Evolution of insect learning styles and behavioural syndromes in response to environmental variability and reliability of information.

• Applicant: Dr. Maartje Liefting, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Sensory and Behavioural Biology ; Evolution, Anthropology
• Term: from 2017 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 386527848

Learning ability of insects has long held the interest of evolutionary biologists because of its adaptive significance. Although there are obvious benefits to learning, much variation exists in learning speed and how long a memory will last. It is generally assumed that these differences in learning evolve in response to specific environmental conditions like variability of the environment and how reliable available information is. However, our understanding of the environmental and insect-intrinsic factors which drive selection for a particular learning style is still rudimentary. The proposed project addresses this gap of knowledge by using the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis as a model. The project aims to elucidate how (i) the reliability and variability of environmental information affect the evolution of learning style, and (ii) whether certain learning styles co-evolve with particular behavioural syndromes (i.e. suites of behavioural traits). Learning styles will be categorized by the readiness to learn (slow/fast learner), the maintenance of memory (short/long-term), and the accuracy of employing learned information. We will use an experimental evolutionary set-up in which parasitic wasps will evolve different learning styles in response to different artificial environments that we control for the level of variability and reliability of information. There is a direct link between learning style and fitness as the learning style will determine how successful a wasp is in finding hosts (fly pupae) in a specific environments. The number of colours of the environment in which hosts are offered and the reliability of host occurrence linked with a particular colour will vary. We will monitor: (a) the emerging learning styles in each environment in learning assays; (b) the foraging success of different learning styles in different environments; (c) whether co-evolution of learning style and behavioural syndrome occurs. These conditions will be monitored for the duration of the experiment (minimally 15 generations). This set-up will provide information on costs and benefits of a learning style, and provide insight in the evolution of learning styles in insects.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants