Behavioral Ecology of Bees Essay Example for Free

Behavioral Ecology of Bees Essay Behavioral Ecology of Bees Introduction Abstract   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bees constitute one of the major plant pollinators globally. They experience adaptation for feeding on pollen and nectar. Pollination is as well defined as the process by which pollen grains are transferred between plants in reproduction. The amount of colonies (maintained by beekeepers) has gradually declined due to systematic use of pesticide, urbanization, Varroa mites, and tracheal. However, this has increased the competition of bee keeping for pollination purposes. Pollination refers to process via which transfer of pollen in plants reproduction occurs, thus facilitating sexual reproduction as well as fertilization. Pollination constitutes an essential step in flowering plants reproduction, resulting in a remarkable production of genetically diverse offspring. The general study of in-depth pollination entails various disciplines such as horticulture, botany, ecology, and entomology. Pollination was first viewed by scientists as an interaction process (in 18th century) between vector and flower. The fact that fruiting is fertilization dependent and is as a result of pollination guarantees the importance of pollination in agriculture as well as horticulture. Pollination can either be abiotic (mediated with no other organisms involved) or biotic (organisms carry the pollen grains from the flower’s anthers to the respective part of the pistil or carpel. Beetles have emerged to be the insects that pollinated the most ancient animal-pollinated flowers; thus the syndrome pertaining insect pollination emerged before the first appearance of bees. However, bees are (specialists) pollination agents with physical and behavioural modifications that facilitate pollination, and are relatively more efficient in performing the task than other pollinating insects such as flies, beetles, pollen wasps, and butterflies. The emergence of these floral specialists has driven the angiosperms’ adaptive radiation, and, consequently, the bees themselves (Riedl, (Johansen, Barbour, 2006).Methodology:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   All the details availed by this research has been delicately collected from subject-related articles and in-depth analysis of various case studies.Semisocial and Eusocial bees Bees can either be solitary or live in certain community types such as for instance, the eusocial colonies (common among the bumblebees, stingless bees, and honey bees). Different types of sociality have evolved amongst the bees. In certain species, groups (of cohabiting females) may function and live as sisters; otherwise, labor division in the group guarantees them to be considered Semisocial. However, if, in spite of labor division, the group entails a mother and corresponding daughters, the group is then called eusocial. The mother serves as the â€Å"queen† while the daughters serve as â€Å"workers†. The system is said to be â€Å"primitively eusocial† if these cases are purely behavioural while, on the other hand; the system is â€Å"high ly eusocial† once the cases are found to be morphologically discrete. Nevertheless, the primitively eusocial bees constitute relatively more species as compared to the highly eusocial bees. In most cases, the highly eusocial bees are found to live in colonies with each colony having a single queen and several workers. Bumblebees are found to be eusocial, and the queen is found to initiate a nest singly. Colonies of bumblebees contain 50-200 bees at maximum population, which takes place in the duration mid-to-late summer. Bumblebees constitute one of the vital wild pollinators; however, their population has declined recently. Communal and solitary bees: Most bees are said to be solitary if all the females are fertile and inhabits own constructed nests. Solitary bees are vital pollinators whereby pollen is collected for providing the brood’s food in the nest. They are said to be oligoleges (collect pollen from a few plant species) unlike bumblebees and honey bees which ar e generalists. Monoculture and decline in bee species has made honey bee keepers concentrate on seasonally dynamic pollination areas. Fuzzy bees have an electrostatic charge thus adherence of pollen is facilitated. Bee gathering pollen grains are more efficient pollinators rather than those that gather nectar (Davies, Kreb, and West, 2012).In New Zealand, three general of native bees managed to venture into flower buds of the native mistletoe Peraxilla tetrapetala. Bellbird and Tui are some of the birds that orient the ripe bud top since cannot undergo self-opening. This results in a mechanism that causes spring-opening of the petals thus providing access to the pollen and nectar. The individual efficiency of bees determines their population value. Thus while pollination efficiency of bumblebees is high on cucurbits, the cumulative efficiency of honey bees colony is relatively greater as a result of their greater numbers. Bumblebees and honeybees use their spatial vision and color v ision to sort out tasks such as to recognize rewarding flowers especially during foraging. Cognitive factors are very significant in determining what bees see. With progressed visual experience, honey bees know much in using non-elemental processing, entailing rule learning and configurable mechanisms. Honey bees can as well learn delayed-matching-to-sample tasks, as well as the policies governing this decision-making process; exchange acquired rules between various sensory modalities. Lastly, bees can familiarize with complicated categorization tasks and also processing abilities of displaying numbers up to four (inclusive). A combination of the above evidences suggests that bees possess sophisticated visual behaviors (that fit cognition’s definition); hence simple primary bee vision models should know how various factors influence the results gained from experiments of animal behavior (Wilson, 2004). In regions where introduced honey bees have invaded, the floral resources of several plant species are used exclusively by honey bees, on the other hand, the native bees are endangered. However, native bees visit and pollinate the plant species in the regions where honey bees have not been established. In New Zealand (Heine, 1938; Thomson, 1927; Craig et al., 2000) and Tsamania (Goulson et al., 2003), similar effect has been realized as a result of invasion of honey bees. The predominance of honey bees in New Zealand will have severe plant-pollinator interactions, for instance, variations in order of gene flow in plants, native bees population decrease and boosted reproductive fitness of (invasive) exotic weeds. Pollination disruption by the invaded honey bees evident in plants grown in orchards suggests that removal of pollen by honey bees may lower pollination success in plant species such as ornithophilous plants. In addition to that, if the population of a particular bee species declines due to disease or natural cycles of parasites, a reliable and st able pollination source is provided when native bees fill the left gap. Nevertheless, native pollinators save money since they exhibit less need for imported honey bees’ hives. Sustainable management practices and reduced use of pesticides make organic farms vital participants in pollinator conservation efforts. For instance, since 70% of native bees nest underground, heavy tillage may be essential on farms where bees are needed pollinators. This benefits the growers by decreased need for rental-honey bees, greater farm biodiversity, and improved pollination services. Native bees can be relied upon by organic farmers who care for the chemical inputs (e.g., miticides and antibiotics) which are mostly used in maintenance of managed honey bees. Native bees pollinate crops when sufficient habitat is availed and bee-friendly practices of management are implemented (Kelly, 1998). Conservation of bees can be achieved via: classical biological control; existence of beneficial organis ms’ populations is practiced. Conservation biological control; habitats are provided to encourage populations of resident predatory insects. This reduces the need for pesticides and also provides extra food as well as nest habitat for bees. Resistant varieties; use of crops that are not vulnerable to pest insects reduce the use of pesticides, thus benefit both beneficial insect populations and pollinators. Native plants are the best source of bees’ food, but some garden plants are great sufficient for pollinators. Local native plants’ use; native plants are more attractive (to native bees) than exotic flowers. Choosing a wide variety of flower colors; especially purple, blue, yellow, violet and white attract bees. Diversified plants flowering all seasons; a range of pollinators (bee species), flying at varying times of the year, is supported (Holzschuh et al. 2007; Dramstad Fry 1995). Pollinators perform several ecological obligations in natural ecosystems (tha t they constitute a keystone combination in almost all terrestrial ecosystems), essential for plant reproduction as well as forming the foundation of a food web rich in energy (Kearns et al. 1998). Most bee species nest underground, digging tunnels heading to some brood cells. Honeybees and bumblebees are excluded from this phenomenon since they need a small cavity (e.g., an abandoned rodent nest) for their colony (Thomson Kearns 2001). Feral honey bees occupy large cavities, e.g., a hollow tree (Raw O’Toole 1999). In the temperate regions, honey bees manage winter as a colony. Within the cluster, an internal temperature of 95oF is maintained (optimal temperature for wax creation). Honey bees can forage optimally at the air temperature range 72-77oF, mostly because they exhibit physiological and behavioural mechanisms responsible for their flight muscles’ temperature regulation. Bees can be poisoned by insecticides (once they drink tainted nectar, absorb toxins via t heir exoskeleton, or when their pollen-collecting hairs trap insecticidal dusts. Movement or coverage of honey bee hives before application of pesticides cannot protect the wild bees’ scattered populations. However, during the winter season, bumblebee queens seek â€Å"winter safety† in some of the honey bee hives. Most of the bumblebees, hardly tolerate the winter season thus, are found dead as the spring season commences. In addition to that, chemical treatments of honey bees against Varroa mites saved several commercial operations and also improved cultural practices. In regions of mild climate, resistant breeds’ repopulation and Varroa resistance’s natural selection has facilitated the recovery of feral bees’ populations. References Kelly, Dave (1998). Native bees With New Tricks. New Zealand Science Monthly. Wilson, Bee (2004). The Hive: the Story of Honey Bee. London Morelle, Rebecca (2012). Extinct Short-haired Bumblebee returns to UK. Davies, N.R., Krebs, J.R., and West, S.A. (2012). An Introduction to Behavioural Ecology. 4th ed. West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. Print. pp. 387-388 Riedl, H., E. Johansen, L. Brewer, J. Barbour (2006). The Potential Conservation Value of Unmoved powerline Strips for Native Bees. Biological Conservation 124:133-148. Source document

Macbeth - Power Shifts :: essays research papers

DRAMA OFTEN EXAMINES THE WAYS INDIVIDUALS STRUGGLE TO DOMINATE AND/OR MINIPULATE EACH OTHER. DISCUSS THE TECHNIQUES USED IN ONE OR MORE PLAYS, WHICH DRAW OUT ATTENTION TO THE POWER SHIFTS BWTWEEN CHARACTERS. The text Macbeth by famous playwright William Shakespeare portrays a dramatic power struggle by the careful employment of various literary techniques. "Authority poisons everybody who takes authority on himself" (Vladimir Ilyich Lenin) aptly describes this prominent theme of Macbeth. Techniques include symbolism, emotive language, narrative structure and imagery, which combine to represent the tragic plot portraying the contest between goodness and evil in Macbeth. In the tragedy Macbeth emotive language and soliloquy have been employed to emphasize the struggle for domination between the characters. The main theme of Macbeth, the desire for power and dominance, is appropriately summarized by the following quote: "Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself And falls on the other" (I, VII, 54) The main character, Macbeth, seeks increasing authority influenced by the witches' prophecies, at any cost. Dramatic language has been successfully portrayed Macbeth's desire, through the above quote, whereby the search for power and ambition has been decided. Yet, the result of such ambitious ideals is at risk of resulting in the opposite, being condemnation. Personification in the form of 'Vaulting ambition" and "itself" has been employed to aid to the understanding of the exert, combining with dramatic language which also contributes to the overall impact of the theme. Macbeth lets his "vaulting ambition" rush fate, hence hasten doom. The technique symbolism has also been suitably employed to further enhance Macbeth's struggle for power and dominance, hence the main theme. This may be demonstrated where Lady Macbeth states: "What, will these hands ne'ver be clean...! Here's the smell of blood still..." (V, I, 174) The apparition of blood on Lady Macbeth's hands, which can not be removed, is symbolic of her subconscious revealing her 'wrong doing' in previous sections of the text. Even though Lady Macbeth is no longer influencing her husband towards evil occurrences, the blood is symbolic of her attempts to aid Macbeth's path towards power and dominance. Blood is linked to treachery and murder, hence the emphasis on Lady Macbeth's crimes. The struggle for authority and supremacy has now shifted from Lady Macbeth to her husband, yet her evil deeds are still prominent in he subconscious mind. Light and dark imagery have been portrayed throughout Macbeth to aid to the representation of the main themes of evil opposing goodness.

Diversity in America Essay

Being in a diverse world I learned ethnic groups went through a lot during slavery. The way minorities were treated in the past was torture no person should experience in their life time. I learned every race has different ways of thinking and beliefs they feel strongly about in their culture [ (Jiwani, 1996) ]. When it comes to being a success some cultures feel you need to be happy and positive to get to the top and others disagree. Important facts I have learned about my racial ethnicity is my culture arrive in the 19th century and they were stereotyped. They were not recognized on applications for employment [ (Jiwani, 1996) ]. My race did not give up and ignored the stereotyped that others thought of them. I also discovered my heritage celebrates in March and we are considered to be 2 years older than the average American. According to (Joel), 2010. In 2050 America will have added 100 million to its population [ (kotkin, 2010) ]. The fertility rate supposes to be less than ever before when the time comes. I think there will be less people having babies because of the recession going on in America. People in the U.S is suffering and struggling to make ends meet. There is too many babies starving in different countries including in the U.S. Americans are being laid off making minimum wage and it hard for them to survive and take care of the children they have now [ (Jiwani, 1996) ]. Older Adults have to live with their children now because they were unable to receive full benefits when they retired. Senior citizens are having such difficulty in today’s society and have to live on social security checks that constantly raise the money than take it away leaving them stuck. Fertility will decrease because America is already over populated now. The challenges America face when it comes to diversity is prejudice and discrimination. People’s lack of knowledge for other people’s culture and beliefs leaves a lot of Americans in the dark because of their ignorance. People who promote ignorance to their children, family, and friends about different cultures and beliefs will never have the privilege to see beyond the color of one’s skin and religion [ (Jiwani, 1996) ]. No one is alike and different groups think different of others who are not similar to them. I feel those who see everyone as equal have respect for others beliefs. Diversity in America brings problems and fighting between people who hate other because of their skin color and beliefs. When hate is involved this brings on discrimination. Discrimination brings on hate crimes  and hurting other people. People who hate other due to their race believe others groups are less then them. Stereotyping of ethnic groups helps continue the ignorance in society ways of thinking. The benefits of diversity are people of all races, belief, and religion can continue to educate themselves about others. Society can learn to see beyond the color of one’s skin and heritage. People will then get to know who an individual or group is by the way they interact with them. I have a friend as well as myself who face racism everyday because of the color of my skin. It hurts both of us at time but we have learned through the way we were taught to have pride and one’ self and keep our head up. Society can learn to see beyond the color of one’s skin and heritage. People will then get to know who an individual or group is by the way they interact with them. I learned my culture was looked down for many of years until the government decided to consider us to join a race. They felt we finally was worthy of being recognized in the way to accept diversity when it comes to culture in America. The people in the United States need to come together and stop trying to separate each other in groups. Teachers, parents, and our communities need to be open-minded to everyone no matter how they look, act, walk, or talk. There is no one perfect in America and if we can just realize no group or person from a different race is better than the other it may work. Hope is all I have and I want my children to see me as a positive role model and not a racist. I have always believed in being a fair person. I feel I have been treated in a mean way from plenty of people because of my race but I believe in god and that’s what helps me smile. People need to learn how to love one another instead of hate each other. Americans need to raise their children in the correct way by showing them its okay to play and be friend with other children who are different and of a different race. A lot of children I find today are afraid to play with other children who don’t look like them because the way they were raised. I remember a time when I was little and I made a friend in class and she told me her mom said not to play with children of my race and if she did she will get in trouble. I was so confused until I went home and asked my mom and she explained to me about how the world viewed me. I then understood and learned to ignore the ignorance of the way people made me feel or looked down on me because of my  skin color. I always found my self trying to prove to others of a different race I was not the lazy person who grew up not wanting to work and make nothing of my life. I have learned I will face this discrimination until I die so I will have to work twice as hard to become a success in life. Media perpetuate prejudice and stereotyping in a negative way. When it comes to ethnic groups the media always show minorities committing crimes and robbing people [ (kareem, 2013) ]. Media help promote hate to people who has lack of education about minority groups so they feel they have a right to be ignorant. This kind of stereotyping makes people continue the hate in schools, communities, and on the internet. Ethnic groups are always showed in the media living in low-income area’s and they make it look like they are lazy, stupid, dangerous and unable to comprehend anything a smart person suppose to be telling or teaching them [ (kareem, 2013) ]. White Americans suppose to be ethnic people’s translators to explain what minorities are trying to say to them. Media promote appreciation for diversity in February when they want America to acknowledge minorities for more than being a problem in America [ (kareem, 2013) ]. I think it’s really contradicting what’s being told for so long about minorities and really making ethnic groups look like a joke. I feel this way because they constantly try to make ethnic groups or a person of an ethnic group look bad. I feel the media tries to make it look like everyone in society is treated the same in America when this is not the case. When the media reports the news I see a low percentage of Black Americans reporting the news and when they do their talking about their own race to put them down. The way people In America can work together to reduce prejudice and accept diversity is by teaching their families in their homes and their neighbors how to embrace others who are not like them [ (kareem, 2013) ]. I will continue to treat others with respect and dignity. I will show those who come around me the same how to treat people of different cultures and beliefs and how they are equal to us.

Dialogue Guide Definition and Examples

In reported speech, a dialogue guide serves to identify the speaker of directly quoted words. Also known as a dialogue tag.  In this sense, a dialogue guide is essentially the same as a signal phrase or a quotative frame. Dialogue guides are usually expressed in the simple past tense, and they are customarily set off from the quoted material by commas. In the context of small-group communication, the term dialogue guide is sometimes used to refer to a facilitator of group discussions, or to a booklet that provides advice on fostering communication between individuals. Examples and Observations Its a polite Chinese custom to show you are satisfied, explained my father to our astonished guests.(Amy Tan, Fish Cheeks. Seventeen magazine, 1987)Im here, she said, because Im a taxpayer, and I thought it was about time that my boys have a look at those animals.(Ralph Ellison, On Being the Target of Discrimination. The New York Times, April 16, 1989)Look at these, the man from Kentucky said, holding up a rib. You could take these home and use them to make a skeleton.(Susan Orlean, Lifelike. The New Yorker, June 9, 2003)â€Å"He doesnt want Dijon, he  insisted, waving the waitress off. Here—he shoved a yellow bottle of Frenchs mustard in my direction—heres some mustard right here.(Barack Obama,  The Audacity of Hope.  Crown/Three Rivers Press, 2006)Never, said Elie Wiesel, never shall I forget that night, the first night in the camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed.We gotta call the newspaper, a doctor said .No, Werner said. He looked straight ahead, not at any of them. I just want you to sew me up.(Jo Ann Beard, Werner. Tin House, Fall 2006)Once Steinbrenner  said to me  before an Old-Timers Game, Get your ass down there and manage the team.†(Robert Merrill, quoted by Curt Smith in  What Baseball Means to Me. Hachette, 2002)The Function of Dialogue GuidesWe use quotation marks to identify certain material as an accurate, word-for-word report of someone elses speech or writing.  A representation of speech usually has two parts, a  dialogue guide  identifying the speaker and the quote itself: I got it down from five to three minutes, Mr. Brennan said later of his feat.(Scott Rice, From Reading to Revision. Wadsworth, 1996)  Elmore Leonards Advice on Reporting Dialogue3. Never use a verb other than said to carry dialogue.The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in. But said is far less intrusive than grumbled, gasped, cau tioned, lied. I once noticed Mary McCarthy ending a line of dialogue with â€Å"she asseverated,† and had to stop reading to get the dictionary.4. Never use an adverb to modify the verb said† . . .. . . he admonished gravely. To use an adverb this way (or almost any way) is a mortal sin. The writer is now exposing himself in earnest, using a word that distracts and can interrupt the rhythm of the exchange. I have a character in one of my books tell how she used to write historical romances full of rape and adverbs.(Elmore Leonard, Easy on the Adverbs, Exclamation Points and Especially Hooptedoodle. The New York Times, July 16, 2001) Alternate Spelling: dialog guide