterfly: the role of fruit decay and dietary lipids. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2007; 53:964-73. [PMID: 17493631 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2007.01.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2006] [Revised: 01/15/2007] [Accepted: 01/18/2007] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
It was generally believed that butterflies and other holometabolous insects rely primarily on reserves accumulated during the larval stage for reproduction. Recent studies, however, highlight the often fundamental importance of adult nutrition to realize the full reproductive potential. While the importance of carbohydrates is fairly well understood, the role of most other adult-derived substances is only partially resolved. We here focus on the effects of dietary lipids (cholesterol, polyunsaturated fatty acids) and fruit decay (dietary yeast, ethanol) on female reproduction in the tropical, fruit-feeding butterfly Bicyclus anynana (Nymphalidae). We found that banana-fed control females outperformed all other groups fed on sucrose-based diets. Lipids, yeast or ethanol added to a sugar solution did not yield a similarly high reproductive output compared to fruit-fed females. Groups fed fresh or decaying banana showed no differences in reproductive performance. As we could not identify a single pivotal substance, we conclude that resource congruence (the use of nutrient types in a specified ratio) rather than any specific nutrient component is of key importance for maximum reproductive output. Further, dietary quality may affect egg hatching success in spite of no obvious effects on egg size and number. Thus, any implications about potential fitness effects of different diets need to consider egg (and hatchling) viability in addition to fecundity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie S Bauerfeind
- Department of Animal Ecology I, University of Bayreuth, P.O. Box 101 251, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany.
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21
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Bozic J, DiCesare J, Wells H, Abramson CI. Ethanol levels in honeybee hemolymph resulting from alcohol ingestion. Alcohol 2007; 41:281-4. [PMID: 17521849 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2007.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2007] [Revised: 04/04/2007] [Accepted: 04/04/2007] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Our previous work on a social insect model of ethanol-induced behavior focused on behavioral studies of honeybees (Apis mellifera L.). We now investigate the dependence of honeybee blood ethanol concentration on both the amount of ethanol consumed and time elapsed since ingestion. Blood ethanol level was determined using gas chromatograph using hemolymph taken from harnessed bees. Significantly increased levels of ethanol in honeybee hemolymph were detected within 15 min of feeding bees alcohol. Within 30 min, ethanol concentration increased 2.7 times. The concentration of ethanol ingested also had a significant effect on blood ethanol level. However, postfeeding times greater than 30 min did not significantly increase ethanol concentration in bee hemolymph. This study integrates with our behavioral data on the effect of ethanol on honeybees. Our laboratory and field experiments show a correlation between the time frame for behavioral changes and significant increases of blood ethanol levels shown in this study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janko Bozic
- Department of Biology, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
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22
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Bozic J, Abramson CI, Bedencic M. Reduced ability of ethanol drinkers for social communication in honeybees (Apis mellifera carnica Poll.). Alcohol 2006; 38:179-83. [PMID: 16905444 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2006.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2005] [Revised: 10/17/2005] [Accepted: 01/27/2006] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Foraging behavior was evaluated in honeybees trained to fly to a feeder containing sucrose only, 1% ethanol, 5% ethanol, or 10% ethanol. The results indicated that exposure to ethanol disrupted several types of honeybee social behavior within the hive. Consumption of ethanol at the feeding site reduced waggle dance activity in foraging bees and increased occurrence of tremble dance, food exchange, and self-cleaning behavior. These ethanol-induced changes in behavior may reflect effects on the central nervous system similar to the previously observed effects of food poisoning with sublethal doses of insecticides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janko Bozic
- Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
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