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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Context affects nestmate recognition errors in honey bees and stingless bees

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Author(s):
Couvillon, Margaret J. [1] ; Segers, Francisca H. I. D. [2, 1, 3] ; Cooper-Bowman, Roseanne [1] ; Truslove, Gemma [1] ; Nascimento, Daniela L. [2] ; Nascimento, Fabio S. [2] ; Ratnieks, Francis L. W. [1]
Total Authors: 7
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Sussex, Sch Life Sci, Lab Apiculture & Social Insects, Brighton BN1 9QG, E Sussex - England
[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Filosofia Ciencias & Letras Ribeirao Preto, Dept Biol, BR-14040901 Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil
[3] Univ Paris 13, Lab Ethol Expt & Comparee, EA4443, Sorbonne Paris Cite, F-93430 Villetaneuse - France
Total Affiliations: 3
Document type: Journal article
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology; v. 216, n. 16, p. 3055-3061, AUG 2013.
Web of Science Citations: 12
Abstract

Nestmate recognition studies, where a discriminator first recognises and then behaviourally discriminates (accepts/rejects) another individual, have used a variety of methodologies and contexts. This is potentially problematic because recognition errors in discrimination behaviour are predicted to be context-dependent. Here we compare the recognition decisions (accept/reject) of discriminators in two eusocial bees, Apis mellifera and Tetragonisca angustula, under different contexts. These contexts include natural guards at the hive entrance (control); natural guards held in plastic test arenas away from the hive entrance that vary either in the presence or absence of colony odour or the presence or absence of an additional nestmate discriminator; and, for the honey bee, the inside of the nest. For both honey bee and stingless bee guards, total recognition errors of behavioural discrimination made by guards (% nestmates rejected + % non-nestmates accepted) are much lower at the colony entrance (honey bee: 30.9%; stingless bee: 33.3%) than in the test arenas (honey bee: 60-86%; stingless bee: 61-81%; P<0.001 for both). Within the test arenas, the presence of colony odour specifically reduced the total recognition errors in honey bees, although this reduction still fell short of bringing error levels down to what was found at the colony entrance. Lastly, in honey bees, the data show that the in-nest collective behavioural discrimination by ca. 30 workers that contact an intruder is insufficient to achieve error-free recognition and is not as effective as the discrimination by guards at the entrance. Overall, these data demonstrate that context is a significant factor in a discriminators' ability to make appropriate recognition decisions, and should be considered when designing recognition study methodologies. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 10/10027-5 - Behavioural mediation, chemical signalisation and physiological aspects regulating the social organization in hymenopterans
Grantee:Fábio Santos do Nascimento
Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants