Cognición e interacciones interindividuales en sociedades de insectos

FARINA, WALTER M

Córdoba, Huerta Grande

Congreso; XVII Jornadas Científicas de la Sociedad de Biología; 2009

<!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:70.85pt 3.0cm 70.85pt 3.0cm; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> Animal societies that have many individuals show a high number of interactions, a fact that facilitate the rapid spread of information. The cognitive skills of the agents involved on circulating information allow us to evaluate the scope of that spread to form a dynamic network. Interestingly, there are almost no experimental studies that combine multi-agent interactions occurring in animal societies with learning processes. We believe that a social insect like the honey bee Apis mellifera allow for this type of approach. The various mechanisms for communication in honeybees, and the division of labor based on the age polyethism facilitate the implementation of highly coordinated activities. In this context, the acquisition of information at early ages is important because the young worker bees, those subjects that only perform tasks within the hive, will begin to gather resources outside the nest at older ages. Through various experimental studies, we try to answer how information spreads in a large animal society and how that information remains on a collective level.