The Cognitive Ecology of Slow and Fast Phenotypes in Honeybees
The evolution and maintenance of cognitive variation is a question of fundamental interest in animal behavior because differences in cognition are predicted to underlie differences in behavior. The correlation between behavioral and cognitive variation has largely been conceptualized in terms of the speed-accuracy trade-off driving alternative cognitive strategies where ‘fast’ individuals are superficial learners that make inaccurate, risk-prone decisions relative to ‘slow’ individuals. In this talk, I will review my recent research exploring the factors that select for different cognitive abilities across four species of honeybee (Apis mellifera, A. cerana, A. dorsata, A. florea), mechanisms that maintain variation in cognitive ability within species, and the differences in ecology that may shape cognitive phenotypes. My results indicate the presence of two cognitive phenotypes composed of various cognitive traits that meet the predictions of the speed-accuracy trade-off and have important consequences for behavior and life history traits. This set of cognitive traits consistently covaries within each species, and cognitive variation appears to be driven by a complex relationship with the species unique environment as well as underlying trade-offs associated with costs of cognition.
zoom link: https://univ-tlse3-fr.zoom.us/j/92090549272?pwd=cFVxQ0RQM21Ta3pKejA0RmVEdXpsQT09
ID de réunion : 920 9054 9272
Code secret : 282469
Programme - Femmes & Sciences)
https://www.crick.ac.uk/research/labs/dominique-bonnet