Hannah Burger
Current Organizations / Institutes
The organizations/institutes from the scholar's latest article
Research Subjects
Research Interests
Hannah Burger has a total of 4 co-authors. Here are the top co-authors by number of shared publications:
- Cosmas Giovanni Galizia
Department of Neuroscience, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
1 shared publication Manfred Ayasse
University of Ulm
1 shared publicationSabine Kreissl
University of Konstanz
1 shared publication- Stefan Dötterl
Department of Environment & Biodiversity, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
1 shared publication
Latest Publications
- 21 June 2013
- Published by Springer Nature in Journal of Comparative Physiology A
- Vol. 199 (9) , 751-761
Perception of floral volatiles involved in host-plant finding behaviour: comparison of a bee specialist and generalist
Specialist and generalist bees use olfactory and visual cues to find and recognise flowering plants. Specialised (oligolectic) bees rely on few host plants for pollen collection. These bee species are suggested to use specific volatiles, but it is unknown whether they have dedicated adaptations for these particular compounds compared to bees not specialised on the same plants. In the present study, we investigated the perception of host odorants and its neuronal substrate with regard to host-plant finding behaviour in oligolectic bees. We reconstructed the antennal lobes (AL) in the Salix specialist, Andrena vaga, and counted about 135 glomeruli and thereby less than the approximately 160 in honeybees. Using calcium imaging experiments to measure neural activity in the bee brain, we recorded odorant-evoked activity patterns in the AL of A. vaga and, for comparison, in the generalist honeybee, Apis mellifera. Our physiological experiments demonstrated that A. vaga bees were particularly sensitive to 1,4-dimethoxybenzene, a behaviour-mediating odorant of Salix host flowers. We found more sensitive glomeruli in the specialised bees as compared to generalist honeybees. This neural adaptation might allow oligolectic A. vaga bees to effectively locate host plants from distances.
- 21 June 2013
- Published by Springer Nature in Journal of Comparative Physiology A
- Vol. 199 (9) , 751-761
Perception of floral volatiles involved in host-plant finding behaviour: comparison of a bee specialist and generalist
Specialist and generalist bees use olfactory and visual cues to find and recognise flowering plants. Specialised (oligolectic) bees rely on few host plants for pollen collection. These bee species are suggested to use specific volatiles, but it is unknown whether they have dedicated adaptations for these particular compounds compared to bees not specialised on the same plants. In the present study, we investigated the perception of host odorants and its neuronal substrate with regard to host-plant finding behaviour in oligolectic bees. We reconstructed the antennal lobes (AL) in the Salix specialist, Andrena vaga, and counted about 135 glomeruli and thereby less than the approximately 160 in honeybees. Using calcium imaging experiments to measure neural activity in the bee brain, we recorded odorant-evoked activity patterns in the AL of A. vaga and, for comparison, in the generalist honeybee, Apis mellifera. Our physiological experiments demonstrated that A. vaga bees were particularly sensitive to 1,4-dimethoxybenzene, a behaviour-mediating odorant of Salix host flowers. We found more sensitive glomeruli in the specialised bees as compared to generalist honeybees. This neural adaptation might allow oligolectic A. vaga bees to effectively locate host plants from distances.