• Skip to main content
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer
ERN: Emerging Researchers National Conference in STEM

ERN: Emerging Researchers National Conference in STEM

  • About
    • About AAAS
    • About the NSF
    • About the Conference
    • Partners/Supporters
    • Project Team
  • Conference
  • Abstracts
    • Undergraduate Abstract Locator
    • Graduate Abstract Locator
    • Abstract Submission Process
    • Presentation Schedules
    • Abstract Submission Guidelines
    • Presentation Guidelines
  • Travel Awards
  • Resources
    • Award Winners
    • Code of Conduct-AAAS Meetings
    • Code of Conduct-ERN Conference
    • Conference Agenda
    • Conference Materials
    • Conference Program Books
    • ERN Photo Galleries
    • Events | Opportunities
    • Exhibitor Info
    • HBCU-UP/CREST PI/PD Meeting
    • In the News
    • NSF Harassment Policy
    • Plenary Session Videos
    • Professional Development
    • Science Careers Handbook
    • Additional Resources
    • Archives
  • Engage
    • Webinars
    • ERN 10-Year Anniversary Videos
    • Plenary Session Videos
  • Contact Us
  • Login

Investigating Hummingbird Foraging Choices in Response to Bee or Ant Cues

Undergraduate #53
Discipline: Ecology Environmental and Earth Sciences
Subcategory: Ecology

Ashley Kim - University of California Davis
Co-Author(s): Dr. Erin Wilson Rankin, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA



Hummingbirds are known to utilize visual cues while foraging for nectar. When some arthropods are present on flowers, hummingbirds have been observed to avoid those occupied flowers. To better understand their responses, hummingbirds participated in a series of choice-experiments to identify what cues the birds responded to and how. Three species of hummingbirds: Anna’s (Calypte anna), Costa’s (Calypte costae), and Anna’s x Costa’s hybrids were used in the study in both captivity and the field. In addition to studying visual cues, olfactory cues were also tested in the study to further investigate behavioral mechanisms. The visual and olfactory treatments were extracted from native wood ants (Formica francoeuri), invasive Argentine ants (Linepithema humile) and European honeybees (Apis mellifera). The three treatments include formic acid (wood ant defense cue), Z9 pheromones (Argentine ant aggregation cue), and cuticular hydrocarbons (associated with honeybee foraging). Although not known for their sense of smell, hummingbirds in this study exhibited some ability to distinguish insect chemical cues in different ecological contexts. Such data describing how avian pollinators respond to insect-derived chemical signals at floral resources will improve our understanding of plant-pollinator and inter-pollinator interactions.

Funder Acknowledgement(s): National Science Foundation (NSF), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenge Award, Vodafone's Wireless Innovation Project, and a UCR Chancellors Award.

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Erin Wilson Rankin, erin.rankin@ucr.edu

Role: My mentor first presented me the idea of working with hummingbirds and insects to study their ecological interaction on olfactory and visual cues. I studied related primary literatures and created my own experimental design. In addition, I completed about 80% of the experimental trials out in the field. Then I inputted the data and analyzed it with my mentor using the programming language 'R'. We are currently writing our findings in a scientific paper and I will be listed as the primary author. I would like to acknowledge and thank my mentor for providing guidance every step of the way.

Sidebar

Abstract Locators

  • Undergraduate Abstract Locator
  • Graduate Abstract Locator

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. DUE-1930047. Any opinions, findings, interpretations, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of its authors and do not represent the views of the AAAS Board of Directors, the Council of AAAS, AAAS’ membership or the National Science Foundation.

AAAS

1200 New York Ave, NW
Washington,DC 20005
202-326-6400
Contact Us
About Us

  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

The World’s Largest General Scientific Society

Useful Links

  • Membership
  • Careers at AAAS
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Focus Areas

  • Science Education
  • Science Diplomacy
  • Public Engagement
  • Careers in STEM

Focus Areas

  • Shaping Science Policy
  • Advocacy for Evidence
  • R&D Budget Analysis
  • Human Rights, Ethics & Law

© 2023 American Association for the Advancement of Science