Behavioral Ecology Advance Access originally published online on May 30, 2008
Behavioral Ecology 2008 19(5):936-948; doi:10.1093/beheco/arn048
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Trapline foraging by bumble bees: V. Effects of experience and priority on competitive performance
a Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan b Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Harbord Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3GS, Canada
Address correspondence to K. Ohashi. E-mail: kohahsi{at}ies.life.tsukuba.ac.jp.
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Abstract |
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Animals collecting resources that are fixed in space but replenish over time, such as floral nectar and pollen, often establish small foraging areas to which they return faithfully. Some repeatedly visit a set of patches in a significantly predictable sequence (so-called "trapline foraging"), which may allow them to focus on more profitable patches in their foraging areas. The functional significance of trapline foraging itself, however, has not been empirically demonstrated, especially in competitive situations. We conducted laboratory experiments with artificial flowers to test whether and how accumulated foraging experience in bumble bees affects their movement patterns and foraging performance in the presence of competition. Experienced bees with prior access to flowers achieved higher rates of nectar intake than did later arrivals because they traveled faster between flowers and returned to flowers at more regular intervals. These behavioral skills improved foraging performance in competitive situations in 2 ways: nectar that accumulated in flowers could be harvested before its replenishment rate slowed down, and nectar could be taken before the arrival of a competitor. In each foraging trip, however, bees traveled more slowly as they followed more repeatable routes. Despite this trade-off between speed and accuracy in traplining, bees constantly upgraded both skills as they gained experience from trip to trip. This upgrading still occurred in the absence of a competitor. Foraging area fidelity thus allowed bumble bees to establish long-term spatial memory required for fast movements and accurate traplining and, in turn, increased their foraging performance in competition with less experienced individuals.
Key words: area fidelity, Bombus, competition, foraging experience, long-term spatial memory, trapline foraging, travel speed.
Received 22 November 2007; revised 28 March 2008; accepted 28 March 2008.
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