Abstract
Biological collectives, like honeybee colonies, can make intelligent decisions and robustly adapt to changing conditions via intricate systems of excitatory and inhibitory signals. In this study, we explore the role of behavioural plasticity and its relationship to network size by manipulating honeybee colony exposure to an artificial inhibitory signal. As predicted, inhibition was strongest in large colonies and weakest in small colonies. This is ecologically relevant for honeybees, for which reduced inhibitory effects may increase robustness in small colonies that must maintain a minimum level of foraging and food stores. We discuss evidence for size-dependent plasticity in other types of biological networks.
Highlights
Researchers have long noted that colonies of eusocial organisms, like honeybees, behave collectively as part of a superorganism to cells within a multicellular organism [1,2,3,4]
We explore the role of behavioural plasticity and its relationship to network size by manipulating honeybee colony exposure to an artificial inhibitory signal
During the stop signal playbacks, the mean number of waggle dances observed in large colonies, corrected for colony size, was 0.023 ± 0.02 dances per bee, and 0.037 ± 0.05 dances per bee in small colonies, a non-significant difference (Welch’s t15.85 = −0.92, p = 0.37)
Summary
Researchers have long noted that colonies of eusocial organisms, like honeybees, behave collectively as part of a superorganism (the colony) to cells within a multicellular organism [1,2,3,4]. Honeybees use the excitatory waggle dance to recruit hivemates to favourable resources, such as food sites [9]. Individual stop signals have a low associated probability of completely halting a waggle dance. They cumulatively inhibit recruitment [12,13]. The interplay between waggle dances and stop signals allows honeybee colonies to make collective decisions that have intriguing emergent properties [14,15,16]. When a potential nest site is being advertized, the colony must rapidly coalesce around the correct decision. Between dances, the dancers perform stop signals that target dancers for different nest sites. The resulting cross-inhibition shortens the dancing process, allows the colony to more rapidly choose the best site, and increases the reliability of this system by overcoming deadocks—all without any central director [15]
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