TY - JOUR
T1 - Locomotion and the pollen hoarding behavioral syndrome of the honeybee (Apis mellifera L.)
AU - Humphries, M. A.
AU - Fondrk, M. K.
AU - Page, Robert
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements We thank Tanya Pankiw, Mindy Nelsen, Jen-nifer Tsuruda, and Amanda Ruby for observations and comments on general activity differences in high and low strains of the bees. Research was funded by NSF IBN 0090482 and IBN0076811, and NIH POI AG022500-01 to REP.
PY - 2005/7
Y1 - 2005/7
N2 - Honeybees selected for the colony level phenotype of storing large quantities of pollen (pollen hoarding) in the nest exhibit greater walking activity than those selected against pollen hoarding. In this study, we use a simple walking assay to demonstrate that walking activity increases with the proportion of high pollen-hoarding alleles in pure and backcrossed strains of bees (high-strain bees > offspring generated from a high backcross > offspring generated from a low backcross > low-strain bees). The trait is heritable but is not associated with markers linked to three quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapped for their effects on pollen hoarding with demonstrated pleiotropic effects on pollen and nectar foraging and learning behavior. However, locomotion in non-selected bees is correlated with responsiveness to sucrose, a trait that correlates with foraging and learning behavior. We propose that pollen-hoarding behavior involves a syndrome of behavioral traits with complex genetic and regulatory architectures that span sensory sensitivity, foraging behavior, and learning. We propose that locomotor activity is the component of this syndrome and reflects the early maturation of the bees that become pollen foragers.
AB - Honeybees selected for the colony level phenotype of storing large quantities of pollen (pollen hoarding) in the nest exhibit greater walking activity than those selected against pollen hoarding. In this study, we use a simple walking assay to demonstrate that walking activity increases with the proportion of high pollen-hoarding alleles in pure and backcrossed strains of bees (high-strain bees > offspring generated from a high backcross > offspring generated from a low backcross > low-strain bees). The trait is heritable but is not associated with markers linked to three quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapped for their effects on pollen hoarding with demonstrated pleiotropic effects on pollen and nectar foraging and learning behavior. However, locomotion in non-selected bees is correlated with responsiveness to sucrose, a trait that correlates with foraging and learning behavior. We propose that pollen-hoarding behavior involves a syndrome of behavioral traits with complex genetic and regulatory architectures that span sensory sensitivity, foraging behavior, and learning. We propose that locomotor activity is the component of this syndrome and reflects the early maturation of the bees that become pollen foragers.
KW - Locomotion
KW - Pollen foraging syndrome
KW - QTL
KW - Sucrose responsiveness
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U2 - 10.1007/s00359-005-0624-x
DO - 10.1007/s00359-005-0624-x
M3 - Article
C2 - 15824930
AN - SCOPUS:23744453618
SN - 0340-7594
VL - 191
SP - 669
EP - 674
JO - Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology
JF - Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology
IS - 7
ER -