Differential Resource Allocation and Stress Resistance
Abstract
In solitary species, it has been well-established how resource allocation affects the trade-offs between different life history variables, such as stress resistance, growth, reproduction, and survival. However, in social insects that are characterized by a high degree of cooperation among individuals, including resource transfers, these relations have not been sufficiently investigated. This deficiency needs to be addressed because understanding the relations between resource allocation, stress resistance and other life history traits is crucial for our comprehensive of the biology of these species and of complex systems in general, as well as improving honey bee health. The Western honey bee (Apis mellifera L) is the most common model for studying advanced social insect systems and it also has practical importance as a key pollinator with a large ecological and economic impact. However, honey bee health is threatened by numerous stressors, including pest and pathogens, pesticides, poor nutrition, other management stress, and climate change. Thus, understanding how limited resources are allocated in honey bee colonies and affect life history variables and stress resistance is of practical importance. We propose to study the consequences of resource allocation at different life stages, ranging from the egg to adults. We focus particularly on body size, reproduction, and levels of stress and stress resistance. We further propose to study how inherent differences in individual quality or value translates into behavioral specialization and how colony-level and individual-level adaptations relate to each other. All experimental observations will be accompanied by mortality and genomic analyses. The predicted findings will result in a better understanding of honey bee biology and health and advance our knowledge on the relation between resources and stress resistance in complex systems in general.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Aug 11, 2022
- Source ID
- W911NF2210195
Entities
People
- Olav Rueppell
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army