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James L, Reynolds AM, Mellor IR, Davies TGE. A Sublethal Concentration of Sulfoxaflor Has Minimal Impact on Buff-Tailed Bumblebee ( Bombus terrestris) Locomotor Behaviour under Aversive Conditioning. TOXICS 2023; 11:279. [PMID: 36977044 PMCID: PMC10057571 DOI: 10.3390/toxics11030279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Pesticide exposure has been cited as a key threat to insect pollinators. Notably, a diverse range of potential sublethal effects have been reported in bee species, with a particular focus on effects due to exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides. Here, a purpose-built thermal-visual arena was used in a series of pilot experiments to assess the potential impact of approximate sublethal concentrations of the next generation sulfoximine insecticide sulfoxaflor (5 and 50 ppb) and the neonicotinoid insecticides thiacloprid (500 ppb) and thiamethoxam (10 ppb), on the walking trajectory, navigation and learning abilities of the buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris audax) when subjected to an aversive conditioning task. The results suggest that only thiamethoxam prevents forager bees from improving in key training parameters (speed and distanced travelled) within the thermal visual arena. Power law analyses further revealed that a speed-curvature power law, previously reported as being present in the walking trajectories of bumblebees, is potentially disrupted under thiamethoxam (10 ppb) exposure, but not under sulfoxaflor or thiacloprid exposure. The pilot assay described provides a novel tool with which to identify subtle sublethal pesticide impacts, and their potential causes, on forager bees, that current ecotoxicological tests are not designed to assess.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura James
- Protecting Crops and the Environment, Rothamsted Research, West Common, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UK (A.M.R.)
- Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK;
| | - Andrew M. Reynolds
- Protecting Crops and the Environment, Rothamsted Research, West Common, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UK (A.M.R.)
| | - Ian R. Mellor
- Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK;
| | - T. G. Emyr Davies
- Protecting Crops and the Environment, Rothamsted Research, West Common, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UK (A.M.R.)
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2
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Brunet J, Jiang Q, Zhao Y, Thairu MW, Clayton MK. Bee species perform distinct foraging behaviors that are best described by different movement models. Sci Rep 2023; 13:71. [PMID: 36593317 PMCID: PMC9807645 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-26858-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
In insect-pollinated plants, the foraging behavior of pollinators affects their pattern of movement. If distinct bee species vary in their foraging behaviors, different models may best describe their movement. In this study, we quantified and compared the fine scale movement of three bee species foraging on patches of Medicago sativa. Bee movement was described using distances and directions traveled between consecutive racemes. Bumble bees and honey bees traveled shorter distances after visiting many flowers on a raceme, while the distance traveled by leafcutting bees was independent of flower number. Transition matrices and vectors were calculated for bumble bees and honey bees to reflect their directionality of movement within foraging bouts; leafcutting bees were as likely to move in any direction. Bee species varied in their foraging behaviors, and for each bee species, we tested four movement models that differed in how distances and directions were selected, and identified the model that best explained the movement data. The fine-scale, within-patch movement of bees could not always be explained by a random movement model, and a general model of movement could not be applied to all bee species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanne Brunet
- grid.508983.fVegetable Crops Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Madison, WI 53706 USA
| | - Qi Jiang
- grid.28803.310000 0001 0701 8607Department of Statistics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 USA ,grid.467375.40000 0004 0443 827XPresent Address: Goldman Sachs, 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282 USA
| | - Yang Zhao
- grid.28803.310000 0001 0701 8607Department of Statistics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 USA ,grid.418227.a0000 0004 0402 1634Present Address: Gilead Sciences, 333 Lakeside Dr, Foster City, CA 94402 USA
| | - Margaret W. Thairu
- grid.28803.310000 0001 0701 8607Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 USA ,grid.28803.310000 0001 0701 8607Present Address: Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI USA
| | - Murray K. Clayton
- grid.28803.310000 0001 0701 8607Department of Statistics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 USA
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3
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Hunter P. Animals do count. EMBO Rep 2022; 23:e55511. [DOI: 10.15252/embr.202255511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
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4
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Nutritionally rich wildflower patches adjacent to nutritionally deficient crops significantly increase pollination services. Ecol Modell 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2022.109935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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5
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Zjacic N, Scholz M. The role of food odor in invertebrate foraging. GENES, BRAIN, AND BEHAVIOR 2022; 21:e12793. [PMID: 34978135 PMCID: PMC9744530 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2021] [Revised: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Foraging for food is an integral part of animal survival. In small insects and invertebrates, multisensory information and optimized locomotion strategies are used to effectively forage in patchy and complex environments. Here, the importance of olfactory cues for effective invertebrate foraging is discussed in detail. We review how odors are used by foragers to move toward a likely food source and the recent models that describe this sensory-driven behavior. We argue that smell serves a second function by priming an organism for the efficient exploitation of food. By appraising food odors, invertebrates can establish preferences and better adapt to their ecological niches, thereby promoting survival. The smell of food pre-prepares the gastrointestinal system and primes feeding motor programs for more effective ingestion as well. Optimizing resource utilization affects longevity and reproduction as a result, leading to drastic changes in survival. We propose that models of foraging behavior should include odor priming, and illustrate this with a simple toy model based on the marginal value theorem. Lastly, we discuss the novel techniques and assays in invertebrate research that could investigate the interactions between odor sensing and food intake. Overall, the sense of smell is indispensable for efficient foraging and influences not only locomotion, but also organismal physiology, which should be reflected in behavioral modeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolina Zjacic
- Max Planck Research Group Neural Information FlowCenter of Advanced European Studies and Research (Caesar)BonnGermany
| | - Monika Scholz
- Max Planck Research Group Neural Information FlowCenter of Advanced European Studies and Research (Caesar)BonnGermany
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6
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Differential equation model for central-place foragers with memory: implications for bumble bee crop pollination. J Math Biol 2021; 83:50. [PMID: 34636970 DOI: 10.1007/s00285-021-01676-1] [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: 03/11/2021] [Revised: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Bumble bees provide valuable pollination services to crops around the world. However, their populations are declining in intensively farmed landscapes. Understanding the dispersal behaviour of these bees is a key step in determining how agricultural landscapes can best be enhanced for bumble bee survival. Here we develop a partial integro-differential equation model to predict the spatial distribution of foraging bumble bees in dynamic heterogeneous landscapes. In our model, the foraging population is divided into two subpopulations, one engaged in an intensive search mode (modeled by diffusion) and the other engaged in an extensive search mode (modeled by advection). Our model considers the effects of resource-dependent switching rates between movement modes, resource depletion, central-place foraging behaviour, and memory. We use our model to investigate how crop pollination services are affected by wildflower enhancements. We find that planting wildflowers such that the crop is located in between the wildflowers and the nest site can benefit crop pollination in two different scenarios. If the bees do not have a strong preference for wildflowers, a small or low density wildflower patch is beneficial. If, on the other hand, the bees strongly prefer the wildflowers, then a large or high density wildflower patch is beneficial. The increase of the crop pollination services in the later scenario is of remarkable magnitude.
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7
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Brebner JS, Makinson JC, Bates OK, Rossi N, Lim KS, Dubois T, Gómez-Moracho T, Lihoreau M, Chittka L, Woodgate JL. Bumble bees strategically use ground level linear features in navigation. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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8
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Hummingbirds modify their routes to avoid a poor location. Learn Behav 2021; 50:89-98. [PMID: 34341946 PMCID: PMC8979907 DOI: 10.3758/s13420-021-00476-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Traplining, when animals repeat the order in which they visit a number of locations, is taxonomically widespread, but little is known about which factors influence the routes that animals follow. For example, as the quality of rewarding locations changes over time, foragers are expected to update their traplines, either to prioritize locations where the reward increases or to avoid locations that have ceased to be profitable. Here, we tested how traplining wild hummingbirds responded to increases or to decreases in the sucrose concentration of one of the flowers on their trapline. Hummingbirds did not change their trapline to visit the flower with the increased reward first, but by changing the order in which they visited flowers, they avoided a flower that contained a decreased reward. Depending on where along the trapline the reduced-content flower occurred, hummingbirds either changed the origin of their trapline or changed the direction in which they flew around their trapline. It may be that this asymmetric modification of foraging traplines is especially noticeable in risk-averse foragers, such as these territorial hummingbirds.
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9
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Dubois T, Pasquaretta C, Barron AB, Gautrais J, Lihoreau M. A model of resource partitioning between foraging bees based on learning. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1009260. [PMID: 34319987 PMCID: PMC8351995 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2021] [Revised: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Central place foraging pollinators tend to develop multi-destination routes (traplines) to exploit patchily distributed plant resources. While the formation of traplines by individual pollinators has been studied in detail, how populations of foragers use resources in a common area is an open question, difficult to address experimentally. We explored conditions for the emergence of resource partitioning among traplining bees using agent-based models built from experimental data of bumblebees foraging on artificial flowers. In the models, bees learn to develop routes as a consequence of feedback loops that change their probabilities of moving between flowers. While a positive reinforcement of movements leading to rewarding flowers is sufficient for the emergence of resource partitioning when flowers are evenly distributed, the addition of a negative reinforcement of movements leading to unrewarding flowers is necessary when flowers are patchily distributed. In environments with more complex spatial structures, the negative experiences of individual bees on flowers favour spatial segregation and efficient collective foraging. Our study fills a major gap in modelling pollinator behaviour and constitutes a unique tool to guide future experimental programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thibault Dubois
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Centre for Integrative Biology (CBI); CNRS, University Paul Sabatier–Toulouse III, Toulouse, France
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Cristian Pasquaretta
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Centre for Integrative Biology (CBI); CNRS, University Paul Sabatier–Toulouse III, Toulouse, France
| | - Andrew B. Barron
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Jacques Gautrais
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Centre for Integrative Biology (CBI); CNRS, University Paul Sabatier–Toulouse III, Toulouse, France
| | - Mathieu Lihoreau
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Centre for Integrative Biology (CBI); CNRS, University Paul Sabatier–Toulouse III, Toulouse, France
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10
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Hall K, Robert T, Gaston KJ, Hempel de Ibarra N. Onset of morning activity in bumblebee foragers under natural low light conditions. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:6536-6545. [PMID: 34141238 PMCID: PMC8207423 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2020] [Revised: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Foraging on flowers in low light at dusk and dawn comes at an additional cost for insect pollinators with diurnal vision. Nevertheless, some species are known to be frequently active at these times. To explore how early and under which light levels colonies of bumblebees, Bombus terrestris, initiate their foraging activity, we tracked foragers of different body sizes using RFID over 5 consecutive days during warm periods of the flowering season. Bees that left the colony at lower light levels and earlier in the day were larger in size. This result extends the evidence for alloethism in bumblebees and shows that foragers differ in their task specialization depending on body size. By leaving the colony earlier to find and exploit flowers in low light, larger-sized foragers are aided by their more sensitive eyes and can effectively increase their contributions to the colony's food influx. The decision to leave the colony early seems to be further facilitated by knowledge about profitable food resources in specific locations. We observed that experience accrued over many foraging flights determined whether a bee started foraging under lower light levels and earlier in the morning. Larger-sized bees were not more experienced than smaller-sized bees, confirming earlier observations of wide size ranges among active foragers. Overall, we found that most foragers left at higher light levels when they could see well and fly faster. Nevertheless, a small proportion of foragers left the colony shortly after the onset of dawn when light levels were below 10 lux. Our observations suggest that bumblebee colonies have the potential to balance the benefits of deploying large-sized or experienced foragers during dawn against the risks and costs of foraging under low light by regulating the onset of their activity at different stages of the colony's life cycle and in changing environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie Hall
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, PsychologyUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
| | - Théo Robert
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, PsychologyUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
- Present address:
Centre for Behaviour and Evolution, Biosciences InstituteNewcastle UniversityNewcastle upon TyneUK
| | - Kevin J. Gaston
- Environment and Sustainability InstituteUniversity of ExeterPenrynUK
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11
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Woodgate JL, Makinson JC, Rossi N, Lim KS, Reynolds AM, Rawlings CJ, Chittka L. Harmonic radar tracking reveals that honeybee drones navigate between multiple aerial leks. iScience 2021; 24:102499. [PMID: 34308279 PMCID: PMC8257961 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2021] [Revised: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Male honeybees (drones) are thought to congregate in large numbers in particular “drone congregation areas” to mate. We used harmonic radar to record the flight paths of individual drones and found that drones favored certain locations within the landscape which were stable over two years. Drones often visit multiple potential lekking sites within a single flight and take shared flight paths between them. Flights between such sites are relatively straight and begin as early as the drone's second flight, indicating familiarity with the sites acquired during initial learning flights. Arriving at congregation areas, drones display convoluted, looping flight patterns. We found a correlation between a drone's distance from the center of each area and its acceleration toward the center, a signature of collective behavior leading to congregation in these areas. Our study reveals the behavior of individual drones as they navigate between and within multiple aerial leks. Flight paths of individual honeybee drones were tracked using harmonic radar Convoluted flights were concentrated in four drone congregation areas Drones commonly move between lek-like congregation areas during a single flight Acceleration patterns suggest a mechanism to maintain congregation area cohesion
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph L Woodgate
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - James C Makinson
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Natacha Rossi
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Ka S Lim
- Department of Computational and Analytical Sciences, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Andrew M Reynolds
- Department of Computational and Analytical Sciences, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Christopher J Rawlings
- Department of Computational and Analytical Sciences, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Lars Chittka
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
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12
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Fragoso FP, Jiang Q, Clayton MK, Brunet J. Patch selection by bumble bees navigating discontinuous landscapes. Sci Rep 2021; 11:8986. [PMID: 33903682 PMCID: PMC8076261 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-88394-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Pollen and nectar resources are unevenly distributed over space and bees must make routing decisions when navigating patchy resources. Determining the patch selection process used by bees is crucial to understanding bee foraging over discontinuous landscapes. To elucidate this process, we developed four distinct probability models of bee movement where the size and the distance to the patch determined the attractiveness of a patch. A field experiment with a center patch and four peripheral patches of two distinct sizes and distances from the center was set up in two configurations. Empirical transition probabilities from the center to each peripheral patch were obtained at two sites and two years. The best model was identified by comparing observed and predicted transition probabilities, where predicted values were obtained by incorporating the spatial dimensions of the field experiment into each model's mathematical expression. Bumble bees used both patch size and isolation distance when selecting a patch and could assess the total amount of resources available in a patch. Bumble bees prefer large, nearby patches. This information will facilitate the development of a predictive framework to the study of bee movement and of models that predict the movement of genetically engineered pollen in bee-pollinated crops.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabiana P. Fragoso
- grid.410547.30000 0001 1013 9784Agricultural Research Service Research Participation Program, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, 455 Science Drive, Madison, WI 53711 USA
| | - Qi Jiang
- grid.14003.360000 0001 2167 3675Department of Statistics, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1300 University Ave, Madison, WI 53706 USA ,grid.467375.40000 0004 0443 827XPresent Address: Goldman Sachs, 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282 USA
| | - Murray K. Clayton
- grid.14003.360000 0001 2167 3675Department of Statistics, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1300 University Ave, Madison, WI 53706 USA
| | - Johanne Brunet
- grid.508983.fUnited States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Vegetable Crops Research Unit, 455 Science Drive, Madison, WI 53711 USA
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13
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Incorvaia DC, Hintze A, Dyer FC. Spatial allocation without spatial recruitment in bumblebees. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Any foraging animal is expected to allocate its efforts among resource patches that vary in quality across time and space. For social insects, this problem is shifted to the colony level: the task of allocating foraging workers to the best patches currently available. To deal with this task, honeybees rely upon differential recruitment via the dance language, while some ants use differential recruitment on odor trails. Bumblebees, close relatives of honeybees, should also benefit from optimizing spatial allocation but lack any targeted recruitment system. How bumblebees solve this problem is thus of immense interest to evolutionary biologists studying collective behavior. It has been thought that bumblebees could solve the spatial allocation problem by relying on the summed individual decisions of foragers, who occasionally sample and shift to alternative resources. We use field experiments to test the hypothesis that bumblebees augment individual exploration with social information. Specifically, we provide behavioral evidence that, when higher-concentration sucrose arrives at the nest, employed foragers abandon their patches to begin searching for the better option; they are more likely to accept novel resources if they match the quality of the sucrose solution experienced in the nest. We explored this strategy further by building an agent-based model of bumblebee foraging. This model supports the hypothesis that using social information to inform search decisions is advantageous over individual search alone. Our results show that bumblebees use a collective foraging strategy built on social modulation of individual decisions, providing further insight into the evolution of collective behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darren C Incorvaia
- Department of Integrative Biology and Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Arend Hintze
- BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- Department for Complex Dynamical Systems and MicroData Analytics, Dalarna University, Högskolegatan, Falun, Sweden
| | - Fred C Dyer
- Department of Integrative Biology and Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
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14
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Gonsek A, Jeschke M, Rönnau S, Bertrand OJN. From Paths to Routes: A Method for Path Classification. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 14:610560. [PMID: 33551764 PMCID: PMC7859641 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.610560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Many animals establish, learn and optimize routes between locations to commute efficiently. One step in understanding route following is defining measures of similarities between the paths taken by the animals. Paths have commonly been compared by using several descriptors (e.g., the speed, distance traveled, or the amount of meandering) or were visually classified into categories by the experimenters. However, similar quantities obtained from such descriptors do not guarantee similar paths, and qualitative classification by experimenters is prone to observer biases. Here we propose a novel method to classify paths based on their similarity with different distance functions and clustering algorithms based on the trajectories of bumblebees flying through a cluttered environment. We established a method based on two distance functions (Dynamic Time Warping and Fréchet Distance). For all combinations of trajectories, the distance was calculated with each measure. Based on these distance values, we grouped similar trajectories by applying the Monte Carlo Reference-Based Consensus Clustering algorithm. Our procedure provides new options for trajectory analysis based on path similarities in a variety of experimental paradigms.
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15
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Cavigliasso P, Phifer CC, Adams EM, Flaspohler D, Gennari GP, Licata JA, Chacoff NP. Spatio-temporal dynamics of landscape use by the bumblebee Bombus pauloensis (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and its relationship with pollen provisioning. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0216190. [PMID: 32639984 PMCID: PMC7343142 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2019] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding how bees use resources at a landscape scale is essential for developing meaningful management plans that sustain populations and the pollination services they provide. Bumblebees are important pollinators for many wild and cultivated plants, and have experienced steep population declines worldwide. Bee foraging behavior can be influenced by resource availability and bees’ lifecycle stage. To better understand these relationships, we studied the habitat selection of Bombus pauloensis by tracking 17 queen bumblebees with radio telemetry in blueberry fields in Entre Ríos province, Argentina. To evaluate land use and floral resources used by bumblebees, we tracked bees before and after nest establishment and estimated home ranges using minimum convex polygons and kernel density methods. We also classified the pollen on their bodies to identify the floral resources they used from the floral species available at that time. We characterized land use for each bee as the relative proportion of GPS points inside of each land use. Bumblebees differed markedly in their movement behavior in relation to pre and post nest establishment. Bees moved over larger areas, and mostly within blueberry fields, before nest establishment. In contrast, after establishing the nest, the bees preferred the edges near forest plantations and they changed the nutritional resources to prefer wild floral species. Our study is the first to track queen bumblebee movements in an agricultural setting and relate movement changes across time and space with pollen resource availability. This study provides insight into the way bumblebee queens use different habitat elements at crucial periods in their lifecycle, showing the importance of mass flowering crops like blueberry in the first stages of queen’s lifecycle, and how diversified landscapes help support bee populations as their needs changes during different phases of their lifecycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Cavigliasso
- Programa Nacional Apícola, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Concordia, Entre Ríos, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- * E-mail:
| | - Colin C. Phifer
- School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University. Houghton, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Erika M. Adams
- School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University. Houghton, Michigan, United States of America
| | - David Flaspohler
- School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University. Houghton, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Gerardo P. Gennari
- Programa Nacional Apícola, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Famaillá, Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Julian A. Licata
- Programa Nacional Apícola, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Concordia, Entre Ríos, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Natacha P. Chacoff
- Instituto de Ecología Regional, CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina
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16
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Barlow SE, O'Neill MA. Technological advances in field studies of pollinator ecology and the future of e-ecology. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2020; 38:15-25. [PMID: 32086017 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2020.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2019] [Revised: 01/02/2020] [Accepted: 01/17/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Our review looks at recent advances in technologies applied to studying pollinators in the field. These include RFID, radar and lidar for detecting and tracking pollinators; wireless sensor networks (e.g. 'smart' hives); automated visual and audio monitoring systems including vision motion software for monitoring fine-scale pollinator behaviours over extended periods; and automated species identification systems based on machine learning that can vastly reduce the bottleneck in (big) data analysis. An improved e-ecology platform that leverages these tools is needed for ecologists to acquire and understand large spatiotemporal datasets, and thus inform knowledge gaps in environmental policy-making. Developing the next generation of e-ecology tools will require synergistic partnerships between academia and industry and significant investment in a cross-disciplinary scientific consortia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E Barlow
- Red Butte Garden, Conservation Dept., University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84108, USA.
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Kembro JM, Lihoreau M, Garriga J, Raposo EP, Bartumeus F. Bumblebees learn foraging routes through exploitation-exploration cycles. J R Soc Interface 2019; 16:20190103. [PMID: 31288648 PMCID: PMC6685008 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2019.0103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
How animals explore and acquire knowledge from the environment is a key question in movement ecology. For pollinators that feed on multiple small replenishing nectar resources, the challenge is to learn efficient foraging routes while dynamically acquiring spatial information about new resource locations. Here, we use the behavioural mapping t-Stochastic Neighbouring Embedding algorithm and Shannon entropy to statistically analyse previously published sampling patterns of bumblebees feeding on artificial flowers in the field. We show that bumblebees modulate foraging excursions into distinctive behavioural strategies, characterizing the trade-off dynamics between (i) visiting and exploiting flowers close to the nest, (ii) searching for new routes and resources, and (iii) exploiting learned flower visitation sequences. Experienced bees combine these behavioural strategies even after they find an optimal route minimizing travel distances between flowers. This behavioural variability may help balancing energy costs-benefits and facilitate rapid adaptation to changing environments and the integration of more profitable resources in their routes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jackelyn M Kembro
- 1 Universidad Nacional de Córdoba Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de los Alimentos and Cátedra de Química Biológica, Córdoba, Argentina.,2 Concejo de Invesigaciones Cientificas y Tecnologicas, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas, Córdoba , Argentina.,3 Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes (CEAB-CSIC) , Carrer Cala Sant Francesc 14, 17300 Blanes, Catalonia , Spain
| | - Mathieu Lihoreau
- 4 Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI); CNRS, University Paul Sabatier-Toulouse III , 31330 Toulouse , France
| | - Joan Garriga
- 3 Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes (CEAB-CSIC) , Carrer Cala Sant Francesc 14, 17300 Blanes, Catalonia , Spain
| | - Ernesto P Raposo
- 5 Laboratório de Física Teórica e Computacional, Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco , 50670-901 Recife, Pernambuco , Brazil
| | - Frederic Bartumeus
- 3 Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes (CEAB-CSIC) , Carrer Cala Sant Francesc 14, 17300 Blanes, Catalonia , Spain.,6 CREAF, Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals , 08193 Bellaterra, Catalonia , Spain.,7 ICREA, Institut Català de Recerca i Estudis Avançats , 08010 Barcelona, Catalonia , Spain
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Honey bees increase their foraging performance and frequency of pollen trips through experience. Sci Rep 2019; 9:6778. [PMID: 31043647 PMCID: PMC6494865 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-42677-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2018] [Accepted: 04/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Honey bee foragers must supply their colony with a balance of pollen and nectar to sustain optimal colony development. Inter-individual behavioural variability among foragers is observed in terms of activity levels and nectar vs. pollen collection, however the causes of such variation are still open questions. Here we explored the relationship between foraging activity and foraging performance in honey bees (Apis mellifera) by using an automated behaviour monitoring system to record mass on departing the hive, trip duration, presence of pollen on the hind legs and mass upon return to the hive, during the lifelong foraging career of individual bees. In our colonies, only a subset of foragers collected pollen, and no bee exclusively foraged for pollen. A minority of very active bees (19% of the foragers) performed 50% of the colony’s total foraging trips, contributing to both pollen and nectar collection. Foraging performance (amount and rate of food collection) depended on bees’ individual experience (amount of foraging trips completed). We argue that this reveals an important vulnerability for these social bees since environmental stressors that alter the activity and reduce the lifespan of foragers may prevent bees ever achieving maximal performance, thereby seriously compromising the effectiveness of the colony foraging force.
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Le Moël F, Stone T, Lihoreau M, Wystrach A, Webb B. The Central Complex as a Potential Substrate for Vector Based Navigation. Front Psychol 2019; 10:690. [PMID: 31024377 PMCID: PMC6460943 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2018] [Accepted: 03/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Insects use path integration (PI) to maintain a home vector, but can also store and recall vector-memories that take them from home to a food location, and even allow them to take novel shortcuts between food locations. The neural circuit of the Central Complex (a brain area that receives compass and optic flow information) forms a plausible substrate for these behaviors. A recent model, grounded in neurophysiological and neuroanatomical data, can account for PI during outbound exploratory routes and the control of steering to return home. Here, we show that minor, hypothetical but neurally plausible, extensions of this model can additionally explain how insects could store and recall PI vectors to follow food-ward paths, take shortcuts, search at the feeder and re-calibrate their vector-memories with experience. In addition, a simple assumption about how one of multiple vector-memories might be chosen at any point in time can produce the development and maintenance of efficient routes between multiple locations, as observed in bees. The central complex circuitry is therefore well-suited to allow for a rich vector-based navigational repertoire.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florent Le Moël
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Centre for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Thomas Stone
- School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Mathieu Lihoreau
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Centre for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Antoine Wystrach
- Research Centre on Animal Cognition, Centre for Integrative Biology, CNRS, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Barbara Webb
- School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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Minahan DF, Brunet J. Strong Interspecific Differences in Foraging Activity Observed Between Honey Bees and Bumble Bees Using Miniaturized Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). Front Ecol Evol 2018. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2018.00156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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