Division of labor is a fundamental component of complex social systems, in groups as diverse as insects and mammals. In all social groups, division of labor involves specialization by individuals on certain tasks. However, for division of labor to function in a variable environment, it must allow for changes in task performance. In honey bees, Apis mellifera, task specialization depends on: (1) age polyethism, with individuals of different age groups performing different tasks within a colony, and (2) genetically-based individual preference for certain tasks. The long-term objective of this project is to determine the mechanisms for individual and societal task regulation in honey bees. More specifically, it will examine mechanisms for and constraints on individual flexibility in foraging behavior, and determine how individual variation in task performance is integrated into colony-level regulation of foraging. The project will use a variety of behavioral and genetic techniques, including use of instrumental insemination to construct honey bee colonies containing a variety of worker genotypes, and allozyme electrophoresis and DNA analyses (RAPD markers) to identify genetic subfamilies within colonies. Three principle questions will be addressed: (1) What are the relative contributions of individual flexibility and genotypic diversity to colony-level foraging plasticity?, (2) How do genetic and developmental constraints on individual behavioral flexibility constrain foraging behavior at the colony level?, and (3) How well do models of foraging flexibility developed using domesticated honey bee colonies predict the behavior of social groups under conditions of natural selection? This study will provide information crucial to understanding the evolution of division of labor in complex social systems, and mechanisms of behavioral flexibility in social insect colonies.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
First Independent Research Support & Transition (FIRST) Awards (R29)
Project #
5R29MH051329-05
Application #
2445530
Study Section
Psychobiology and Behavior Review Committee (PYB)
Project Start
1993-07-01
Project End
1998-12-31
Budget Start
1997-07-01
Budget End
1998-12-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
1997
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Arizona State University-Tempe Campus
Department
Zoology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
188435911
City
Tempe
State
AZ
Country
United States
Zip Code
85287
Bertram, Susan M; Gorelick, Root; Fewell, Jennifer H (2003) Colony response to graded resource changes: an analytical model of the influence of genotype, environment, and dominance. Theor Popul Biol 64:151-62
Julian, Glennis E; Fewell, Jennifer H; Gadau, Jurgen et al. (2002) Genetic determination of the queen caste in an ant hybrid zone. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 99:8157-60