Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/18274
Title: | Do small swarms have an advantage when house hunting? The effect of swarm size on nest-site selection by 'Apis mellifera' | Contributor(s): | Schaerf, Timothy (author)![]() |
Publication Date: | 2013 | Open Access: | Yes | DOI: | 10.1098/rsif.2013.0533![]() |
Handle Link: | https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/18274 | Abstract: | Reproductive swarms of honeybees are faced with the problem of finding a good site to establish a new colony. We examined the potential effects of swarm size on the quality of nest-site choice through a combination of modelling and field experiments.We used an individual-based model to examine the effects of swarm size on decision accuracy under the assumption that the number of bees actively involved in the decision-making process (scouts) is an increasing function of swarm size. We found that the ability of a swarm to choose the best of two nest sites decreases as swarm size increases when there is some time-lag between discovering the sites, consistent with Janson & Beekman (Janson & Beekman 2007 Proceedings of European Conference on Complex Systems, pp. 204-211.). However, when simulated swarms were faced with a realistic problem of choosing between many nest sites discoverable at all times, larger swarms were more accurate in their decisions than smaller swarms owing to their ability to discover nest sites more rapidly. Our experimental fieldwork showed that large swarms invest a larger number of scouts into the decision-making process than smaller swarms. Preliminary analysis of waggle dances from experimental swarms also suggested that large swarms could indeed discover and advertise nest sites at a faster rate than small swarms. | Publication Type: | Journal Article | Grant Details: | ARC/DP0984731 | Source of Publication: | Journal of the Royal Society. Interface, 10(87), p. 1-9 | Publisher: | The Royal Society Publishing | Place of Publication: | United Kingdom | ISSN: | 1742-5662 1742-5689 |
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: | 010202 Biological Mathematics 060201 Behavioural Ecology 060801 Animal Behaviour |
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: | 490102 Biological mathematics 310301 Behavioural ecology 310901 Animal behaviour |
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: | 970101 Expanding Knowledge in the Mathematical Sciences 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences |
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: | 280102 Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences 280118 Expanding knowledge in the mathematical sciences |
Peer Reviewed: | Yes | HERDC Category Description: | C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal |
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Appears in Collections: | Journal Article |
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