The Dances of Survival
The Waggle Dance
Can bees actually perform elaborate dances? Research continues to be conducted by scientists to better analyze a behavior seen in honey bees known as "the waggle dance". The waggle dance, consists of a variety of wing movements, abdomen shaking and movement patterns done by a forager bee in order to instruct other members of the hive where to find a bountiful source of food. In a recent study, however, researchers questioned if the bees were actually relying on the Earth's magnetic field (local geomagnetic field) when showing off their "dance moves". Studies have discovered already, that the waggle dance is performed a specific angle amongst the hive's honeycombs that is a correlation between the sun's position in the sky and direction of the food. Another factor honeybees use is sound pulses, in which the number of pulses communicates the distance to the nutrition source. To learn more about the waggle dance, click on the video above by Inside the Animal Mind.
Thus, if honeybees do use the Earth's magnetic field as a guide for their "dances", what occurs when the magnetic field and alignment of the hive is manipulated? Lambiet, et. al (2014), utilized six coils that could carry currents through them in order to alter the level of intensity of magnetic pull around the hive. To read more in detail the layout of their procedure click here. Although, the experiment did show significance, rejecting that honey bees use the Earth's magnetic field or alignment of the hive as a reference in the waggle dance.
Honeybees are not the only animals that benefit from dancing in their means of survival. In the mating of Java sparrows, both female and male birds implement courting dances to attract one another. Majority of avian species use a combination of song and dance when charming the opposing gender, however, Java sparrows differ in being more successful in their abilities "on the dance floor" than their "singing voices". One of the sparrows initiates the dance, and include little tweets here and there to be able to communicate their intentions to one another. To view this interaction between the male and female java sparrow, click on the video below.
The Mating Dances of The Java Sparrows
In an experiment to further analyze this social behavior of the Java sparrows, a study done by Soma and Iwama (2017) looked at 14 male sparrows, and 15 female sparrows, that had never been previously subjected to breeding experience. Soma and Iwama (2017) used a form of coding for the sparrows dances, which broke down to bill wiping, and hoping, and whether or not the birds sang while dancing.They found that most pairings of sparrows, were successful in mating after their "dancing" encounters, however if the female proposed the dance first, there was no significant effect on that pair's mating. More on the methods, statistics, and results of the research done on Java sparrows can be found by clicking here.
Many different animals spanning from multiple species have executed "dancing" behaviors in order to survive. Honeybees and Java sparrows are just two examples of how animals can learn how to communicate through body movements, or take advantage of other senses such as sensation, sound, light, positioning on the Earth, or even the Earth's magnetic field. By animals learning specific behaviors in accordance to their species, they ultimately determine how successful their survival rate will be.
References:
Lambinet, V., Hayden, M. E., Bieri, M., & Gries, G. (2014). Does the Earths Magnetic Field Serve as a Reference for Alignment of the Honeybee Waggle Dance? PLoS ONE, 9(12). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0115665
Soma, M., & Iwama, M. (2017). Mating success follows duet dancing in the Java sparrow. Plos One, 12(3). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.017265
B. (2014, September 03). Retrieved September 10, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12Q8FfyLLso&list=PL50KW6aT4UgzpJApJPer1nc1qfZlZZ5N8
S. (2017, April 17). Retrieved September 10, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dncsBzCmKg0
I think its interesting that the forager bees alert other members of the hive that its found a good source of food. Do you think the dance is used specifically for that reason, or does it use it for other means of communication as well?
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ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that birds and other animals use dancing and singing for their mating calls when I use to believe they would just make a sound. Like in the Java Sparrow video, the bird is jumping up and down and making noise while also moving their beaks in certain ways that is matched by the female Sparrow.
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