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This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Rogers, Molly E Title: Aerial electroreception in Bombus terrestris examination of spatial resolution and exploration of implications for functionality and evolution. General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. However, if you have discovered material within the thesis that you consider to be unlawful e.g. breaches of copyright (either yours or that of a third party) or any other law, including but not limited to those relating to patent, trademark, confidentiality, data protection, obscenity, defamation, libel, then please contact [email protected] and include the following information in your message: •Your contact details •Bibliographic details for the item, including a URL •An outline nature of the complaint Your claim will be investigated and, where appropriate, the item in question will be removed from public view as soon as possible. This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Rogers, Molly E Title: Aerial electroreception in Bombus terrestris: examination of spatial resolution and exploration of implications for functionality and evolution. General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. However, if you have discovered material within the thesis that you consider to be unlawful e.g. breaches of copyright (either yours or that of a third party) or any other law, including but not limited to those relating to patent, trademark, confidentiality, data protection, obscenity, defamation, libel, then please contact [email protected] and include the following information in your message: •Your contact details •Bibliographic details for the item, including a URL •An outline nature of the complaint Your claim will be investigated and, where appropriate, the item in question will be removed from public view as soon as possible. Aerial electroreception in Bombus terrestris: examination of spatial resolution and exploration of implications for functionality and evolution. Molly Rogers A dissertation submitted to the University of Bristol in accordance with the requirements for the award of the degree of MSc in the Faculty of Life Sciences, School of Biological Sciences. July 2020 Word Count: 20408 Abstract Bombus terrestris, the buff-tailed bumblebee, is widespread across the UK and Europe. This species has been extensively studied as a model organism, and much is known about its natural history and behavioural ecology. B. terrestris is known to be a generalist forager and to rely on sensory information to locate food sources. This bee has recently been shown to be receptive to electric fields, and to be able to learn and discriminate between different electric field geometries. While a putative mechanism of electroreception has been suggested, there are still many questions to be answered regarding the function of electroreception in the behaviour and ecology of B. terrestris, and how electrical information is processed by the bee. This study examines the electric sense in B. terrestris, aiming to clarify the potential ways this sense may impact the way the bee experiences the world and how, in turn, this will affect its behaviour. The study focusses on elucidating the spatial resolution of the sense, providing suggestions for a procedure to use in future work, and speculates about the ways in which this information may aid in understanding electroreception further. ii Acknowledgments I would like to thank everyone who has helped me in the production of this thesis. Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Daniel Robert, for his ideas and support, and for believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself. I would also like to thank Clara Montgomery and Erica Morley for their suggestions, help and encouragement, along with all other members of the biophysical research group. Within the University of Bristol, I would like to thank Emily Bell for her support and encouragement, especially when I was struggling with my health and my spirit, and Richard Wall for his helpful advice and suggestions. I would also like to thank my mentor, Alison Farnworth-Cole for keeping me on track and helping me develop personally over the past two and a half years. I would like to thank my friends and family. In particular, my housemates who kept me sane when I was working too hard, and my dad and sister who never stop supporting me. Finally, I would like to thank my mum for her constant and unwavering support, and my partner Jacob for looking after me and making me happy. iii Author’s Declaration I declare that the work in this dissertation was carried out in accordance with the Regulations of the University of Bristol. The work is original except where indicated by special reference in the text and no part of the dissertation has been submitted for any other degree. Any views expressed in the dissertation are those of the author and in no way represent those of the University of Bristol. The dissertation has not been presented to any other University for examination either in the United Kingdom or overseas. SIGNED…… ............. DATED: 24/07/2020 iv Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments....................................................................................................................................................... iii Author’s Declaration .................................................................................................................................................. iv Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................................................ v List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................................. vii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................................................. viii Chapter 1: Introduction to electroreception ............................................................................................................ 1 1.1 – Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 – Electroreception in vertebrates ............................................................................................. 2 1.3 – Electroreception in aquatic invertebrates .............................................................................. 5 1.4 – Aerial electroreception.......................................................................................................... 6 1.4.1 – Electric ecology .............................................................................................................. 6 1.4.2 – Electroreception in Bombus terrestris ............................................................................. 7 1.4.3 – Other species ................................................................................................................. 9 1.5 – Electrostatics and pollen transfer ........................................................................................ 10 1.5.1 – Buzz Pollination ............................................................................................................ 11 1.6 – Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 12 Chapter 2: The natural history and sensory ecology of Bombus terrestris ............................................................ 13 2.1 – Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 14 2.2 – Ecology and Natural History ................................................................................................ 14 2.3 – Sensory Ecology .................................................................................................................. 15 2.3.1 – Vision ........................................................................................................................... 16 2.3.2 – Chemosensory perception
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