What goes on in the brain of a
bumblebee might seem like a small
matter — but to Robert Gegear,
assistant professor of biology and
biotechnology, it's a billion-dollar
question. And it's a question with
profound economic and ecological
consequences, since a large portion
of the world's food supply depends
on the work of these tiny pollinators.
Gegear is one of the few scientists
in North America studying the
foraging behavior of bumblebees.
Drawing on the disciplines of
cognitive psychology, neurobiology,
genetics, and ecology, he looks at
questions frst asked by Aristotle.
The answers may be vital to the
survival of all species.
As a bumblebee browses in a feld of fowers, it's making
surprisingly complex calculations about which fowers are
worth a visit. At the same time, plants are putting on a show,
with scents and appearances designed to attract the bee.
The bee has a single goal — to maximize energy intake
(in the form of nectar and pollen) to nourish its colony.
(Feed me!) Plants can't think or act, but they continue to
evolve in ways that favors pollination and reproduction.
(Choose me!) Gegear is interested in how the interplay
between these two forces has shaped the brains of bees and
created magnifcent diversity in fowers.
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