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Sonicating bees demonstrate flexible pollen extraction without instrumental learning

Pollen collection is necessary for bee survival and important for flowering plant reproduction, yet if and how pollen extraction motor routines are modified with experience is largely unknown. Here, we used an automated reward and monitoring system to evaluate modification in a common pollen-extract...

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Autores principales: Switzer, Callin M, Russell, Avery L, Papaj, Daniel R, Combes, Stacey A, Hopkins, Robin
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Oxford University Press 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6688570/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31413715
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoz013
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author Switzer, Callin M
Russell, Avery L
Papaj, Daniel R
Combes, Stacey A
Hopkins, Robin
author_facet Switzer, Callin M
Russell, Avery L
Papaj, Daniel R
Combes, Stacey A
Hopkins, Robin
author_sort Switzer, Callin M
collection PubMed
description Pollen collection is necessary for bee survival and important for flowering plant reproduction, yet if and how pollen extraction motor routines are modified with experience is largely unknown. Here, we used an automated reward and monitoring system to evaluate modification in a common pollen-extraction routine, floral sonication. Through a series of laboratory experiments with the bumblebee, Bombus impatiens, we examined whether variation in sonication frequency and acceleration is due to instrumental learning based on rewards, a fixed behavioral response to rewards, and/or a mechanical constraint. We first investigated whether bees could learn to adjust their sonication frequency in response to pollen rewards given only for specified frequency ranges and found no evidence of instrumental learning. However, we found that absence versus receipt of a pollen reward did lead to a predictable behavioral response, which depended on bee size. Finally, we found some evidence of mechanical constraints, in that flower mass affected sonication acceleration (but not frequency) through an interaction with bee size. In general, larger bees showed more flexibility in sonication frequency and acceleration, potentially reflecting a size-based constraint on the range over which smaller bees can modify frequency and acceleration. Overall, our results show that although bees did not display instrumental learning of sonication frequency, their sonication motor routine is nevertheless flexible.
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spelling pubmed-66885702019-08-14 Sonicating bees demonstrate flexible pollen extraction without instrumental learning Switzer, Callin M Russell, Avery L Papaj, Daniel R Combes, Stacey A Hopkins, Robin Curr Zool Special Column: Behavioural and Cognitive Plasticity in Foraging Pollinators Pollen collection is necessary for bee survival and important for flowering plant reproduction, yet if and how pollen extraction motor routines are modified with experience is largely unknown. Here, we used an automated reward and monitoring system to evaluate modification in a common pollen-extraction routine, floral sonication. Through a series of laboratory experiments with the bumblebee, Bombus impatiens, we examined whether variation in sonication frequency and acceleration is due to instrumental learning based on rewards, a fixed behavioral response to rewards, and/or a mechanical constraint. We first investigated whether bees could learn to adjust their sonication frequency in response to pollen rewards given only for specified frequency ranges and found no evidence of instrumental learning. However, we found that absence versus receipt of a pollen reward did lead to a predictable behavioral response, which depended on bee size. Finally, we found some evidence of mechanical constraints, in that flower mass affected sonication acceleration (but not frequency) through an interaction with bee size. In general, larger bees showed more flexibility in sonication frequency and acceleration, potentially reflecting a size-based constraint on the range over which smaller bees can modify frequency and acceleration. Overall, our results show that although bees did not display instrumental learning of sonication frequency, their sonication motor routine is nevertheless flexible. Oxford University Press 2019-08 2019-03-28 /pmc/articles/PMC6688570/ /pubmed/31413715 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoz013 Text en © The Author(s) (2019). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Editorial Office, Current Zoology. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com
spellingShingle Special Column: Behavioural and Cognitive Plasticity in Foraging Pollinators
Switzer, Callin M
Russell, Avery L
Papaj, Daniel R
Combes, Stacey A
Hopkins, Robin
Sonicating bees demonstrate flexible pollen extraction without instrumental learning
title Sonicating bees demonstrate flexible pollen extraction without instrumental learning
title_full Sonicating bees demonstrate flexible pollen extraction without instrumental learning
title_fullStr Sonicating bees demonstrate flexible pollen extraction without instrumental learning
title_full_unstemmed Sonicating bees demonstrate flexible pollen extraction without instrumental learning
title_short Sonicating bees demonstrate flexible pollen extraction without instrumental learning
title_sort sonicating bees demonstrate flexible pollen extraction without instrumental learning
topic Special Column: Behavioural and Cognitive Plasticity in Foraging Pollinators
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6688570/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31413715
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoz013
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