scholarly journals Foraging Behaviour and Individuality in the Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Davide Santoro
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Social Wasps ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Nest Defence ◽  
Foraging Effort ◽  
Social Bees ◽  
Vespula Vulgaris ◽  
The Common

<p>The extreme ecological success of insect societies is frequently attributed to the division of labour within their colonies (Chittka & Muller, 2009; Holldobler & Wilson, 2009; E. Wilson & Hölldobler, 2005). Yet, we are far from understanding the causes and consequences of division of labour, implying workers’ specialization (Chittka & Muller, 2009; Dornhaus, 2008). Moreover, little studied is the behaviour of individual workers (Jeanson & Weidenmüller, 2013). Social wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) have received less attention than social bees and ants, and our knowledge of basic aspect of their ecology is still poor (Jeanne, 1991; Greene, 1991). With my thesis, I aimed to contribute to a better understanding of the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) foraging ecology and organization of labour. With a particular attention to their foraging behaviour, I investigated the inter-individual variability among wasp workers and their cooperation.  My thesis shows evidence of information sharing and co-ordination in V. vulgaris foragers’ activity. In fact, the discovery and choice of resources by wasp foragers was assisted by information provided by experienced nestmates (Chapter 2). When resources known to portion of the workforce became newly available, the foraging effort of the whole colony increased. My observations of common wasps are hence consistent with foraging activation mechanisms and suggest piloting (in which one individual leads one or more nestmates to a resource) as a possible foraging recruitment mechanism in social wasps.  I found huge variation in lifetime activity, task performance, and survival among common wasp workers (Chapter 3). Some individuals specialized on alternative foraging tasks over their lifetime, and a minority individuals performed a disproportionately high number of foraging trips (elitism). Foragers appeared to become more successful with age, accomplishing more trips and carrying heavier fluid loads. Compared to smaller nestmates, larger wasps contributed more to the colony foraging economies. High mortality was associated with the beginning of the foraging activity, relative to lower mortality in more experienced workers.  I evaluated the performance of common wasp workers within the same insect colony, and found empirical support for the hypothesis that specialist foragers are more efficient than generalists (Chapter 4). In fact, V. vulgaris behavioural specialists performed more trips per foraging day and their trips tended to be shorter. Despite their more intense foraging effort, specialists lived longer than generalists.  I investigated the intra-colonial variation in the sting extension response (SER) of common wasps, measured as a proxy for individual aggressiveness (Chapter 5). I found that wasps vary greatly in their SER and that individuals change during their life. Aggressive individuals tended to become more docile, while docile individuals more aggressive. Older wasps tended to be more aggressive. Wasp size was not significantly related to the SER. Wasp foragers had a less pronounced sting extension than individuals previously involved in nest defence. For the same individual, the aggressive response was proportional to the intensity of the negative stimulus.</p>

scholarly journals Foraging Behaviour and Individuality in the Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Davide Santoro
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Social Wasps ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Nest Defence ◽  
Foraging Effort ◽  
Social Bees ◽  
Vespula Vulgaris ◽  
The Common

<p>The extreme ecological success of insect societies is frequently attributed to the division of labour within their colonies (Chittka & Muller, 2009; Holldobler & Wilson, 2009; E. Wilson & Hölldobler, 2005). Yet, we are far from understanding the causes and consequences of division of labour, implying workers’ specialization (Chittka & Muller, 2009; Dornhaus, 2008). Moreover, little studied is the behaviour of individual workers (Jeanson & Weidenmüller, 2013). Social wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) have received less attention than social bees and ants, and our knowledge of basic aspect of their ecology is still poor (Jeanne, 1991; Greene, 1991). With my thesis, I aimed to contribute to a better understanding of the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) foraging ecology and organization of labour. With a particular attention to their foraging behaviour, I investigated the inter-individual variability among wasp workers and their cooperation.  My thesis shows evidence of information sharing and co-ordination in V. vulgaris foragers’ activity. In fact, the discovery and choice of resources by wasp foragers was assisted by information provided by experienced nestmates (Chapter 2). When resources known to portion of the workforce became newly available, the foraging effort of the whole colony increased. My observations of common wasps are hence consistent with foraging activation mechanisms and suggest piloting (in which one individual leads one or more nestmates to a resource) as a possible foraging recruitment mechanism in social wasps.  I found huge variation in lifetime activity, task performance, and survival among common wasp workers (Chapter 3). Some individuals specialized on alternative foraging tasks over their lifetime, and a minority individuals performed a disproportionately high number of foraging trips (elitism). Foragers appeared to become more successful with age, accomplishing more trips and carrying heavier fluid loads. Compared to smaller nestmates, larger wasps contributed more to the colony foraging economies. High mortality was associated with the beginning of the foraging activity, relative to lower mortality in more experienced workers.  I evaluated the performance of common wasp workers within the same insect colony, and found empirical support for the hypothesis that specialist foragers are more efficient than generalists (Chapter 4). In fact, V. vulgaris behavioural specialists performed more trips per foraging day and their trips tended to be shorter. Despite their more intense foraging effort, specialists lived longer than generalists.  I investigated the intra-colonial variation in the sting extension response (SER) of common wasps, measured as a proxy for individual aggressiveness (Chapter 5). I found that wasps vary greatly in their SER and that individuals change during their life. Aggressive individuals tended to become more docile, while docile individuals more aggressive. Older wasps tended to be more aggressive. Wasp size was not significantly related to the SER. Wasp foragers had a less pronounced sting extension than individuals previously involved in nest defence. For the same individual, the aggressive response was proportional to the intensity of the negative stimulus.</p>

Capturing the Four-Phase Team Adaptation Process With Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS)

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 336-347
Author(s):  
Eleni Georganta ◽  
Felix C. Brodbeck
Keyword(s):  
Rating Scales ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Team Development ◽  
Adaptation Process ◽  
Adaptation Studies ◽  
Team Processes ◽  
Team Adaptation ◽  
The Common ◽  
Acceptable Reliability ◽  
Adaptation Phase

Abstract. As a response to the lack of quantitative and reliable measures of the team adaptation process, the aim of the present study was to develop and validate an instrument for assessing the four phases of the team adaptation process as described by Rosen and colleagues (2011) . Two trained raters and two subject matter expert groups contributed to the development of four behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) that span across the spectrum of team processes involved in each team adaptation phase. To validate the four BARS, two different trained raters assessed independently the team adaptation phases of 66 four-person teams. The validation study provided empirical support for the BARS’ psychometric adequacy. The BARS measures overcame the common middle anchor problem, showed sensitivity in differentiating between teams and between the four phases, showed evidence for acceptable reliability, construct, and criterion validity, and supported the theoretical team adaptation process assumptions. The study contributes to research and praxis by enabling the direct assessment of the overall team adaptation process, thereby facilitating our understanding of this complex phenomenon. This allows the identification of behavioral strengths and weaknesses for targeted team development and comprehensive team adaptation studies.

The Semantics of Evidentials

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah E. Murray
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Formal Semantics ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Propositional Content ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Truth Conditional ◽  
The Common ◽  
Issue Content

This book gives a compositional, truth‐conditional, crosslinguistic semantics for evidentials set in a theory of the semantics for sentential mood. Central to this semantics is a proposal about a distinction between what propositional content is at‐issue, roughly primary or proffered, and what content is not‐at‐issue. Evidentials contribute not‐at‐issue content, more specifically what I will call a not‐at‐issue restriction. In addition, evidentials can affect the level of commitment a sentence makes to the main proposition, contributed by sentential mood. Building on recent work in the formal semantics of evidentials and related phenomena, the proposed semantics does not appeal to separate dimensions of illocutionary meaning. Instead, I argue that all sentences make three contributions: at‐issue content, not‐at‐issue content, and an illocutionary relation. At‐issue content is presented, made available for subsequent anaphora, but is not directly added to the common ground. Not‐at‐issue content directly updates the common ground. The illocutionary relation uses the at‐issue content to impose structure on the common ground, which, depending on the clause type (e.g., declarative, interrogative), can trigger further updates. Empirical support for this proposal comes from Cheyenne (Algonquian, primary data from the author’s fieldwork), English, and a wide variety of languages that have been discussed in the literature on evidentials.

Field Observations on the Common Striped Possum (Dactylopsila Trivirgata) in North Queensland.

1996 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 755 ◽  
Author(s):  
KA Handasyde ◽  
RW Martin
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Male Body ◽  
Radio Tracking ◽  
Minimum Convex Polygon ◽  
Far North ◽  
Large Trees ◽  
The Common ◽  
Primary Habitat

Habitat utilisation and foraging behaviour by the common striped possum (Dactylopsila trivirgata) was investigated by means of spotlighting and radio-tracking at Shiptons Flat, far north Queensland. Vine forest was the primary habitat of D. trivirgata; however, animals were also observed in open eucalypt (Eucalyptus tereticornis) woodland. Information collected on foraging behaviour suggests that D. trivirgata are generalist insectivores consuming some fruit and other foodstuffs, such as honey. Radio-tracking data were used to calculate the home-range areas of two subadult males. The home range of the smaller male (body weight 290 g) was 5.2 ha (by the 95% harmonic mean (HM) method) or 6.5 ha (by the minimum convex polygon (MCP) method), and that of the larger male (body weight 415 g) was 21.2 ha (95% HM) or 21.3 ha (MCP). Large trees with hollows, which are utilized for denning, appear to be an important feature of the habitat for this species. D. trivirgata exhibits a pronounced degree of sociality and may breed seasonally. Observations suggest that amethystine pythons (Morelia amethistina) may be major predators of D. trivirgata at Shiptons Flat.

Multiple cues guarantee successful predation by a Neotropical wasp

Behaviour ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Isamara Mendes-Silva ◽  
Drielly Queiroga ◽  
Eduardo S. Calixto ◽  
Helena M. Torezan-Silingardi ◽  
Kleber Del-Claro
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Social Wasps ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Tropical Savanna ◽  
Physiological Mechanisms ◽  
Multiple Cues ◽  
Floral Buds ◽  
The Future ◽  
Tactile Cues ◽  
Successful Predation

Abstract Predatory social wasps are well studied in several aspects; however, foraging behaviour, especially that which takes place away from the nest at often unpredictable locations, or specialized behaviours to find and subdue prey are not well understood. In the Brazilian tropical savanna, the Polistinae wasp Brachygastra lecheguana is specialized in preying on some endophytic weevil larvae which develops inside floral buds. We hypothesized that these wasps utilize a combination of different mechanisms such as visual, chemical (odour) and possible tactile cues to find the weevil larvae. Using a combination of experimental manipulations (visual; chemical; visual/chemical) we tested the wasp’s ability to detect the endophytic larvae in the field. Additionally, we checked the ability of this wasp to detect vibrations produced by the weevils inside the buds. Our results suggest that the B. lecheguana wasp utilizes a sequence of eco-physiological mechanisms to find the endophytic larva inside floral buds: sight, smell, and perhaps touch. The use of multiple cues by this wasp guarantees such a high rate of predation on endophytic beetles that the wasp may have positive implications (reduction in weevils’ infestation) for the future of the host plant’s reproduction.

Treatment of Personality

2018 ◽  
pp. 281-286
Author(s):  
S. Nassir Ghaemi
Keyword(s):  
Personality Disorder ◽  
Personality Disorders ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Symptomatic Treatment ◽  
Borderline Personality ◽  
Antisocial Personality ◽  
Schizotypal Personality ◽  
Narcissistic Personality ◽  
Personality Changes ◽  
The Common

The diagnosis and treatment of personality are probed. Some DSM definitions are viewed as either invalid (narcissistic personality disorder) or related to other conditions (schizotypal personality). Instead, DSM-based personality “disorders” are seen as psychoanalytic speculations, with weak empirical support, except for borderline personality and antisocial personality. Other aspects of personality are best understood as traits, rather than “disorders,” or as symptomatic changes that are acute and occur lower in the hierarchy of diagnosis than mood or psychotic states, and are caused by the latter. The common report of purported comorbidity is seen as an overestimation, with personality changes often being part of other conditions. Symptomatic treatment is seen to be questionable in benefit over risk, both for dopamine blockers and for SRIs.

scholarly journals The Common Rhythm of Action and Perception

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Benedetto ◽  
Maria Concetta Morrone ◽  
Alice Tomassini
Keyword(s):  
Phase Locking ◽  
Continuous Process ◽  
Sensory System ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
General Nature ◽  
Action Perception ◽  
Neurophysiological Data ◽  
The Common ◽  
Coupling Mechanisms

Research in the last decade has undermined the idea of perception as a continuous process, providing strong empirical support for its rhythmic modulation. More recently, it has been revealed that the ongoing motor processes influence the rhythmic sampling of sensory information. In this review, we will focus on a growing body of evidence suggesting that oscillation-based mechanisms may structure the dynamic interplay between the motor and sensory system and provide a unified temporal frame for their effective coordination. We will describe neurophysiological data, primarily collected in animals, showing phase-locking of neuronal oscillations to the onset of (eye) movements. These data are complemented by novel evidence in humans, which demonstrate the behavioral relevance of these oscillatory modulations and their domain-general nature. Finally, we will discuss the possible implications of these modulations for action–perception coupling mechanisms.

scholarly journals Death of an order: a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study confirms that termites are eusocial cockroaches

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daegan Inward ◽  
George Beccaloni ◽  
Paul Eggleton
Keyword(s):  
Social Insects ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Social Wasps ◽  
Phylogenetic Study ◽  
Social Bees ◽  
Molecular Phylogenetic Study ◽  
Molecular Phylogenetic ◽  
The Tropics

Termites are instantly recognizable mound-builders and house-eaters: their complex social lifestyles have made them incredibly successful throughout the tropics. Although known as ‘white ants’, they are not ants and their relationships with other insects remain unclear. Our molecular phylogenetic analyses, the most comprehensive yet attempted, show that termites are social cockroaches, no longer meriting being classified as a separate order (Isoptera) from the cockroaches (Blattodea). Instead, we propose that they should be treated as a family (Termitidae) of cockroaches. It is surprising to find that a group of wood-feeding cockroaches has evolved full sociality, as other ecologically dominant fully social insects (e.g. ants, social bees and social wasps) have evolved from solitary predatory wasps.

scholarly journals The ecology of insect–yeast relationships and its relevance to human industry

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1875) ◽  
pp. 20172733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne A. Madden ◽  
Mary Jane Epps ◽  
Tadashi Fukami ◽  
Rebecca E. Irwin ◽  
John Sheppard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Wasps ◽  
Evolutionary Relationships ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Honest Signal ◽  
Industrial Chemicals ◽  
Ascomycetous Yeast ◽  
Yeast Diversity ◽  
Social Bees ◽  
New Yeast ◽  
The Relationship

Many species of yeast are integral to human society. They produce many of our foods, beverages and industrial chemicals, challenge us as pathogens, and provide models for the study of our own biology. However, few species are regularly studied and much of their ecology remains unclear, hindering the development of knowledge that is needed to improve the relationships between humans and yeasts. There is increasing evidence that insects are an essential component of ascomycetous yeast ecology. We propose a ‘dispersal–encounter hypothesis' whereby yeasts are dispersed by insects between ephemeral, spatially disparate sugar resources, and insects, in turn, obtain the benefits of an honest signal from yeasts for the sugar resources. We review the relationship between yeasts and insects through three main examples: social wasps, social bees and beetles, with some additional examples from fruit flies. Ultimately, we suggest that over the next decades, consideration of these ecological and evolutionary relationships between insects and yeasts will allow prediction of where new yeast diversity is most likely to be discovered, particularly yeasts with traits of interest to human industry.

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