DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Modulation of Active Learning Behavior in the Context of Foraging

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Modulation of active learning behavior in the context of foragingFred C. Dyer, Principal Investigator, Professor of ZoologyCynthia A. Wei, Doctoral Candidate in ZoologyAbstract Honeybees possess the remarkable ability to repeatedly return to specific flower patches that they have discovered. Essential to this ability is a behavior known as a learning flight. These flights, which are performed upon departure from a food source, allow a bee to collect visual information about landmarks nearby the food, which then help the bee find her way back. The performance of these flights is a modulated behavior; bees typically perform longer flights during the first few visits, and in subsequent visits, the durations of the flights decline. This raises a fundamental question: How do bees determine when and for how long to perform these flights? Answers to this question will provide greater understanding of learning as an active decision making process. The dissertation work of Cynthia Wei, under the guidance of Fred Dyer, has so far documented precise ways in which various factors influence the modulation of learning flight duration. The work supported by this award will expand upon these prior findings by studying the modulation of learning flight duration in a more natural foraging context. The specific goals are 1) to characterize the occurrence of learning flights in response to a change in nectar quality availability in a natural flower patch, 2) to determine the influence of nectar volume and concentration on the induction of learning flights, and 3) to determine the effect of observed occurrences of learning flights on subsequent spatial patterns of foraging. This research will further illuminate the processes by which animals make decisions to learn in response to changing needs for spatial information. It will also lead to a better understanding of how learning affects changes in spatial foraging patterns and the resulting implications for foraging success. Collectively, this work will help develop a clearer picture of how mechanisms of learning have been shaped by an animal's foraging ecology.