Intracolonial genetic diversity in honeybee (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Apis mellifera</Emphasis>) colonies increases pollen foraging efficiency |
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Authors: | Bruce J Eckholm Kirk E Anderson Milagra Weiss Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Entomology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA;(2) Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, USDA-ARS, 2000 East Allen Road, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA |
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Abstract: | Multiple mating by honeybee queens results in colonies of genotypically diverse workers. Recent studies have demonstrated
that increased genetic diversity within a honeybee colony increases the variation in the frequency of tasks performed by workers.
We show that genotypically diverse colonies, each composed of 20 subfamilies, collect more pollen than do genotypically similar
colonies, each composed of a single subfamily. However, genotypically similar colonies collect greater varieties of pollen
than do genotypically diverse colonies. Further, the composition of collected pollen types is less similar among genotypically
similar colonies than among genotypically diverse colonies. The response threshold model predicts that genotypic subsets of
workers vary in their response to task stimuli. Consistent with this model, our findings suggest that genotypically diverse
colonies likely send out fewer numbers of foragers that independently search for pollen sources (scouts) in response to protein
demand by the colony, resulting in a lower variety of collected pollen types. The cooperative foraging strategy of honeybees
involves a limited number of scouts monitoring the environment that then guide the majority of foragers to high quality food
sources. The genetic composition of the colony appears to play an important role in the efficiency of this behavior. |
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