Behavioral and Chemical Analyses of Trail Pheromones in the Amazonian Bumble Bee (Bombus transversalis)

亚马逊熊蜂 (Bombus transversalis) 踪迹信息素的行为和化学分析

• 批准号: 9973447
• 负责人: Sydney Cameron
• 金额: $ 7.5万
• 依托单位: University of Arkansas
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1999
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1999-08-01 至 2001-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9973447&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Behavioral; Chemical; Analyses; Trail; Pheromones

Animal Behavior ProgramNon-technical AbstractTitle: POWRE: Behavioral and Chemical Analyses of Trail Pheromones in the Amazonian bumble bee (Bombus transversalis)PI: Sydney A. CameronProposal #: 9973447 Social insects are endowed with complex chemical communication systems that rival the sophisticated communication systems of humans. It is well known, for instance, that foraging ants follow ground trails they chemically mark with pheromones to mediate communication with other members of the colony. The recent discovery by Dr. Cameron that a social bee in the Amazonian rain forest clears and follows trails resembling the ground trails of ants is striking because bees (and wasps) are not known to use ground trails for collecting resources. The focus of Dr. Cameron's POWRE research is to determine whether the recently discovered trail-following bees mark their trails with communication pheromones, as ants do. Ecological convergence between ants and this unusual rain forest bee in the use of trail pheromones seems quite possible. The POWRE activities are organized to test this hypothesis with behavioral observations, experimental manipulations, and chemical analyses, and to demonstrate the feasibility of a larger comparative study of trail pheromones in bees. The POWRE grant allows Dr. Cameron to conduct a pilot study to collect critical preliminary data, and affords her the opportunity to acquire the basic chemical-analytical skills required to carry on an expanded program in comparative exocrine-gland research. These skills will be acquired through contact at the host institution (Tel Aviv University) with a leading scientist in the field of chemical communication in insects. This collaboration will advance our knowledge of chemical communication in social insects and advance Dr. Cameron's own research program by enabling her to ultimately integrate behavior and chemical ecology with ongoing research into the evolution of social behavior in bees.

标题：POWRE：亚马逊大黄蜂（Bombus transversalis）尾信息素的行为和化学分析PI: Sydney A. CameronProposal #: 9973447社会性昆虫具有复杂的化学通信系统，可以与人类复杂的通信系统相媲美。例如，众所周知，觅食的蚂蚁会沿着它们用信息素做化学标记的地面痕迹，以调解与群体其他成员的交流。卡梅隆博士最近发现，亚马逊雨林中的一只群居蜜蜂会清理并沿着类似蚂蚁在地面上行走的路径行走，这一发现令人震惊，因为我们不知道蜜蜂（和黄蜂）会利用地面上的路径来收集资源。卡梅伦博士的POWRE研究的重点是确定最近发现的循迹蜜蜂是否像蚂蚁一样用信息素标记它们的踪迹。蚂蚁和这种不寻常的雨林蜜蜂在使用尾迹信息素方面的生态趋同似乎很有可能。POWRE活动的目的是通过行为观察、实验操作和化学分析来验证这一假设，并证明对蜜蜂的踪迹信息素进行更大规模比较研究的可行性。POWRE基金使Cameron博士能够开展一项试点研究，收集关键的初步数据，并使她有机会获得基本的化学分析技能，以便进行比较外腺研究的扩展项目。这些技能将通过在主办机构（特拉维夫大学）与昆虫化学通讯领域的一位领先科学家接触而获得。这次合作将推进我们对群居昆虫化学通讯的了解，并推进卡梅隆博士自己的研究计划，使她最终能够将行为和化学生态学与正在进行的蜜蜂社会行为进化研究结合起来。