Pollination by intoxication – how alkaloids influence pollinator behaviour and ecology

There is increasing evidence that plant chemicals in nectar mediate pollinator behaviour in favour of the plant in order to increase the rate or precision of pollen transfer. The supervisory team for this PhD, for example, have shown that nectar compounds can be selectively toxic to flower visitors, so may filter preferred pollinators (Tiedeken et al. 2014, Func Ecol), can reduce parasite infestation (Palmer-Young 2016, Sci Rep) and can enhance honeybee memory for learned floral cues (e.g. caffeine; Wright et al. 2013, Science). Caffeine has also been shown to increase honeybees’ activity levels, improve their memory of reward, and caffeinated nectar has improved pollination by bumblebees in some experiments. Unpublished work by the supervisory team has also indicated that caffeine in pollen may stimulate bees’ preference for a flower regardless of the quality of sugar reward available.

This project will investigate further the effects of caffeine and related compounds on bee behaviour, with focus primarily on the bumblebee Bombus terrestris. There is considerable scope to explore a variety of behavioural phenomena related to neuroactive alkaloids, but the student is anticipated to focus on questions related to the following:
• The extent to which caffeine and other nectar alkaloids affect bees’ behaviour when a previously-rewarding food source stops providing a nectar or pollen reward
• Whether (and at what stage) consumption of alkaloids in pollen impacts on sugar-rewarded learning behaviours
• The duration of effect (acute and chronic) of caffeine on bee behaviour
• The interaction between alkaloids and locomotion/motor learning behaviours

The student may wish to carry out a combination of the following types of experiments (training provided):
• Insect behaviour: Laboratory based experiments (using flight arenas to examine bee foraging under different treatments)
• Field ecology: Semi-field based behavioural experiments (to look at pollination efficacy parameters)
• Physiology: EAG (to examine the impact of caffeine on olfaction, at the sensory physiology level)

The student must start by 29th September 2017.

For further information please contact the supervisor:
Dr Sarah Arnold, [Email Address Removed]

For additional information about the scholarship and links to the application form please go to: http://www2.gre.ac.uk/research/study/studentships
Please read this information before making an application. Applications need to be made online via http://www2.gre.ac.uk/research/study/apply/application_process No other form of application will be considered.

All applications must include the following information. Applications not containing these documents will not be considered.

• Scholarship Reference Number (Ref) – included in the personal statement section together with your personal statement as to why you are applying

• a research proposal *

• a CV including 2 referees *

• academic qualification certificates/transcripts and IELTs/English Language certificate if you are an international applicant or if English is not your first language or you are from a country where English is not the majority spoken language as defined by the UK Border Agency *

*upload to the qualification section of the application form. Attachments need to be in PDF format.

Applicants must meet the programme entry requirements.