Heritable Learning Phenotypes Drive Collective Cognition

摘要: ABSTRACT Collective cognition allows animal groups to accomplish many tasks that could not be accomplished as effectively alone, such schools of fish avoiding predators1, flocks birds moving thousands miles across the Earth2, and honey bee colonies collecting food from millions flowers3. Individuals in utilize local information quickly adjust ecological changes by implicitly or explicitly communicating with group members form collective behavior4–6. However, individuals vary their cognitive abilities, which influences each individual pays attention shares, thus influencing responses7–9. Here, we show differences learning scales shape foraging behavior bees utilizing a naturally variable heritable called latent inhibition (LI)10. We artificially selected two distinct phenotypes: high LI are better at ignoring previously unrewarding familiar stimuli, low learn novel stimuli equally well. Colonies comprised preferred visit location, while locations equally. mixed phenotypes, showed preference visiting feeders, contrasts when uniform group. shift feeder versus is driven foragers phenotype dancing more intensely attracting followers. These results reveal variation phenotypes contributes social animals.