scholarly journals Collective foraging in spatially complex nutritional environments

2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1727) ◽  
pp. 20160238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Lihoreau ◽  
Michael A. Charleston ◽  
Alistair M. Senior ◽  
Fiona J. Clissold ◽  
David Raubenheimer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Nutrient Intake ◽  
Spatial Ecology ◽  
Nutritional Ecology ◽  
Nutritional Composition ◽  
Social Effects ◽  
Heterogeneous Environments ◽  
Nutritional Geometry ◽  
Collective Foraging ◽  
Collective Animal Behaviour

Nutrition impinges on virtually all aspects of an animal's life, including social interactions. Recent advances in nutritional ecology show how social animals often trade-off individual nutrition and group cohesion when foraging in simplified experimental environments. Here, we explore how the spatial structure of the nutritional landscape influences these complex collective foraging dynamics in ecologically realistic environments. We introduce an individual-based model integrating key concepts of nutritional geometry, collective animal behaviour and spatial ecology to study the nutritional behaviour of animal groups in large heterogeneous environments containing foods with different abundance, patchiness and nutritional composition. Simulations show that the spatial distribution of foods constrains the ability of individuals to balance their nutrient intake, the lowest performance being attained in environments with small isolated patches of nutritionally complementary foods. Social interactions improve individual regulatory performances when food is scarce and clumpy, but not when it is abundant and scattered, suggesting that collective foraging is favoured in some environments only. These social effects are further amplified if foragers adopt flexible search strategies based on their individual nutritional state. Our model provides a conceptual and predictive framework for developing new empirically testable hypotheses in the emerging field of social nutrition. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Physiological determinants of social behaviour in animals’.

scholarly journals Exploring Interactions between the Gut Microbiota and Social Behavior through Nutrition

Genes ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristian Pasquaretta ◽  
Tamara Gómez-Moracho ◽  
Philipp Heeb ◽  
Mathieu Lihoreau
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Nutritional Ecology ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Nutritional Geometry ◽  
Social Animals

Microbes influence a wide range of host social behaviors and vice versa. So far, however, the mechanisms underpinning these complex interactions remain poorly understood. In social animals, where individuals share microbes and interact around foods, the gut microbiota may have considerable consequences on host social interactions by acting upon the nutritional behavior of individual animals. Here we illustrate how conceptual advances in nutritional ecology can help the study of these processes and allow the formulation of new empirically testable predictions. First, we review key evidence showing that gut microbes influence the nutrition of individual animals, through modifications of their nutritional state and feeding decisions. Next, we describe how these microbial influences and their social consequences can be studied by modelling populations of hosts and their gut microbiota into a single conceptual framework derived from nutritional geometry. Our approach raises new perspectives for the study of holobiont nutrition and will facilitate theoretical and experimental research on the role of the gut microbiota in the mechanisms and evolution of social behavior.

scholarly journals Individual learning phenotypes drive collective behavior

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (30) ◽  
pp. 17949-17956 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsea N. Cook ◽  
Natalie J. Lemanski ◽  
Thiago Mosqueiro ◽  
Cahit Ozturk ◽  
Jürgen Gadau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Collective Behavior ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Learning Behavior ◽  
Collective Foraging ◽  
Familiar Stimuli ◽  
Bee Colonies

Individual differences in learning can influence how animals respond to and communicate about their environment, which may nonlinearly shape how a social group accomplishes a collective task. There are few empirical examples of how differences in collective dynamics emerge from variation among individuals in cognition. Here, we use a naturally variable and heritable learning behavior called latent inhibition (LI) to show that interactions among individuals that differ in this cognitive ability drive collective foraging behavior in honey bee colonies. We artificially selected two distinct phenotypes: high-LI bees that ignore previously familiar stimuli in favor of novel ones and low-LI bees that learn familiar and novel stimuli equally well. We then provided colonies differentially composed of different ratios of these phenotypes with a choice between familiar and novel feeders. Colonies of predominantly high-LI individuals preferred to visit familiar food locations, while low-LI colonies visited novel and familiar food locations equally. Interestingly, in colonies of mixed learning phenotypes, the low-LI individuals showed a preference to visiting familiar feeders, which contrasts with their behavior when in a uniform low-LI group. We show that the shift in feeder preference of low-LI bees is driven by foragers of the high-LI phenotype dancing more intensely and attracting more followers. Our results reveal that cognitive abilities of individuals and their social interactions, which we argue relate to differences in attention, drive emergent collective outcomes.

Effects of social behaviour on patch utilization by sheep in a complex vegetation mosaic

2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 ◽  
pp. 63-63
Author(s):  
A. M. Sibbald ◽  
S. P. Oom ◽  
R. J. Hooper ◽  
R. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Small Groups ◽  
Patch Size ◽  
Calluna Vulgaris ◽  
Heterogeneous Environments ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Vegetation Mosaics ◽  
Vegetation Patches ◽  
Vegetation Mosaic

In heterogeneous environments, such as complex vegetation mosaics, there is likely to be a dynamic interaction between the spatial pattern of the vegetation and the distribution of the animals grazing there. Preferences for particular vegetation types will influence where animals choose to feed and, in turn, changes to the vegetation caused by damage from grazing and trampling will affect the dynamics of the mosaic. Social interactions, amongst highly social grazers such as sheep, can also affect the distribution of the animals, depending on the relationship between the dimensions of vegetation patches and the characteristic spacing of the animals. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between patch utilization and patch size for small groups of Scottish Blackface sheep foraging in a natural heather (Calluna vulgaris ) and grass mosaic.

scholarly journals The physical boundaries of public goods cooperation between surface-attached bacterial cells

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1858) ◽  
pp. 20170631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Weigert ◽  
Rolf Kümmerli
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Soft Tissue ◽  
Fluorescence Microscopy ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Single Cell ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Social Effects ◽  
Bacterial Cells ◽  
Soft Tissue Infections ◽  
Natural Conditions

Bacteria secrete a variety of compounds important for nutrient scavenging, competition mediation and infection establishment. While there is a general consensus that secreted compounds can be shared and therefore have social consequences for the bacterial collective, we know little about the physical limits of such bacterial social interactions. Here, we address this issue by studying the sharing of iron-scavenging siderophores between surface-attached microcolonies of the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Using single-cell fluorescence microscopy, we show that siderophores, secreted by producers, quickly reach non-producers within a range of 100 µm, and significantly boost their fitness. Producers in turn respond to variation in sharing efficiency by adjusting their pyoverdine investment levels. These social effects wane with larger cell-to-cell distances and on hard surfaces. Thus, our findings reveal the boundaries of compound sharing, and show that sharing is particularly relevant between nearby yet physically separated bacteria on soft surfaces, matching realistic natural conditions such as those encountered in soft tissue infections.

scholarly journals The physical boundaries of public goods cooperation between surface-attached bacterial cells

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Weigert ◽  
Rolf Kümmerli
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Soft Tissue ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Single Cell ◽  
Fluorescent Microscopy ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Social Effects ◽  
Bacterial Cells ◽  
Soft Tissue Infections ◽  
Natural Conditions

AbstractBacteria secrete a variety of compounds important for nutrient scavenging, competition mediation and infection establishment. While there is a general consensus that secreted compounds can be shared and therefore have social consequences for the bacterial collective, we know little about the physical limits of such bacterial social interactions. Here, we address this issue by studying the sharing of iron-scavenging siderophores between surface-attached microcolonies of the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Using single-cell fluorescent microscopy, we show that siderophores, secreted by producers, quickly reach non-producers within a range of 100 μm, and significantly boost their fitness. Producers in turn respond to variation in sharing efficiency by adjusting their pyoverdine investment levels. These social effects wane with larger cell-to-cell distances and on hard surfaces. Thus, our findings reveal the boundaries of compound sharing, and show that sharing is particularly relevant between nearby yet physically separated bacteria on soft surfaces, matching realistic natural conditions such as those encountered in soft tissue infections.

scholarly journals Optimizing the Nutritional Composition of a Meat Substitute Intended to Replace Meat in Observed Diet Results in Marked Improvement of the Diet Quality of French Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 1089-1089
Author(s):  
Marion Salomé ◽  
Hélène Fouillet ◽  
Marie-Charlotte Nicaud ◽  
Alison Dussiot ◽  
Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Diet Quality ◽  
Nutrient Intake ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Linear Optimization ◽  
Nutritional Composition ◽  
Alpha Linolenic Acid ◽  
Meat Substitute ◽  
Dried Shiitake Mushroom ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Objectives While consumers’ demand is growing, meat substitutes have much varied composition, raising questions about their nutritional interest. We aimed to identify the composition of a meat substitute that would best improve diet quality, and analyze the impact on nutrient adequacy. Methods We aimed at maximizing the overall diet quality of an average individual representing the nutrient intake of the French adult population (INCA3, n = 1125) by modeling the composition of a meat substitute intended to replace meat, using non-linear optimization (using SAS, proc optmodel). The diet quality was assessed using the PANDiet scoring system, which assesses the probability of adequate nutrient intake. Nutritional constraints were applied in order to not increase the risk of overt deficiency for 12 nutrients. A list of 159 ingredients was used to compose the meat replacer and technological constraints were defined so as to take into account the feasibility of the formulation. The impacts on diet quality of the modelled meat substitute were analyzed and compared with those of 43 meat substitutes on the market. Results The optimized meat substitute was composed of 13 ingredients (such as coco bean, yellow sweet pepper, rapeseed oil, dried shiitake mushroom, wheat bran and thyme) and this formulation proved to be relatively robust to variations in the model constraints, as shown by a sensitivity analysis. Meat substitution with this optimized meat substitute largely increased the PANDiet, by 5.5 points above its initial value before substitution (73.7/100). In particular, it led to better adequacies for nutrients that are currently insufficiently consumed (e.g., alpha-linolenic acid, fiber, linoleic acid). It also allowed to compensate for loss of some nutrients partly provided by meat (e.g., vitamin B6, potassium and, to a certain extent, bioavailable iron), but was not sufficient to compensate for bioavailable zinc and vitamin B12. The optimized meat substitute proved to be dramatically more nutritionally efficient than the available meat substitutes, whose individual impact on the PANDiet ranged from −3.1 to +1.5 points. Conclusions We proved that it is possible to select appropriate ingredients resulting in a meat substitute that could be a fairly good nutritional lever when substituting meat. Funding Sources Partly funded by a PhD fellowship from Terres Univia.

The Nutritional Ecology of Marine Apex Predators

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 361-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel E. Machovsky-Capuska ◽  
David Raubenheimer
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Energy Content ◽  
Nutritional Ecology ◽  
Ecological Interactions ◽  
Multidimensional Approach ◽  
Apex Predators ◽  
Marine Predator ◽  
Marine Predators ◽  
Nutritional Geometry ◽  
Niche Concept

Apex predators play pivotal roles in marine ecosystems, mediated principally through diet and nutrition. Yet, compared with terrestrial animals, the nutritional ecology of marine predators is poorly understood. One reason is that the field has adhered to an approach that evaluates diet principally in terms of energy gain. Studies in terrestrial systems, by contrast, increasingly adopt a multidimensional approach, the nutritional geometry framework, that distinguishes specific nutrients and calories. We provide evidence that a nutritional approach is likewise relevant to marine apex predators, then demonstrate how nutritional geometry can characterize the nutrient and energy content of marine prey. Next, we show how this framework can be used to reconceptualize ecological interactions via the ecological niche concept, and close with a consideration of its application to problems in marine predator research.

scholarly journals Nutritional ecology beyond the individual: a conceptual framework for integrating nutrition and social interactions

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Lihoreau ◽  
Jerome Buhl ◽  
Michael A. Charleston ◽  
Gregory A. Sword ◽  
David Raubenheimer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Nutritional Ecology ◽  
The Individual

scholarly journals The Protein Paradox: Elucidating the Complex Nutritional Ecology of the Invasive Berry Pest, Spotted-Wing Drosophila (Diptera: Drosophila suzukii)

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie Deans ◽  
William D. Hutchison
Keyword(s):  
Nutrient Intake ◽  
Nutritional Ecology ◽  
Spotted Wing Drosophila ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Strong Impact ◽  
Drosophila Suzukii ◽  
Economic Problems ◽  
Lower Protein ◽  
Microbial Associations ◽  
Protein Rich

Spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii, has become one of the most widely studied insect species over the last decade, largely due to its recent invasion and rapid expansion across the Americas and Europe. Unlike other drosophilid species, which colonize rotting fruit, SWD females possess a serrated ovipositor that allows them to lay eggs in intact ripening fruit, causing significant economic problems for fruit/berry producers worldwide. Though an impressive amount of research has been conducted on SWD's ecology and physiology, aspects of their nutritional ecology remain ambiguous. This review synthesizes the research to date to provide a more comprehensive view of SWD's nutritional relationship with its fruit hosts and associated microbes. Overall, data suggest that SWD's ability to utilize novel resources is likely due to changes in their ecological, rather than physiological, niche that are largely mediated by microbial associations. Studies show that SWD's nutrient intake is comparable to other drosophilid species, indicating limited adaptation to feeding on lower-protein resources. Instead, data show that fruit protein content is a reliable predictor of host suitability and that fruit-microbe dynamics have a strong impact on protein availability. In particularly, fruit protein increases after infestation with SWD-associated microbes, suggesting that initially-suboptimal intact fruits can become protein-rich on a timeframe that is relevant for larval nutrition. This body of work suggests that microbial associations between flies and their fruit hosts can compensate for the nutritional differences between intact and rotting fruit, and that these relationships are likely responsible for SWD's expanded nutritional niche.

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