Buzzed and Bothered: Investigating the impacts of addictive plant alkaloids on bumblebee behavior

Authors' Affiliations

Joshua Foley, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN.

Location

D.P. Culp Center Room 303

Start Date

4-5-2024 1:30 PM

End Date

4-5-2024 2:30 PM

Name of Project's Faculty Sponsor

Melissa Whitaker

Faculty Sponsor's Department

Biological Sciences

Competition Type

Competitive

Type

Oral Presentation

Presentation Category

Science, Technology and Engineering

Abstract or Artist's Statement

Insect pollinators, especially native pollinators such as bumblebees, play a crucial role in sustaining the health and productivity of ecosystems by making essential contributions to plant reproduction. The relationship between plants and pollinators is often viewed as a strict food for-service exchange in which plants provide nutritious rewards (nectar, pollen) for pollinators in exchange for the dispersal of plants’ gametes (pollen). However, recent research has discovered many compounds in nectar and pollen that do not provide nutritional rewards to pollinators. For example, caffeine has been detected in the nectar of several plant groups at doses shown to improve pollinator memory, learning, and visitation to caffeine-producing flowers. Similarly, nicotine in the nectar of tobacco plants has been found to increase pollinators’ memory retention and responsiveness to floral signals. Both caffeine and nicotine are highly addictive to mammals and other animals, but the potential for addiction to play a role in plant-pollinator interactions has yet to be explored. Morphine has also been found to impact the behavior of insects making them exhibit risky behavior and preference when given the choice. Previous studies have focused on pollinator preference but not necessarily addiction. This research is based on investing the impact of these substances on bee behavior with potential addiction as a focus. To do so, bees’ preferences for nicotine, morphine, and caffeine will be tested in separate preference trials. 50 naïve workers will be taken from a colony and assigned to a treatment or control group where they will then be fed their respective diets for a period before being introduced into a flight arena with robotic flowers with a choice of pure sucrose nectar or spiked nectar. In the second series of experiments, the bee’s preference for caffeine, nicotine, and morphine will be tested in the face of an aversive stimulus. To do so, the bees will be trained as previously mentioned then will be placed in a flight arena with robotic flowers each fitted with an electric plate that heats the surface of the flower where bees need to land in order to feed. A final experiment will investigate whether bees exhibit withdrawal-like symptoms following the removal of an addictive alkaloid after exposure. These bees will be trained as above then placed into a flight arena where there is only sucrose-only rewards and no alkaloids. Bees will be recorded and their behaviors scored when indicative of psychological stress. It is expected that the bees primed on these alkaloids will exhibit addiction-like behavior when given a choice of nectar and withdrawal-like behavior when that alkaloid is taken away, providing insights into the complex interactions between naturally occurring addictive substances and pollinator behavior.

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 
Apr 5th, 1:30 PM Apr 5th, 2:30 PM

Buzzed and Bothered: Investigating the impacts of addictive plant alkaloids on bumblebee behavior

D.P. Culp Center Room 303

Insect pollinators, especially native pollinators such as bumblebees, play a crucial role in sustaining the health and productivity of ecosystems by making essential contributions to plant reproduction. The relationship between plants and pollinators is often viewed as a strict food for-service exchange in which plants provide nutritious rewards (nectar, pollen) for pollinators in exchange for the dispersal of plants’ gametes (pollen). However, recent research has discovered many compounds in nectar and pollen that do not provide nutritional rewards to pollinators. For example, caffeine has been detected in the nectar of several plant groups at doses shown to improve pollinator memory, learning, and visitation to caffeine-producing flowers. Similarly, nicotine in the nectar of tobacco plants has been found to increase pollinators’ memory retention and responsiveness to floral signals. Both caffeine and nicotine are highly addictive to mammals and other animals, but the potential for addiction to play a role in plant-pollinator interactions has yet to be explored. Morphine has also been found to impact the behavior of insects making them exhibit risky behavior and preference when given the choice. Previous studies have focused on pollinator preference but not necessarily addiction. This research is based on investing the impact of these substances on bee behavior with potential addiction as a focus. To do so, bees’ preferences for nicotine, morphine, and caffeine will be tested in separate preference trials. 50 naïve workers will be taken from a colony and assigned to a treatment or control group where they will then be fed their respective diets for a period before being introduced into a flight arena with robotic flowers with a choice of pure sucrose nectar or spiked nectar. In the second series of experiments, the bee’s preference for caffeine, nicotine, and morphine will be tested in the face of an aversive stimulus. To do so, the bees will be trained as previously mentioned then will be placed in a flight arena with robotic flowers each fitted with an electric plate that heats the surface of the flower where bees need to land in order to feed. A final experiment will investigate whether bees exhibit withdrawal-like symptoms following the removal of an addictive alkaloid after exposure. These bees will be trained as above then placed into a flight arena where there is only sucrose-only rewards and no alkaloids. Bees will be recorded and their behaviors scored when indicative of psychological stress. It is expected that the bees primed on these alkaloids will exhibit addiction-like behavior when given a choice of nectar and withdrawal-like behavior when that alkaloid is taken away, providing insights into the complex interactions between naturally occurring addictive substances and pollinator behavior.