CAREER: Eavesdropping and Stingless Bee Olfactory Communication Strategies

University Of California-San Diego, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

This research is the first detailed investigation of olfactory eavesdropping, espionage, in stingless bees. It evaluates how such espionage occurs in the field for natural food sources and how strategies such as changing odor-trail length may provide counter-espionage protection. The ultimate goal is to determine whether olfactory espionage may have driven the evolution of concealed symbolic communication inside the nest. For example, honeybees can encode the distance and direction to food through a special waggle dance performed inside the nest. Some stingless bees species may encode distance through sound pulses given inside the nest. Why did such sophisticated communication evolve, given that most social insects rely mainly on odor communication? Olfactory espionage may have played a role, driving communication into the protected fortress of the nest. Integral to this project is the goal of providing educational opportunities for San Diego-area minority and underprivileged high-school students, undergraduates from two-year and four-year colleges, and a graduate student as participants in a research experience that will teach the scientific method at different levels of sophistication, and enhance student teaching abilities. This will be accomplished through coursework, the ORBS (Opportunities for Research in Behavioral Sciences) Program developed by the P.I. to involve students and faculty at high schools and community colleges, and the e-lab. The ORBS program addresses the specific needs of minority high-school and community-college students while partnering them with four-year university students as models for their goal of advancing to higher education. Intellectual Merit: The research will increase our understanding of the role of eavesdropping and espionage in the evolution of animal communication. It begins to examine the question of whether espionage led to the evolution of communication systems incorporating counter-espionage strategies. Broader Impacts: The project will integrate research and education by examining the evolution of olfactory eavesdropping while providing graduate training, supporting undergraduate university, community-college, and high-school science education, and increasing minority participation in the Behavioral Sciences. Funds will (1) support one graduate student and that student's progress towards a scientific career, (2) train young Brazilian scientists, (3) support ORBS and enable students to acquire field experience and to present their results at conferences, and (4) support a yearly ORBS symposium and associated publication. This symposium provides an annual venue in which San Diego minority science-education programs will meet to share resources, recruit ORBS participants, and foster regional interest in the Behavioral Sciences.