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dc.contributor.authorRichman, Sarah K.
dc.contributor.authorIrwin, Rebecca E.
dc.contributor.authorBronstein, Judith L.
dc.date.accessioned2019-05-01T00:50:26Z
dc.date.available2019-05-01T00:50:26Z
dc.date.issued2017-09
dc.identifier.citationRichman, S. K., Irwin, R. E., & Bronstein, J. L. (2017). Foraging strategy predicts foraging economy in a facultative secondary nectar robber. Oikos, 126(9), 1250-1257.en_US
dc.identifier.issn00301299
dc.identifier.doi10.1111/oik.2017.v126.i9
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10150/632164
dc.description.abstractIn mutualistic interactions, the decision whether to cooperate or cheat depends on the relative costs and benefits of each strategy. In pollination mutualisms, secondary nectar robbing is a facultative behavior employed by a diverse array of nectar-feeding organisms, and is thought to be a form of cheating. Primary robbers create holes in floral tissue through which they feed on nectar, whereas secondary robbers, which often lack chewing mouthparts, feed on nectar through existing holes. Because primary robbers make nectar more readily available to secondary robbers, primary robbers facilitate the behaviors of secondary robbers. However, the net effect of facilitation on secondary robber fitness has not been empirically tested: it is unknown whether the benefit secondary robbers receive is strong enough to overcome the cost of competing with primary robbers for a shared resource. We conducted foraging experiments using the bumble bee Bombus bifarius, which can alternatively forage legitimately' (from the floral opening) or secondary-rob. We measured the relative foraging efficiencies (handling time per flower, flowers visited per minute, proportion of foraging bout spent consuming nectar) of these alternative behaviors, and tested whether the frequency of primary robbing and nectar standing crop in primary-robbed flowers of Linaria vulgaris (Plantaginaceae) affected foraging efficiency. Surprisingly, there was no effect of primary robbing frequency on the foraging efficiency of secondary-robbing B. bifarius. Instead, foraging strategy was a major predictor of foraging efficiency, with legitimate foraging being significantly more efficient than secondary robbing. Legitimate foraging was the more common strategy used by B. bifarius in our study; however, it is rarely used by B. bifarius foraging on L. vulgaris in nature, despite indications that it is more efficient. Our results suggest the need for deeper investigations into why bees adopt secondary robbing as a foraging strategy, specifically, the environmental contexts that promote the behavior.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipNational Science Foundation (NSF) [DGE-1143953, NSF DEB-1354061, NSF DEB-1354155]en_US
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherWILEYen_US
dc.relation.urlhttp://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/oik.2017.v126.i9en_US
dc.rights© 2017 The Authors. Oikos © 2017 Nordic Society Oikos.en_US
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
dc.titleForaging strategy predicts foraging economy in a facultative secondary nectar robberen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
dc.contributor.departmentUniv Arizona, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biolen_US
dc.identifier.journalOIKOSen_US
dc.description.note12 month embargo; first published: 04 March 2017en_US
dc.description.collectioninformationThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.en_US
dc.eprint.versionFinal accepted manuscripten_US
dc.source.journaltitleOikos
dc.source.volume126
dc.source.issue9
refterms.dateFOA2018-03-04T00:00:00Z


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