Immune-cognitive system connectivity reduces bumblebee foraging success in complex multisensory floral environments.

ABSTRACT: Bumblebees are declining at alarming rate worldwide, posing a significant threat to the function and diversity of temperate ecosystems. These declines have been attributed, in part, to the direct effect of specific pathogens on bumblebee survival. However, pathogens may also have a negative impact on host populations indirectly through immune-induced cognitive deficits in infected individuals. To gain greater insight into mechanisms and potential conservation implications of such 'immune-brain crosstalk' in bumblebees, we non-pathogenetically activated humoral and cellular immune pathways in individuals and then tested for long-term reductions in cognitive performance and foraging proficiency. We show that chronic activation of humoral, but not a cellular, immune pathways and effectors in

SUBMITTER: Mobley MW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5899130 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature