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1,140 results for “Colony”
Data from: Netted crop covers reduce honey bee foraging activity and colony strength in a mass flowering crop
The widespread use of protective covers in horticulture represents a novel landscape-level change, presenting challenges for crop pollination. Honey bees (Apis mellifera L) are pollinators of many crops, but their behaviour can be affected by conditions under covers. To determine how netting crop covers can affect honey bee foraging dynamics, colony health, and pollination services, we assessed the performance of 52 nucleus honey bee colonies in five covered and six uncovered kiwifruit orchards. Colony strength was estimated pre- and post- introduction, and the foraging of individual bees (including pollen-, nectar-, and naïve foragers) was monitored in a subset of the hives fitted with RFID readers. Simultaneously, we evaluated pollination effectiveness by measuring flower visitation rates and the number of seeds produced after single honey bee visits. Honey bee colonies under cover exhibited both an acute loss of foragers and changes in the behaviour of successful foragers. Under cover, bees were four times less likely to return after their first trip outside the hive. Consequently, the number of adult bees in hives declined at a faster rate in these orchards, with colonies losing on average 1,057 ± 274 of their bees in under two weeks. Bees that did forage under cover completed fewer trips provisioning their colony, failing to re-enter after a few short-duration trips. These effects are likely to have implications for colony health and productivity. We also found that bee density (bees/thousand flowers) and visitation rates to flowers were lower under cover, however we did not detect a resultant change in pollination. Our findings highlight the need for environment-specific management techniques for pollinators. Improving honey bee orientation under covers and increasing our understanding of the effects of covers on bee nutrition and brood rearing should be primary objectives for maintaining colonies and potentially improving pollination in these systems.
Data from: Variation in patriline reproductive success during queen production in orphaned colonies of the thelytokous ant Cataglyphis cursor
In genetically diverse insect societies (polygynous or polyandrous queens), the production of new queens can set the ground for competition among lineages. This competition can be very intense when workers can reproduce using thelytoky as worker patrilines that manage to produce new queens gain a huge benefit. Selection at the individual level might then lead to the evolution of cheating genotypes, i.e. genotypes that reproduce more than their fair share. We studied the variation in reproductive success among worker patrilines in the thelytokous and highly polyandrous ant Cataglyphis cursor. Workers produce new queens by thelytoky in orphaned colonies. The reproductive success of each patriline was assessed in 13 orphaned colonies using genetic analysis of 433 workers and 326 worker-produced queens. Our results show that patrilines contributed unequally to queen production in half of the colonies and the success of patrilines was function of their frequencies in workers. However, over all colonies we observed a significant difference in the distribution of patrilines between workers and worker-produced queens, and this difference was significant in three out of 13 colonies. In addition, six colonies contained a low percentage of foreign workers (drifters) and in one colony they produced a disproportionably high number of queens. Hence, we found some evidence for the occurrence of rare cheating genotypes. Nevertheless, cheating appears to be less pronounced than in the Cape Honey bee, a species with a similar reproductive system. We argue that worker reproduction by parthenogenesis might not be common in natural populations of C. cursor.
Data from: Bourgeois behaviour and freeloading in the colonial orb-web spider Parawixia bistriata (Araneae, Araneidae)
Spiders of the tropical American colonial orb weaver Parawixia bistriata form a communal bivouac in daytime. At sunset, they leave the bivouac and construct individual, defended webs within a large, communally built scaffolding of permanent, thick silk lines between trees and bushes. Once spiders started building a web, they repelled other spiders walking on nearby scaffolding with a "bounce" behavior. In nearly all cases (93%), this resulted in the intruder leaving without a fight, akin to the "bourgeois strategy," in which residents win and intruders retreat without escalated contests. However, a few spiders (6.5%) did not build a web due to lack of available space. Webless spiders were less likely to leave when bounced (only 42% left) and instead attempted to "freeload," awaiting the capture of prey items in nearby webs. Our simple model shows that webless spiders should change their strategy from bourgeois to freeloading satellite as potential web sites become increasingly occupied.
Data from: From incipient to substantial: evolution of placentotrophy in a phylum of aquatic colonial invertebrates
Matrotrophy has long been known in invertebrates, but it is still poorly understood and has never been reviewed. A striking example of matrotrophy (namely, placentotrophy) is provided by the Bryozoa, a medium-sized phylum of the aquatic colonial filter feeders. Here I report on an extensive anatomical study of placental analogues in 21 species of the bryozoan order Cheilostomata, offering the first review on matrotrophy among aquatic invertebrates. The first anatomical description of incipient placentotrophy in invertebrates is presented together with the evidence for multiple independent origins of placental analogues in this order. The combinations of contrasting oocytic types (macrolecithal or oligolecithal) and various degrees of placental development and embryonic enlargement during incubation, found in different bryozoan species, are suggestive of a transitional series from the incipient to the substantial placentotrophy accompanied by an inverse change in oogenesis, a situation reminiscent of some vertebrates. It seems that matrotrophy could trigger the evolution of sexual zooidal polymorphism in some clades. The results of this study show that this phylum, with its wide variety of reproductive patterns, incubation devices and types of the simple placenta-like systems, offers a promising model for studying parallel evolution of placentotrophy in particular, and matrotrophy in general.
Data from: Caste ratios affect the reproductive output of social trematode colonies
Intraspecific phenotypic diversification in social organisms often leads to formation of physical castes which are morphologically specialised for particular tasks within the colony. The optimal caste allocation theory argues that specialised morphological castes are efficient at specific tasks, and hence different caste ratios should affect the ergonomic efficiency, hence reproductive output of the colony. However, the reproductive output of different caste ratios has been documented only in few species of insects with equivocal support for the theory. The present study investigated whether the ratios of non-reproductive and reproductive morphs affect the reproductive output of a recently discovered social trematode, Philophthalmus sp., in which the non-reproductive members are hypothesized to be defensive specialists. Census of natural infections and a manipulative in-vitro experiment demonstrated a positive association between the reproductive output of trematode colonies and the ratio of non-reproductive to reproductive morphs in the presence of an intra-host trematode competitor, Maritrema novaezealandensis. On the contrary, without the competitor, reproductive output was negatively associated with the proportion of non-reproductive castes in colonies. Our findings demonstrate for the first time a clear fitness benefit associated with the non-reproductive castes in the presence of a competitor while illustrating the cost of maintaining such morphs in non-competitive situations. Although the proximate mechanisms controlling caste ratio remain unclear in this trematode system, the present study supports the prediction that the fitness of colonies is influenced by the composition of specialized functional morphs in social organisms, suggesting a potential for adaptive shifts of caste ratios over evolutionary time.
Data from: Bidirectional shifts in colony queen number in a socially polymorphic ant population
The breeding system of social organisms affects many important aspects of social life. Some species vary greatly in the number of breeders per group, but the mechanisms and selective pressures contributing to the maintenance of this polymorphism in social structure remain poorly understood. Here, we take advantage of a genetic dataset that spans 15 years to investigate the dynamics of colony queen number within a socially polymorphic ant species. Our study population of Formica selysi has single- and multiple-queen colonies. We found that the social structure of this species is somewhat flexible: on average, each year 3.2% of the single-queen colonies became polygynous, and conversely 1.4% of the multiple-queen colonies became monogynous. The annualized queen replacement rates were 10.3 and 11.9% for single- and multiple-queen colonies, respectively. New queens were often but not always related to previous colony members. At the population level, the social polymorphism appeared stable. There was no genetic differentiation between single- and multiple-queen colonies at eight microsatellite loci, suggesting ongoing gene flow between social forms. Overall, the regular and bidirectional changes in queen number indicate that social structure is a labile trait in F. selysi, with neither form being favoured within a time-frame of 15 years.
Data from: Propagule pressure and colony social organization are associated with the successful invasion and rapid range expansion of fire ants in China
We characterized patterns of genetic variation in populations of the fire ant Solenopsis invicta in China using mitochondrial DNA sequences and nuclear microsatellite loci to test predictions as to how propagule pressure and subsequent dispersal following establishment jointly shape the invasion success of this ant in this recently invaded area. Fire ants in Wuchuan (Guangdong province) are genetically differentiated from those found in other large infested areas of China. The immediate source of ants in Wuchuan appears to be somewhere near Texas, which ranks first among states in the southern USA infested states in the exportation of goods to China. Most colonies from spatially distant, outlying areas in China are genetically similar to one another and appear to share a common source (Wuchuan, Guangdong province), suggesting that long-distance jump dispersal has been a prevalent means of recent spread of fire ants in China. Furthermore, most colonies at outlier sites are of the polygyne social form (featuring multiple egg-laying queens per nest), reinforcing the important role of this social form in the successful invasion of new areas and subsequent range expansion following invasion. Several analyses consistently revealed characteristic signatures of genetic bottlenecks for S. invicta populations in China. The results of this study highlight the invasive potential of this pest ant, suggest that the magnitude of international trade may serve as a predictor of propagule pressure and indicate that rates and patterns of subsequent range expansion are partly determined by the interplay between species traits and the trade and transportation networks.
Data from: Tight knit under stress: colony resilience to the loss of tandem leaders during relocation in an Indian ant
The movement of colonies from one nest to another is a frequent event in the lives of many social insects and is important for their survival and propagation. This goal-oriented task is accomplished by means of tandem running in some ant species, such as Diacamma indicum. Tandem leaders are central to this process as they know the location of the new nest and lead colony members to it. Relocations involving targeted removal of leaders were compared with unmanipulated and random member removal relocations. Behavioural observations were integrated with network analysis to examine the differences in the pattern of task organization at the level of individuals and that of the colony. All colonies completed relocation successfully and leaders who substituted the removed tandem leaders conducted the task at a similar rate having redistributed the task in a less skewed manner. In terms of network structure, this resilience was due to significantly higher density and outcloseness indicating increased interaction between substitute leaders. By contrast, leader–follower interactions and random removal networks showed no discernible changes. Similar explorations of other goal-oriented tasks in other societies will possibly unveil new facets in the interplay between individuals that enable the group to respond effectively to stress.
Data from: A high-resolution panorama camera system for monitoring colony-wide seabird nesting behaviour
1. Obtaining accurate and representative demographic metrics for animal populations is critical to many aspects of wildlife monitoring and management. However, at remote animal colonies, metrics derived from sequential counts or other continuous monitoring are often subject to logistical, weather and disturbance challenges.The development of remote camera technologies has assisted monitoring, but limitations in spatial and temporal resolution and sample sizes remain. 2. Here we describe the application of a robotic camera system (Gigapan) which takes a tiled sequence of photographs that are automatically stitched together to form high-resolution panoramas. We demonstrate the application of the Gigapan using data collected during field-testing at a shy albatross colony on Albatross Island in northwest Tasmania. 3. We took daily panoramas over five days to estimate mean incubation shift-duration, an indirect measure for foraging trip duration, in an existing study area. Similar numbers of occupied nests could be observed at a distance of ~100m in the Gigapan panoramas compared to ground-based counts (115 and 117 respectively). Of these, birds on 90% of nests visible in the panoramas could be unambiguously identified as marked or unmarked with a small daub of paint throughout the study period and thus a shift change reliably recorded. Gigapan-based shift duration was estimated using a novel instantaneous statistical method and were longer than estimates earlier in the egg brooding period, potentially revealing a new pattern in shift duration. 4. This example field application provides proof-of-concept and demonstration that the relatively low cost Gigapan system provides the spatial advantages of satellite or aerial photos with the detail and temporal replication of land-based camera systems. The Gigapan system can extend or enhance traditional data collection methods, particularly for simultaneous observations, at distance, of the behaviour of many surface nesting colonial seabirds..
Data from: Asexual queen succession mediates an accelerated colony life cycle in the termite Silvestritermes minutus
Mixed modes of reproduction, combining sexual processes with thelytokous parthenogenesis, occur in all major clades of social insects. In several species of termites, queens maximize their genetic input into nondispersing replacement queens through parthenogenesis, while maintaining genetically diverse sterile offspring and dispersing reproductives via sexual reproduction. This so-called asexual queen succession (AQS) has multiple independent origins and its presumed advantages are diverse as well, ranging from multiplication of colony reproductive potential to extension of its lifespan beyond that of the foundress. However, how AQS shapes colony life cycles under natural conditions remains poorly known. The neotropical termite Silvestritermes minutus inhabits small but conspicuous nests, offering a unique opportunity to investigate the impact of AQS on life history. We report on its breeding system, life cycle and sex allocation using social structure census in 137 nests and genotyping of 12 colonies at 12 microsatellite loci. We show that colonies are established by an outbred pair of primary reproductives. In less than 2 years, the foundress is replaced by multiple neotenic queens, arising mostly through automixis with central fusion. Sterile castes, male and most (93%) female dispersers are produced sexually. Colony reproduction is usually restricted to a single dispersal of alates with unbiased sex ratio, taking place after 3 years. We conclude that S. minutus benefits from AQS to maximize colony growth rate and alate production within a very short life cycle rather than to extend colony lifespan. This highlights the versatile role of AQS in different cases of its polyphyletic origin.
Data from: Effects of host colony size and hygiene behaviors on social spider kleptoparasite loads along an elevation gradient
1.Group living animals are likely to attract more parasites than solitary ones. Parasite loads, however, should also depend on environmental conditions and on host characteristics and behaviors. Previous work has found that social spider colonies harbor communities of kleptoparasitic spiders thats forego building their own web and, instead, steal prey from their social host. 2.We examined parasite loads and host hygiene behaviors in colonies of social and subsocial spiders in the genus Anelosimus along an elevation gradient in eastern Ecuador. 3.We found that parasite loads declined dramatically with increasing elevation. Host hygiene behaviors, such as debris removal, web repair, and interactions with the parasites, also declined with elevation. Within elevations, species with more frequent hygiene behaviors appeared more successful at keeping parasites at bay. Contrary to our predictions, parasite density declined with host nest and colony size. 4.The decline in parasite loads at higher elevations likely reflects a lower rate of energy exchange between colonies and their environments, where colder temperatures mean fewer and smaller prey for colonies to process. The decline in parasite density with host colony size may reflect a decline in the number of accessible prey in larger host colonies, as larger colonies should capture fewer but larger insects due to scaling properties of their three dimensional webs. 5.Social immunity, whereby a social host uses social behaviour to fight against parasites, has been studied in eusocial and non‐eusocial insects. This study opens up social spiders as a novel system in which to study how host characteristics interact with environmental factors to affect parasite loads. It also introduces the concept of group‐level immunity to social spiders and suggests a role for colony‐level metabolism in determining ecological patterns in parasitism.
Data from: Nest signature changes throughout colony cycle and after social parasite invasion in social wasps
Social insects recognize their nestmates by means of a cuticular hydrocarbon signature shared by colony members, but how nest signature changes across time has been rarely tested in longitudinal studies and in the field. In social wasps, the chemical signature is also deposited on the nest surface, where it is used by newly emerged wasps as a reference to learn their colony odor. Here, we investigate the temporal variations of the chemical signature that wasps have deposited on their nests. We followed the fate of the colonies of the social paper wasp Polistes biglumis in their natural environment from colony foundation to decline. Because some colonies were invaded by the social parasite Polistes atrimandibularis, we also tested the effects of social parasites on the nest signature. We observed that, as the season progresses, the nest signature changed; the overall abundance of hydrocarbons as well as the proportion of longer-chain and branched hydrocarbons increased. Where present, social parasites altered the host-nest signature qualitatively (adding parasite-specific alkenes) and quantitatively (by interfering with the increase in overall hydrocarbon abundance). Our results show that 1) colony odor is highly dynamic both in colonies controlled by legitimate foundresses and in those controlled by social parasites; 2) emerged offspring contribute little to colony signature, if at all, in comparison to foundresses; and 3) social parasites, that later mimic host signature, initially mark host nests with species-specific hydrocarbons. This study implies that important updating of the neural template used in nestmate recognition should occur in social insects.
Data from: Clinal variation in colony breeding structure and level of inbreeding in the subterranean termites Reticulitermes flavipes and R. grassei
Social insects exhibit remarkable variation in their colony breeding structures, both within and among species. Ecological factors are believed to be important in shaping reproductive traits of social insect colonies, yet there is little information linking specific environmental variables with differences in breeding structure. Subterranean termites (Rhinotermitidae) show exceptional variation in colony breeding structure, differing in the number of reproductives and degree of inbreeding; colonies can be simple families headed by a single pair of monogamous reproductives (king and queen) or they can be extended families headed by multiple inbreeding neotenic reproductives (wingless individuals). Using microsatellite markers, we characterized colony breeding structure and levels of inbreeding in populations over large parts of the range of the subterranean termites Reticulitermes flavipes in the USA and R. grassei in Europe. Combining these new data with previous results on populations of both species, we found that latitude had a strong effect on the proportion of extended-family colonies in R. flavipes and on levels of inbreeding in both species. We examined the effect of several environmental variables that vary latitudinally; while the degree of inbreeding was greatest in cool, moist habitats in both species, seasonality affected the species differently. Inbreeding in R. flavipes was most strongly associated with climatic variables (mean annual temperature and seasonality), whereas nonclimatic variables, including the availability of wood substrate and soil composition, were important predictors of inbreeding in R. grassei. These results are the first showing that termite breeding structure is shaped by local environmental factors and that species can vary in their responses to these factors.
1-2779 Colonial Figurine
Source: Objaverse 1.0 / Sketchfab
FIGURE 6. Macrorhynchia whiteleggei. Colony approximately 15 in New species, new records and redescriptions of Thecate hydroids (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa: Leptothecata) from Southern Australia
FIGURE 6. Macrorhynchia whiteleggei. Colony approximately 15 cm high, in situ photograph, Popes Eye reef, southern Port Phillip, depth 12 m, September 2008.
FIGURE 4. Tennysonia stellata Busk, 1867, colony morphotypes with A in Phylogenetic position and systematics of the bryozoan Tennysonia: further evidence for convergence and plasticity in skeletal morphology among cyclostome bryozoans
FIGURE 4. Tennysonia stellata Busk, 1867, colony morphotypes with A, narrow branches, (SAM A28765) and B, broad branches (SAM A28766). RIY Bank, Port Elizabeth. Scale bars 10 mm.
FIGURE 3. Colony and polyp morphology. A in Armadillogorgia albertoi sp. nov.: a new primnoid from the Argentinean deep sea
FIGURE 3. Colony and polyp morphology. A. Colony, lateral view; B. Colony, up-side view; C. Polyp, oral pore view; D. Polyp, detail of lateral side, E. Polyp, abaxial view; F. Polyp, lateral view; G. Polyp, adaxial view. A (MACN-IN 39214-II); B–G (MACN-IN 39214-II).
Annotated audio of the loud nest calls of brooding female rooks in five colonies with individual-level identification
<p>This data accompanies our article entitled '<strong>Individual, but not nest cluster or colonial, vocal signatures in the nest call of female rooks (Corvus frugilegus)</strong>'.</p> <p>The dataset.zip archive contains audio and annotations obtained from recording five different colonies of rooks during the breeding season. The audio was compressed losslessly to .flac files from the original wav format to save storage space. The annotations are the corresponding .txt files containing timestamps and individual identity for each call used in the article, intended for viewing in Audacity (open the flac files, then import the annotation file with the same name). Finally, the tabelau_vocs.tsv file is essentially all the .txt files aggregated for the analysis. </p> <p>Note that to run the analysis, either the .flac audio files must be converted back to .wav files, or the tableau_vocs.tsv file should be edited to point at the .flac files instead of the original .wav files.</p> <p>The intermediate_results.zip archive contains all intermediate results used in the analysis. These are meant to be used with the provided .R scripts in the same archive, which reproduce the statistical analysis and the figures in the article and supplementary.</p> <p>Finally, the supplementary.zip archive contains the supplementary materials provided with the article, including the supplementary.pdf file containing additional analyses, and the example_nest_calls folder containing example of nest calls from various females in the five colonies.</p> <p>The example nest calls are provided at various stages of processing: raw audio extracted from the spectrogram (the .wav files without suffixes), high-pass filter above 100 Hz (.wav files with the 'filtered' suffix), audio with all the processing steps including the spectral gating-based denoising, pre-amplification, and centering (.wav files with the 'processed' suffix), and spectrograms used as inputs for the analysis after dB-scaling and Mel frequenct-scaling (.png files).</p> <p> </p> <p>The rook_vocal_signatures-main.zip archive contains all the code as of the date of submission (August 21st, 2024) used in the article. This was added purely to anonymise the submission as much as possible. Up-to-date code should still be consulted from the link above (will be added after the paper is accepted.</p>
FIGURE 2. Trichoderma orarium BCRC 18F0041. A–C. Colonies after 7 d in Trichoderma orarium (Hypocreales): a new species from Taiwan
FIGURE 2. Trichoderma orarium BCRC 18F0041. A–C. Colonies after 7 d at 25 ˚C; A. from above on PDA, B. from below on PDA, C. from above on SNA. D–L. Conidiophores, phialides, and conidia formed on SNA. M–N. Conidia. Scale bar = 10 µm. Photographs by Y.-H. Wei.
Youth Political Mobilization in Tharaka-North during the Colonial Period between 1895 and 1963
<p><i>Kenyan youth have been a key constituency for political mobilization since the country's independence. Politicians across the country have in most cases co-opted the youth in electoral competitions to either retain or wrestle power from opponents. Despite their numerical strength, importance and historical relevance little attempt has been made to analyze youth political mobilization during colonial period in Tharaka-North sub-County, between 1895 and 1963 hence forming the purpose of the study. The objective that guided the study was to analyze youth political mobilization during colonial period in Tharaka-North sub-County, between 1895 and 1963. This study took the form of an exploratory research design. The study employed both primary and secondary data to accomplish its goal. The respondents for the field interviews were selected using stratified random and purposive sampling approaches. Stratified random sampling was used to select 90 respondents who comprised of ordinary youth residing in Tharaka North-Sub-County. This was backed up by purposive sampling technique which was used to select 10 lead respondents mostly youth leaders and elders. Research instruments used included interview schedules with open ended questions. Qualitative methods of data analysis and interpretation were used. Anchored on the theory of patron-client relationship this study argued that the political class take advantage of the desperate situation of the youth to promise goodies if propelled to positions of power. The findings of this study shows the youth in Tharaka were socialized to believe that leadership positions were reserved for the old and senior males because The patriarchal structure of Tharaka society acted as a barrier to the ascendancy of young men to positions of leadership. As a consequence of this, youth political mobilization was low. It recommended that Civic education should be geared towards making political awareness to young people and that the government should put in place strategies that will improve youth participation in the political process.</i></p>
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.