SR3: Srinivasan et al 2000-honeybee navigation Flashcards
what are the 2 theories for how honeybees estimate distance to food?
- distance flown is estimated by energy consumption
2. cue is visual and depends on the extent the image of the world has changed during the trip
how did the study test the hypotheses?
observed bee dances flown through short narrow tunnel for a food reward
what was found to be visually driven?
the honeybees odometer
what was the top of the tunnel covered with?
insect netting
what were the patterning options in the tunnel?
experiment 1, 2, 4- random pattern
experiment 3- 1X1cm parallel stripes
why were foragers in experiment 2 and 4 less likely to make round dances?
the random patterns in the tunnel make them think they’ve flown further
what % showed round dances in experiments 1 and 3 and why?
87% not much motion passed the eye (1- feeder was before the tunnel, 3 had parallel lines in tunnel)
for each experiment how many bees were individually marked?
6
what was experiment 1 set up? (4)
- tunnel with entrance 35m from hive
- random visual texture in tunnel
- feeder at entrance of tunnel
- mainly round dances
what did the fact that experiment 1 showed mainly round dances support?
the fact this dance is engaged in when food is <50m
what was experiment 2 set up? (3)
- feeder 6m into tunnel
- random visual texture
- higher waggle dance probability
what may the flight in random patterned tunnels have generated on the eye?
optic flow mimicking the effect of outdoor long flight
what was experiment 3 set up? (4)
- tunnel and feeder positioned as experiment 2
- parallel stripes in direction of flight
- little image motion cues
- mainly round dances
what was experiment 4 set up?
random texture but feeder was closer to the hive
- mainly waggle dances
what is considered the primary cue?
the extent of image motion experienced in the eye
what was the follow on experiment?
recorded dances of bees returning to the hives with feeders at different distances from the hive
- mainly waggle dances
what were the feeder distances in the follow up experiment?
60m, 110, 150, 190, 225, 340, 350
what does waggle duration increase almost linearly with?
distance flown
what did the direction of the waggle axi shift in line with?
sun movement in the sky
what was flight with the feeder 6m in the tunnel equivalent to in an outdoor environment?
186m
how many degrees of image motion would 6m of forward motion generate?
6180
how many degrees of image motion does 1m/s of waggle dance encode?
17.7
why is the visual odometry reliable?
new recruits tend to take the same route as experienced foragers
what does total angular motion depend and not depend on?
how far the bee flies rather than its speed
what can we infer cues based on image motion play an important role in?
outdoor flights of several hundred meters
what is the problem with pattern recognition?
- hard to recognise similarities between patterns of stimulation that are different but from the same object
- and of discriminating between similar patterns from different objects
typically how many bees were individually marked and used in each experiment?
6
what did waggle duration increase almost linearly with?
distance flown
what did the study make clear in terms of how distance flown is perceived?
not in distance units but by image motion experienced by the eye
what is the total angular motion of the image a measure of?
distance travelled along a particular route
