Communication 2 CASE STUDIES: The evolution of the honeybee dance language
Karl von Frisch 1886-1982 (Nobel prize 1973)
How does the dance encode direction?
Prof. Lindauer goes to the tropics
Apis cerana – the Asian hive bee
Apis dorsata – the giant honeybee (or rock bee) up to 1 inch long
Apis florea – the dwarf honeybee dorsata and florea in comparison
Apis florea (dwarf honeybee) nest dances are performed on the horizontal surface, waggle run directly oriented to the food source
The evolution of the dance language
Forager behavior Dornhaus & Chittka, Nature 1999 Excited running for 13s to 10min (average 2,6 min)
From: Chittka & Dornhaus 1999
How can we measure the adaptive benefits of communication? The bee dance language as a model
Jamming the information content of the waggle dance
oriented dance disoriented dance
Measuring foraging success Daily weight changes of a beehive can be measured on a scale - this reflects mostly nectar intake Gewichtsänderungen könne groß sein: bis zu 2kg am Tag Gewinn und einem knappen Kilo Verlust bei einem 10frame Stock -> das kann nur Nektrareintrag bzw. Honigverbrauch sein. Möglichst große Wintervorräte limitierend für Erfolg laut Literatur In unseren Tests: Gewichtsänderung abhängig vom Angebot, bei höherem Angebot mehr eingetragen Ausserdem messen wir die Nektarladungen von einzelnen Sammlerinnen, um den Nektareintrag pro Zeit und Sammlerin zu bestimmen. 12,035 kg
Temperate habitat (Central European)
Temperate habitat (Mediterranean)
Tropical habitat (India) - days of high nectar intake are missing without location communication
Benefits of dance communication are limited to the tropical habitat
temperate
tropical
Spatial aggregation in tropical and temperate habitats Tropics Temperate
The honeybees originated in tropical Asia