| 1. |
- Beekman, Madeleine, et al.
(författare)
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Sexual selection in hermaphrodites, sperm and broadcast spawners, plants and fungi
- 2016
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Ingår i: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences. - : The Royal Society. - 0962-8436 .- 1471-2970. ; 371:1706
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Darwin was the first to recognize that sexual selection is a strong evolutionary force. Exaggerated traits allow same-sex individuals to compete over access to mates and provide a mechanism by which mates are selected. It is relatively easy to appreciate how inter-and intrasexual selection work in organisms with the sensory capabilities to perceive physical or behavioural traits that signal mate quality or mate compatibility, and to assess the relative quality of competitors. It is therefore not surprising that most studies of sexual selection have focused on animals with separate sexes and obvious adaptations that function in the context of reproductive competition. Yet, many sexual organisms are both male and female at the same time, often lack sexual dimorphism and never come into direct contact at mating. How does sexual selection act in such species, and what can we learn from them? Here, we address these questions by exploring the potential for sexual selection in simultaneous hermaphrodites, sperm-and broadcast spawners, plants and fungi. Our reviewreveals a range of mechanisms of sexual selection, operating primarily after gametes have been released, which are common in many of these groups and also quite possibly in more familiar (internally fertilizing and sexually dimorphic) organisms. This article is part of the themed issue 'Weird sex: the underappreciated diversity of sexual reproduction'.
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| 2. |
- Granovskiy, Boris, et al.
(författare)
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How dancing honey bees keep track of changes : the role of inspector bees
- 2012
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Ingår i: Behavioral Ecology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1045-2249 .- 1465-7279. ; 23:3, s. 588-596
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- How do honey bees track changes in their foraging environment? Previously, 2 complementary mechanisms have been identified by which bees can effectively switch between food sources when their relative quality changes. First, an increase in profitability of a food source elicits an increase in waggle dances (the bees' recruitment mechanism) for that source. Second, bees that have retired from foraging at a food source make occasional inspection visits to that food source and resume foraging if its quality improves. Here, we investigate, using both field experiments and a mathematical model, the relative importance of these 2 mechanisms. By manipulating dance information available to the bees, we find that when food sources change quality frequently, inspector bees provide a rapid response to changes, whereas the waggle dance contributes to a response over a longer time period. The bees' ability to switch feeders without dance language information was found to be robust with respect to the spatial configuration of the feeders. Our results show that individual memory, in the form of inspector bees, and collective communication can interact to allow an insect colony to adapt to changes on both short and long timescales.
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| 3. |
- Latty, Tanya, et al.
(författare)
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Structure and formation of ant transportation networks
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of the Royal Society Interface. - : The Royal Society. - 1742-5689 .- 1742-5662. ; 8:62, s. 1298-1306
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Many biological systems use extensive networks for the transport of resources and information. Ants are no exception. How do biological systems achieve efficient transportation networks in the absence of centralized control and without global knowledge of the environment? Here, we address this question by studying the formation and properties of inter-nest transportation networks in the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile). We find that the formation of inter-nest networks depends on the number of ants involved in the construction process. When the number of ants is sufficient and networks do form, they tend to have short total length but a low level of robustness. These networks are topologically similar to either minimum spanning trees or Steiner networks. The process of network formation involves an initial construction of multiple links followed by a pruning process that reduces the number of trails. Our study thus illuminates the conditions under and the process by which minimal biological transport networks can be constructed.
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| 4. |
- Reid, Chris R., et al.
(författare)
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Optimisation in a natural system : Argentine ants solve the Towers of Hanoi
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of Experimental Biology. - : The Company of Biologists. - 0022-0949 .- 1477-9145. ; 214:1, s. 50-58
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Natural systems are a source of inspiration for computer algorithms designed to solve optimisation problems. Yet most 'nature-inspired' algorithms take only superficial inspiration from biology, and little is known about how real biological systems solve difficult problems. Moreover, ant algorithms, neural networks and similar methods are usually applied to static problems, whereas most biological systems have evolved to perform under dynamically changing conditions. We used the Towers of Hanoi puzzle to test whether Argentine ants can solve a potentially difficult optimisation problem. We also tested whether the ants can adapt to dynamic changes in the problem. We mapped all possible solutions to the Towers of Hanoi on a single graph and converted this into a maze for the ants to solve. We show that the ants are capable of solving the Towers of Hanoi, and are able to adapt when sections of the maze are blocked off and new sections installed. The presence of exploration pheromone increased the efficiency of the resulting network and increased the ants' ability to adapt to changing conditions. Contrary to previous studies, our study shows that mass-recruiting ant species such as the Argentine ant can forage effectively in a dynamic environment. Our results also suggest that novel optimisation algorithms can benefit from stronger biological mimicry.
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