A defining characteristic of societies is the ability of their members to perform tasks efficiently. Many proposed mechanisms by which these tasks are performed focus on jobs that can be accomplished by many individuals working independently; however, most research neglects those jobs that require coordination among individuals to effectively execute the task. Thermoregulatory fanning behavior in worker honeybees requires that coordination. In this study, researchers are exploring how honeybees coordinate with each other to most effectively cool their hive. The researchers believe that understanding more about fanning behavior allows the science community and public to prepare for how global climate change could affect honeybee populations in the future. Results from this project will contribute to the understanding of how societies function by providing insight into the immediate physiological mechanisms of behavior. Exploring these mechanisms will not only clarify how social behaviors are performed, but will also allow for future evolutionary comparisons of social behavior across taxa. As a model organism, honeybees are an incredible research tool, as they are the most well characterized example of eusociality, and they provide a powerful method by which to engage in science outreach. The proposed collaboration between the USDA and the University of Colorado will allow for interaction between academia and government. In addition, outreach will continue through an established beekeeping course for elementary-aged students with Science Discovery. Finally, this project has initiated an outreach interaction with the Denver Rescue Mission that expands this work outside of academia to a high-risk group of recovering addicts.
This research has uncovered several interesting components to fanning behavior that have not been explored in the context of division of labor in honeybees. Observable behavioral responses are caused by coordinated chemical reactions within the organism that involve neurons and their associated chemical signals, which are often biogenic amines. Four biogenic amines been identified as playing a significant role in the honeybee division of labor. The researchers hypothesize that fanning behavior is regulated by biogenic amines, and that fanning behavior is induced by a change in one of these four biogenic amines. Researchers will analyze behavioral data on the honey bee fanning response during development, including associated interactions with multiple individuals, as well as after injection with biogenic amines. For the biogenic amines analysis, the researchers will either be collecting honeybees from the hive or after they have been subjected to a heating regime behavioral assay. The honeybees will be snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen and dissected. Biogenic amine concentrations will be characterized using HPLC analyses between those individuals that are performing fanning at the hive and those that are not fanning to isolate the effects of task group on biogenic amine concentrations. By quantifying concentrations of all four biogenic amines, the researchers will be able to identify which one(s) is playing the most significant role in the initiation and performance of fanning. Following publication of results, processed HPLC data will be shared using online chemical databases, such as ChemSpider (www.chemspider.com/).
