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Social learning and culture in bees: Simple mechanisms, complex outcomes

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Vivek Nityananda

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

© Indian Academy of Sciences 2024. Bees have been excellent model systems to study social learning – the ability of animals to change their behaviour based on observations of other individuals. Researchers have investigated several aspects of social learning in bees, including how it can lead to cultural traditions. A recent study also argues that bees have the capacity to socially learn behaviours that they could not innovate on their own. To understand these findings better, I review what we know about the mechanisms underlying social learning in bees and use these findings to compare social learning and culture in bees and humans. The findings suggest that the seemingly complex social behaviours of bees could arise from simple mechanisms underlying learning in general. I highlight the importance of investigating cognitive mechanisms and how they might differ across animals.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Nityananda V

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Journal of Biosciences

Year: 2024

Volume: 49

Issue: 3

Online publication date: 23/07/2024

Acceptance date: 19/06/2024

Date deposited: 08/08/2024

ISSN (print): 0250-5991

ISSN (electronic): 0973-7138

Publisher: Springer Nature

URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12038-024-00463-6

DOI: 10.1007/s12038-024-00463-6

ePrints DOI: 10.57711/f12q-rf23

PubMed id: 39046036

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