Alice Bridges

Profile

Project title: Sociocognitive processes in bumblebees

Summary: Culture represents a second form of inheritance, whereby novel behavioural innovations may be seen as analogous to genetic mutations, and are passed across generations through social learning. Despite their tiny brains, bumblebees are capable of learning relatively complex behaviours and transmitting these to their conspecifics, making them excellent models for the study of non-humanculture. The aim of my PhD is to investigate sociocognitive processes in bumblebees, and the potential for culture to be cumulative in this species.

Supervisor

• Professor Lars Chittka

Research