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Degree Name
MS (Master of Science)
Program
Biology
Date of Award
5-2010
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Darrell J. Moore
Committee Members
Edith Seier, Thomas C. Jones
Abstract
Classical experiments on honey bee time-memory showed that foragers trained to collect food at a fixed time of day return the following day with a remarkable degree of time-accuracy. A series of field experiments revealed that not all foragers return to a food source on unrewarded test days. Rather, there exist two subgroups: "persistent" foragers reconnoiter the source; "reticent" foragers wait in the hive for confirmation of source availability. A forager's probability of being persistent is dependent both on the amount of experience it has had at the source and the environmental conditions present, but the probability is surprisingly high (0.4-0.9). Agent-based simulation of foraging behavior indicated these high levels of persistence represent an energetically optimal strategy, which is likely a compromise solution to an ever-changing environment. Time-memory, with its accompanying anticipation, enables foragers to improve time-accuracy, quickly reactivating the foraging group to more efficiently exploit a food source.
Document Type
Thesis - restricted
Recommended Citation
Van Nest, Byron N., "Time-Memory Behavior Yields Energetically Optimal Foraging Strategy in Honey Bees." (2010). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1709. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1709
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.