Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/C512310/1
Behavioural and Chemical Ecology of Cuckoos in Insect Societies.
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor FLW Ratnieks, University of Sheffield, Animal and Plant Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr GR Jones, Keele University, Faculty of Natural Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor SJ Martin, University of Salford, Sch of Science,Engineering & Environment
- Grant held at:
- University of Sheffield, Animal and Plant Sciences
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Natural Resource Management
- Biodiversity
- Science Topics:
- Population Genetics/Evolution
- Systematics & Taxonomy
- Population Ecology
- Conservation Ecology
- Behavioural Ecology
- Community Ecology
- Abstract:
- Cuckoos are species which trick another species to rearing their brood. They are found in a wide range of animals including fish, birds, and insects. The best known examples of cuckoos occur in the birds. Here a cuckoo lays a single egg in a host's nest, which is often similar in size, shape and colour to the host's eggs to fool the host parents. After hatching the cuckoo chick ejects all the other eggs or chicks in the nest so the cuckoo becomes the sole occupant of the nest. The cuckoo chick is then reared by the host adults despite it been very different. As in all parasitic relationships only one species, the cuckoo, benefits since the host parents are prevented from rearing any of their own offspring. This results in a classic 'arms race' where the host is trying to detect and destroy any cuckoo eggs, while the cuckoo is trying to lay eggs which are not detected. They can do this either by making their eggs look like eggs of the host (egg mimicry) or selecting a host which cannot detect the presence of a strange egg. Experiments with bird cuckoos have found that both methods are used by different species of bird cuckoos. This study looks for the first time at how insect cuckoos invade and takeover an entire social insect colony. Social insects are the ants, bumblebees, some wasps and bees, each colony consists of normally one queen which lays all the eggs and many workers (10's to 1000's) which do all the other jobs such as rearing the brood and collecting the food. There are a small number of highly specialised social insect cuckoos four of which are focus of this study. The main problems faced by both bird and insect cuckoos are basically the same; how to trick the host into accepting and rearing your eggs? However, there are some important differences. Firstly, whereas birds recognise objects visually, insects often recognise thinks chemically. Secondly, in birds the cuckoo has only to trick two individuals (the parents) while the insect cuckoos that invade a social insect colony has to trick often thousands of individual workers. It is now know that at least in some species of ants, social wasps and social bees the adults can detect chemical differences between the types of eggs. However, which chemicals are important is not yet known, since there are a wide range of chemicals on the eggs surface of which only a small number will be used in recognition. For example, in visual communication is may be the colour and not the shape of the spots on the bird egg which is important. Understanding which chemicals are used by insects to communicate information is an important field of study, just as understanding the various languages we use to communicate to each other. Using the ability of the cuckoos to copy or interfere with this communication system gives us a unique opportunity to study the chemical communication world of insects. This is because the cuckoos have learnt exploit the hosts weak point by either copying the important egg recognition chemicals so their eggs look, chemically speaking, like those of the host, or choosing hosts which cannot detect large chemical differences between eggs in their colony. This type of study will lead to a better understanding of how cheats such as cuckoos are able to take advantage of vulnerable host and how these hosts fight back. It will also help use to start to understand the oldest form of language, that of chemical communication. This will ultimately help us control, conserve and utilise the insects, one of the most successful groups of animals on our planet.
- Period of Award:
- 1 Apr 2005 - 31 Aug 2008
- Value:
- £244,965 Lead Split Award
Authorised funds only
- NERC Reference:
- NE/C512310/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Standard Grants Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Standard Grant
This grant award has a total value of £244,965
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - T&S | Total - Staff | Total - Other Costs | Total - Indirect Costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| £11,159 | £151,107 | £13,189 | £69,509 |
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