March 10th & 17th: Mara and Nick

SNACKS & "Who is Who": Ami Cooper 

BEHAVIOR TOPIC # 5:

Behavior paper:

Martín-Hernández R, Botías C, Barrios L, Martínez-Salvador A, Meana A, Mayack, C, Higes M (2011) Comparison of the energetic stress associated with experimental Nosema ceranae and Nosema apis infection of honeybees (Apis mellifera) Parasitol Res 109:605–612

Genomics paper:

Holt, H., Aronstei, KA, and Grozinger CM (2013) Chronic parasitization by Nosema microsporidia causes global expression changes in core nutritional, metabolic and behavioral pathways in honey bee workers (Apis mellifera) BMC Genomics 14:799

Questions for reading (students must turn in sets 4 throughout semester):

1 list the stuff you don't know etc etc
2: Draw a flowchart/diagram of the experimental process detailed in the present study
3: Nosema infection accelerates behavioral maturation from nurse to forager. Consider an explanation for this phenomenon from a social immune defense perspective. Consider another explanation from a nutritutional physiology perspective.'
4: Suggest an additional branch of the study that could have been carried out to incrase its inferential power.
5: The paper asserts that Change to the metabolic/nutritional processes precede changes in behavioral and immune processes. what evidence do they have for this conclusion? Look at figure 2. Critique or justify the assertions made by the study exhibiting this figure.
6. How are they drawing a distinction between direct vs systemic symptoms
7. Were you satisfied by the conclusions of this study? Why or why not?