20 research outputs found
Learning-induced gene expression in the heads of two Nasonia species that differ in long-term memory formation
Intraspecific variability in associative learning in the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis
Introgression study reveals two quantitative trait loci involved in interspecific variation in memory retention among Nasonia wasp species
Species- and size-related differences in dopamine-like immunoreactive clusters in the brain of Nasonia vitripennis and N. giraulti
From whole bodies to single cells:A guide to transcriptomic approaches for ecology and evolutionary biology
From whole bodies to single cells:A guide to transcriptomic approaches for ecology and evolutionary biology
Octopamine-like immunoreactive neurons in the brain and subesophageal ganglion of the parasitic wasps Nasonia vitripennis and N. giraulti
Regulatory and sequence evolution in response to selection for improved associative learning ability in Nasonia vitripennis
A comparative study of relational learning capacity in honeybees (Apis mellifera) and stingless bees (Melipona rufiventris)
Background: Learning of arbitrary relations is the capacity to acquire knowledge about associations between events or stimuli that do not share any similarities, and use this knowledge to make behavioural choices. This capacity is well documented in humans and vertebrates, and there is some evidence it exists in the honeybee (Apis mellifera). However, little is known about whether the ability for relational learning extends to other invertebrates, although many insects have been shown to possess excellent learning capacities in spite of their small brains. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using a symbolic matching-to-sample procedure, we show that the honeybee Apis mellifera rapidly learns arbitrary relations between colours and patterns, reaching 68.2% correct choice for pattern-colour relations and 73.3% for colour-pattern relations. However, Apis mellifera does not transfer this knowledge to the symmetrical relations when the stimulus order is reversed. A second bee species, the stingless bee Melipona rufiventris from Brazil, seems unable to learn the same arbitrary relations between colours and patterns, although it exhibits excellent discrimination learning. Conclusions/Significance: Our results confirm that the capacity for learning arbitrary relations is not limited to vertebrates, but even insects with small brains can perform this learning task. Interestingly, it seems to be a species-specific ability. The disparity in relational learning performance between the two bee species we tested may be linked to their specific foraging and recruitment strategies, which evolved in adaptation to different environments