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Over one third of crops are animal pollinated, with insects being the largest group. In some crops, including strawberries, fruit yield, weight, quality, aesthetics and shelf life increase with insect pollination. Many crops are protected from extreme weather in polytunnels, but the impacts of polytunnels on insects are poorly understood. Polytunnels could reduce pollination services, especially if insects have access issues. Here we examine the distribution and activity of honeybees and non-honeybee wild insects on a commercial fruit farm. We evaluated whether insect distributions are impacted by flower type (strawberry; raspberry; weed), or distance from polytunnel edges. We compared passive pan-trapping and active quadrat observations to establish their suitability for monitoring insect distribution and behaviour on a farm. To understand the relative value of honeybees compared to other insects for strawberry pollination, the primary crop at the site, we enhanced our observations with video data analysed using insect tracking software to document the time spent by insects on flowers. The results show honeybees strongly prefer raspberry and weed flowers over strawberry flowers and that location within the polytunnel impacts insect distributions. Consistent with recent studies, we also show that pan-traps are ineffective to sample honeybee numbers. While the pan-traps and quadrat observations tend to suggest that investment in managed honeybees for strawberry pollination might be ineffective due to consistent low numbers within the crop, the camera data provides contrary evidence. Although honeybees were relatively scarce among strawberry crops, camera data shows they spent more time visiting flowers than other insects. Our results demonstrate that a commercial fruit farm is a complex ecosystem influencing pollinator diversity and abundance through a range of factors. We show that monitoring methods may differ in their valuation of relative contributions of insects to crop pollination.
Scarlett R. Howard; Malika Nisal Ratnayake; Adrian G. Dyer; Jair E. Garcia; Alan Dorin. Towards precision apiculture: Traditional and technological insect monitoring methods in strawberry and raspberry crop polytunnels tell different pollination stories. PLOS ONE 2021, 16, e0251572 .
AMA StyleScarlett R. Howard, Malika Nisal Ratnayake, Adrian G. Dyer, Jair E. Garcia, Alan Dorin. Towards precision apiculture: Traditional and technological insect monitoring methods in strawberry and raspberry crop polytunnels tell different pollination stories. PLOS ONE. 2021; 16 (5):e0251572.
Chicago/Turabian StyleScarlett R. Howard; Malika Nisal Ratnayake; Adrian G. Dyer; Jair E. Garcia; Alan Dorin. 2021. "Towards precision apiculture: Traditional and technological insect monitoring methods in strawberry and raspberry crop polytunnels tell different pollination stories." PLOS ONE 16, no. 5: e0251572.
There is increasing interest in developing urban design principles that incorporate good ecological management. Research on understanding the distribution and role of beneficial pollinating insects, in particular, is changing our view of the ecological value of cities. With the rapid expansion of the built environment comes a need to understand how insects may be affected in extensive urban areas. We therefore investigated insect pollinator capture rates in a rapidly growing and densely urbanized city (Melbourne, Australia). We identified a remnant native habitat contained within the expansive urban boundary, and established study sites at two nearby populated urban areas. We employed standard pan trap sampling techniques to passively sample insect orders in the different environments. Our results show that, even though the types of taxonomic groups of insects captured are comparable between locations, important pollinators like bees and hoverflies were more frequently captured in the remnant native habitat. By contrast, beetles (Coleoptera) and butterflies/moths (Lepidoptera) were more frequently observed in the urban residential regions. Our results suggest that the maintenance of native habitat zones within cities is likely to be valuable for the conservation of bees and the ecosystem services they provide.
Mani Shrestha; Jair Garcia; Freya Thomas; Scarlett Howard; Justin Chua; Thomas Tscheulin; Alan Dorin; Anders Nielsen; Adrian Dyer. Insects in the City: Does Remnant Native Habitat Influence Insect Order Distributions? Diversity 2021, 13, 148 .
AMA StyleMani Shrestha, Jair Garcia, Freya Thomas, Scarlett Howard, Justin Chua, Thomas Tscheulin, Alan Dorin, Anders Nielsen, Adrian Dyer. Insects in the City: Does Remnant Native Habitat Influence Insect Order Distributions? Diversity. 2021; 13 (4):148.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMani Shrestha; Jair Garcia; Freya Thomas; Scarlett Howard; Justin Chua; Thomas Tscheulin; Alan Dorin; Anders Nielsen; Adrian Dyer. 2021. "Insects in the City: Does Remnant Native Habitat Influence Insect Order Distributions?" Diversity 13, no. 4: 148.
Monitoring animals in their natural habitat is essential for advancement of animal behavioural studies, especially in pollination studies. Non-invasive techniques are preferred for these purposes as they reduce opportunities for research apparatus to interfere with behaviour. One potentially valuable approach is image-based tracking. However, the complexity of tracking unmarked wild animals using video is challenging in uncontrolled outdoor environments. Out-of-the-box algorithms currently present several problems in this context that can compromise accuracy, especially in cases of occlusion in a 3D environment. To address the issue, we present a novel hybrid detection and tracking algorithm to monitor unmarked insects outdoors. Our software can detect an insect, identify when a tracked insect becomes occluded from view and when it re-emerges, determine when an insect exits the camera field of view, and our software assembles a series of insect locations into a coherent trajectory. The insect detecting component of the software uses background subtraction and deep learning-based detection together to accurately and efficiently locate the insect among a cluster of wildflowers. We applied our method to track honeybees foraging outdoors using a new dataset that includes complex background detail, wind-blown foliage, and insects moving into and out of occlusion beneath leaves and among three-dimensional plant structures. We evaluated our software against human observations and previous techniques. It tracked honeybees at a rate of 86.6% on our dataset, 43% higher than the computationally more expensive, standalone deep learning model YOLOv2. We illustrate the value of our approach to quantify fine-scale foraging of honeybees. The ability to track unmarked insect pollinators in this way will help researchers better understand pollination ecology. The increased efficiency of our hybrid approach paves the way for the application of deep learning-based techniques to animal tracking in real-time using low-powered devices suitable for continuous monitoring.
Malika Nisal Ratnayake; Adrian G. Dyer; Alan Dorin. Tracking individual honeybees among wildflower clusters with computer vision-facilitated pollinator monitoring. PLOS ONE 2021, 16, e0239504 .
AMA StyleMalika Nisal Ratnayake, Adrian G. Dyer, Alan Dorin. Tracking individual honeybees among wildflower clusters with computer vision-facilitated pollinator monitoring. PLOS ONE. 2021; 16 (2):e0239504.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMalika Nisal Ratnayake; Adrian G. Dyer; Alan Dorin. 2021. "Tracking individual honeybees among wildflower clusters with computer vision-facilitated pollinator monitoring." PLOS ONE 16, no. 2: e0239504.
Mechatronic devices installed as Ecosystem Management and Monitoring Units, EMUs, are an emerging trend with the potential to improve our understanding of natural and agricultural ecosystems. They may improve biodiversity and provide socio-economic benefits, but if poorly implemented such technology can undermine conservation efforts, damage habitat and drive people into poverty. This article proposes draft guidelines that help to ensure EMUs embedded within ecosystems generate more global benefit than harm, preserve the aesthetic and cultural value of their environment, and kill organisms only as a last resort.
Alan Dorin; Hazel Parry; James Cook. Towards Guidelines for Mechatronic Ecosystem Monitoring and Management. The 2021 Conference on Artificial Life 2021, 1 .
AMA StyleAlan Dorin, Hazel Parry, James Cook. Towards Guidelines for Mechatronic Ecosystem Monitoring and Management. The 2021 Conference on Artificial Life. 2021; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlan Dorin; Hazel Parry; James Cook. 2021. "Towards Guidelines for Mechatronic Ecosystem Monitoring and Management." The 2021 Conference on Artificial Life , no. : 1.
Heterospecific pollen transfer by insect pollinators has the potential to drive inter-species competition between flowering plants. This phenomenon may newly arise in a region if insect pollinator or flowering plant populations change. An agent-based simulation is presented to assess the potential impact of heterospecific pollen transfer by insects on two co-flowering plant species within an environment consisting of a shared central region and species-specific refugia. Where heterospecific pollen asymmetrically suppressed the reproduction of one competitor, the pollen recipient was rapidly ousted from shared regions. If pollinators made deep, repeated, forays into and out of plant refugia, the clogged species was even unseated from its own refugium. When heterospecific pollen symmetrically suppressed plant reproduction, the same effects were observed, but with one or the other species excluded at random by the pollen clogging mediated interaction. We conclude that both symmetrical and asymmetrical heterospecific pollen transfer may be important elements of inter-species dynamics. In particular, our simulation shows pollen and pollinator visits lost to heterospecific flowers may not always be wasted from the producer’s standpoint. Instead, heterospecific pollen delivery may convey a competitive advantage even when the recipient has a refuge safe from direct invasion. This is possible because the pollen producer may use pollinators to clog a competitor’s stigmas in a refugium without entering into competition there for space, nutrients, light, pollinators, or other resources. Consequently, the evolution of plant signals to promote pollinator constancy may not be the only effective strategy in inter-species competition.
Alan Dorin; Tim Taylor; Martin Burd; Julian Garcia; Mani Shrestha; Adrian G. Dyer. Competition and pollen wars: simulations reveal the dynamics of competition mediated through heterospecific pollen transfer by non-flower constant insects. Theoretical Ecology 2020, 1 -12.
AMA StyleAlan Dorin, Tim Taylor, Martin Burd, Julian Garcia, Mani Shrestha, Adrian G. Dyer. Competition and pollen wars: simulations reveal the dynamics of competition mediated through heterospecific pollen transfer by non-flower constant insects. Theoretical Ecology. 2020; ():1-12.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlan Dorin; Tim Taylor; Martin Burd; Julian Garcia; Mani Shrestha; Adrian G. Dyer. 2020. "Competition and pollen wars: simulations reveal the dynamics of competition mediated through heterospecific pollen transfer by non-flower constant insects." Theoretical Ecology , no. : 1-12.
Monitoring animals in their natural habitat is essential for advancement of animal behavioural studies, especially in pollination studies. Non-invasive techniques are preferred for these purposes as they reduce opportunities for research apparatus to interfere with behaviour. One potentially valuable approach is image-based tracking. However, the complexity of tracking unmarked wild animals using video is challenging in uncontrolled outdoor environments. Out-of-the-box algorithms currently present several problems in this context that can compromise accuracy, especially in cases of occlusion in a 3D environment. To address the issue, we present a novel hybrid detection and tracking algorithm to monitor unmarked insects outdoors. Our software can detect an insect, identify when a tracked insect becomes occluded from view and when it re-emerges, determine when an insect exits the camera field of view, and our software assembles a series of insect locations into a coherent trajectory. The insect detecting component of the software uses background subtraction and deep learning-based detection together to accurately and efficiently locate the insect among a cluster of wildflowers. We applied our method to track honeybees foraging outdoors using a new dataset that includes complex background detail, wind-blown foliage, and insects moving into and out of occlusion beneath leaves and among three-dimensional plant structures. We evaluated our software against human observations and previous techniques. It tracked honeybees at a rate of 86.6% on our dataset, 43% higher than the computationally more expensive, standalone deep learning model YOLOv2. We illustrate the value of our approach to quantify fine-scale foraging of honeybees. The ability to track unmarked insect pollinators in this way will help researchers better understand pollination ecology. The increased efficiency of our hybrid approach paves the way for the application of deep learning-based techniques to animal tracking in real-time using low-powered devices suitable for continuous monitoring.
Malika Nisal Ratnayake; Adrian G Dyer; Alan Dorin. Tracking individual honeybees among wildflower clusters with computer vision-facilitated pollinator monitoring. 2020, 1 .
AMA StyleMalika Nisal Ratnayake, Adrian G Dyer, Alan Dorin. Tracking individual honeybees among wildflower clusters with computer vision-facilitated pollinator monitoring. . 2020; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMalika Nisal Ratnayake; Adrian G Dyer; Alan Dorin. 2020. "Tracking individual honeybees among wildflower clusters with computer vision-facilitated pollinator monitoring." , no. : 1.
About one‐third of orchid species are thought to offer no floral reward and therefore to attract pollinators through deception. Statements of this idea are common in the botanical literature, but the empirical basis of the estimate is rarely mentioned. We traced citation pathways for the one‐third estimate in a sample of the literature and found that the paths lead to empirical foundations that are surprisingly narrow. Moreover, recent measurements have detected minute quantities of sugar available to insect visitors in some orchids thought to be rewardless, raising the possibility of a pollination strategy that is largely deceitful but different to absolute rewardlessness. The orchids are a well studied group and there is no doubt that rewardlessness is common in the family. However, greater empirical effort is needed to verify rewardlessness in orchids and to explore geographic and environmental variation in the proportion of rewardless species.
Mani Shrestha; Adrian G. Dyer; Alan Dorin; Zong‐Xin Ren; Martin Burd. Rewardlessness in orchids: how frequent and how rewardless? Plant Biology 2020, 22, 555 -561.
AMA StyleMani Shrestha, Adrian G. Dyer, Alan Dorin, Zong‐Xin Ren, Martin Burd. Rewardlessness in orchids: how frequent and how rewardless? Plant Biology. 2020; 22 (4):555-561.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMani Shrestha; Adrian G. Dyer; Alan Dorin; Zong‐Xin Ren; Martin Burd. 2020. "Rewardlessness in orchids: how frequent and how rewardless?" Plant Biology 22, no. 4: 555-561.
A spectral reflectance curve for a coloured surface can be constructed from a set of radiation reflectance value measurements made across the spectrum at discrete wavelengths. The curve gives an indication of the pattern of light entering the eye of an organism viewing an illuminated object. Marker points represent the positions along a reflectance curve at which sharp transitions in reflectance occur, these being potentially important to visual perception, for instance by insects discriminating between two flowers, each of a different colour. Consequently, methods of marker point analysis have been applied in several studies evaluating flower colours. These studies have sometimes required researchers to place marker points on reflectance curves by eye, or they have used algorithms written as unreleased software. To automate the process systematically and provide open access, we implemented special-purpose software in C++. Below we provide a summary of the approach adopted in our implementation and made available online in a port to TypeScript. The main benefits of our method are summarized as being:
Alan Dorin; Mani Shrestha; Matthieu Herrmann; Martin Burd; Adrian G. Dyer. Automated calculation of spectral-reflectance marker-points to enable analysis of plant colour-signalling to pollinators. MethodsX 2020, 7, 100827 .
AMA StyleAlan Dorin, Mani Shrestha, Matthieu Herrmann, Martin Burd, Adrian G. Dyer. Automated calculation of spectral-reflectance marker-points to enable analysis of plant colour-signalling to pollinators. MethodsX. 2020; 7 ():100827.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlan Dorin; Mani Shrestha; Matthieu Herrmann; Martin Burd; Adrian G. Dyer. 2020. "Automated calculation of spectral-reflectance marker-points to enable analysis of plant colour-signalling to pollinators." MethodsX 7, no. : 100827.
Food security and the sustainability of native ecosystems depends on plant-insect interactions in countless ways. Recently reported rapid and immense declines in insect numbers due to climate change, the use of pesticides and herbicides, the introduction of agricultural monocultures, and the destruction of insect native habitat, are all potential contributors to this grave situation. Some researchers are working towards a future where natural insect pollinators might be replaced with free-flying robotic bees, an ecologically problematic proposal. We argue instead that creating environments that are friendly to bees and exploring the use of other species for pollination and bio-control, particularly in non-European countries, are more ecologically sound approaches. The computer simulation of insect-plant interactions is a far more measured application of technology that may assist in managing, or averting, ‘Insect Armageddon' from both practical and ethical viewpoints.
Roslyn Gleadow; Jim Hanan; Alan Dorin. Averting robo-bees: why free-flying robotic bees are a bad idea. Emerging Topics in Life Sciences 2019, 3, 723 -729.
AMA StyleRoslyn Gleadow, Jim Hanan, Alan Dorin. Averting robo-bees: why free-flying robotic bees are a bad idea. Emerging Topics in Life Sciences. 2019; 3 (6):723-729.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRoslyn Gleadow; Jim Hanan; Alan Dorin. 2019. "Averting robo-bees: why free-flying robotic bees are a bad idea." Emerging Topics in Life Sciences 3, no. 6: 723-729.
Parameter settings for nature-inspired optimization algorithms are essential for their effective performance. Evolutionary algorithms and swarm intelligence algorithms are prominent types of nature-inspired optimization. There are comprehensive reviews of parameter setting techniques for evolutionary algorithms. Counterparts providing an overview of parameter setting techniques for swarm intelligence algorithms are needed also. Therefore, in this paper, we provide a critical and comprehensive review, focusing in particular on dynamic parameter setting techniques. The paper describes a variety of swarm intelligence algorithms and parameter setting approaches that have been applied to them. This review simplifies the selection of parameter setting techniques for each algorithm by collecting them in a single document and classifying them under a taxonomy. Recommendations for parameter setting approach selection are provided in this review. We explore the open problems related to dynamic parameter setting techniques for swarm intelligence optimization and discuss the trade-off between run-time computation and flexibility of these algorithms.
Han Duy Phan; Kirsten Ellis; Jan Carlo Barca; Alan Dorin. A survey of dynamic parameter setting methods for nature-inspired swarm intelligence algorithms. Neural Computing and Applications 2019, 32, 567 -588.
AMA StyleHan Duy Phan, Kirsten Ellis, Jan Carlo Barca, Alan Dorin. A survey of dynamic parameter setting methods for nature-inspired swarm intelligence algorithms. Neural Computing and Applications. 2019; 32 (2):567-588.
Chicago/Turabian StyleHan Duy Phan; Kirsten Ellis; Jan Carlo Barca; Alan Dorin. 2019. "A survey of dynamic parameter setting methods for nature-inspired swarm intelligence algorithms." Neural Computing and Applications 32, no. 2: 567-588.
To monitor and quantify the changes in pollinator communities over time, it is important to have robust survey techniques of insect populations. Pan traps allow for the assessment of the relative insect abundance in an environment and have been promoted by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) as an efficient data collection methodology. It has been proposed that fluorescent pan traps are particularly useful, as it has been suggested that they capture high numbers of insects in an unbiased fashion. We use a simultaneous presentation of fluorescent and non-fluorescent pan trap colours to assess how flower-visiting insects of different orders respond to visual stimuli and reveal a significant interaction between trap fluorescence and captured insect type. In particular, Coleoptera (beetles) and Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) were captured significantly more frequently by fluorescent traps, whilst Dipterans (flies) were captured significantly less frequently by this type of pan trap. Hymenopterans (bees and wasps) showed no significant difference in their preference for fluorescent or non-fluorescent traps. Our results reveal that the use of fluorescent pan traps may differently bias insect capture rates when compared to the typical experience of colour flower-visiting insects in natural environments. Correction factors may, therefore, be required for interpreting insect pan trap data collected with different methodologies.
Mani Shrestha; Jair E. Garcia; Justin H. J. Chua; Scarlett R. Howard; Thomas Tscheulin; Alan Dorin; Anders Nielsen; Adrian G. Dyer. Fluorescent Pan Traps Affect the Capture Rate of Insect Orders in Different Ways. Insects 2019, 10, 40 .
AMA StyleMani Shrestha, Jair E. Garcia, Justin H. J. Chua, Scarlett R. Howard, Thomas Tscheulin, Alan Dorin, Anders Nielsen, Adrian G. Dyer. Fluorescent Pan Traps Affect the Capture Rate of Insect Orders in Different Ways. Insects. 2019; 10 (2):40.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMani Shrestha; Jair E. Garcia; Justin H. J. Chua; Scarlett R. Howard; Thomas Tscheulin; Alan Dorin; Anders Nielsen; Adrian G. Dyer. 2019. "Fluorescent Pan Traps Affect the Capture Rate of Insect Orders in Different Ways." Insects 10, no. 2: 40.
Orchids are a classic angiosperm model for understanding biotic pollination. We studied orchid species within two species‐rich herbaceous communities that are known to have either hymenopteran or dipteran insects as the dominant pollinators, in order to understand how flower colour relates to pollinator visual systems. We analysed features of the floral reflectance spectra that are significant to pollinator visual systems and used models of dipteran and hymenopteran colour vision to characterise the chromatic signals used by fly‐pollinated and bee‐pollinated orchid species. In contrast to bee‐pollinated flowers, fly‐pollinated flowers had distinctive points of rapid reflectance change at long wavelengths and a complete absence of such spectral features at short wavelengths. Fly‐pollinated flowers also had significantly more restricted loci than bee‐pollinated flowers in colour space models of fly and bee vision alike. Globally, bee‐pollinated flowers are known to have distinctive, consistent colour signals. Our findings of different signals for fly pollination is consistent with pollinator‐mediated selection on orchid species that results from the distinctive features of fly visual systems.
M. Shrestha; M. Burd; J. E. Garcia; A. Dorin; A. G. Dyer. Colour evolution within orchids depends on whether the pollinator is a bee or a fly. Plant Biology 2019, 21, 745 -752.
AMA StyleM. Shrestha, M. Burd, J. E. Garcia, A. Dorin, A. G. Dyer. Colour evolution within orchids depends on whether the pollinator is a bee or a fly. Plant Biology. 2019; 21 (4):745-752.
Chicago/Turabian StyleM. Shrestha; M. Burd; J. E. Garcia; A. Dorin; A. G. Dyer. 2019. "Colour evolution within orchids depends on whether the pollinator is a bee or a fly." Plant Biology 21, no. 4: 745-752.
We depend on wild and managed bees for the pollination of a third of fruits, vegetables and nuts for human consumption. Consequently, the details of the interactions between bees and flowers are of utmost concern to growers and seed producers. However, due to the increasing variability of our climate, the loss of bees’ natural habitat, the use of pesticides and the industrialisation of agriculture, the interactions between bees and our flowering crops are changing in complex ways. Traditional field trials are one approach helping to establish how these changes are impacting on food production, but these techniques are time-consuming, season-limited, and susceptible themselves to the same rapid and dynamic disruptions the ecosystems are subject to. Instead, we propose an iterative experimental approach, in which detailed computer simulations that predict how best to run field trials, are repeatedly informed by field observations and field trial outcomes. The simulations account for bee species’ unique perceptual, behavioural, physiological and morphological characteristics, and realistically model the bees’ foraging environments, including open fields, protected crops, and natural ecosystems. We explain how our simulations work, and provide case studies detailing the results of experiments with planting layout to boost pollination. These models lead to improved plant/pollinator interaction management. They have the potential to boost yield, quality, and shelf-life for a variety of crops, to raise food security generally, and to improve the sustainability of our farm and natural ecosystem management practices.
Alan Dorin. Simulating Bee Pollination for Horticultural Applications. Proceedings 2019, 36, 178 .
AMA StyleAlan Dorin. Simulating Bee Pollination for Horticultural Applications. Proceedings. 2019; 36 (1):178.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlan Dorin. 2019. "Simulating Bee Pollination for Horticultural Applications." Proceedings 36, no. 1: 178.
Han Duy Phan; Kirsten Ellis; Alan Dorin. MIC, an interactive sign language teaching system. Proceedings of the 30th Australian Conference on Computer-Human Interaction 2018, 544 -547.
AMA StyleHan Duy Phan, Kirsten Ellis, Alan Dorin. MIC, an interactive sign language teaching system. Proceedings of the 30th Australian Conference on Computer-Human Interaction. 2018; ():544-547.
Chicago/Turabian StyleHan Duy Phan; Kirsten Ellis; Alan Dorin. 2018. "MIC, an interactive sign language teaching system." Proceedings of the 30th Australian Conference on Computer-Human Interaction , no. : 544-547.
Climate change has the potential to enhance or disrupt biological systems, but currently, little is known about how organism plasticity may facilitate adaptation to localised climate variation. The bee-flower relationship is an exemplar signal-receiver system that may provide important insights into the complexity of ecological interactions in situations like this. For example, several studies on bee temperature preferences show that bees prefer to collect warm nectar from flowers at low ambient temperatures, but switch their preferences to cooler flowers at ambient temperatures above about 30° C. We used temperature sensor thermal probes to measure the temperature of outdoor flowers of 30 plant species in the Southern regions of the Australian mainland, to understand how different species could modulate petal temperature in response to changes in ambient temperature and, potentially, influence the decision-making of bees in the flowering plant’s favour. We found that flower petal temperatures respond in different ways to changing ambient temperature: linearly increasing or decreasing relative to the ambient temperature, dynamically changing in a non-linear manner, or varying their temperature along with the ambient conditions. For example, our investigation of the difference between ambient temperature and petal temperature (ΔT), and ambient temperature, revealed a non-linear relationship for Erysimum linifolium and Polygala grandiflora that seems suited to bee temperature preferences. The temperature profiles of species like Hibertia vestita and H. obtusifolia appear to indicate that they do not have a cooling mechanism. These species may therefore be less attractive to bee pollinators in changing climatic conditions with ambient temperatures increasingly above 30° C. This may be to the species’ detriment when insect-pollinator mediated selection is considered. However, we found no evidence that flower visual characteristics used by bees to identify flowers at close range, such as colour or shape, were straightforward modulators of floral temperature. We could not identify any clear link to phylogenetic history and temperature modulation either. Mapping our test flower distribution on the Australian continent however, indicates a potential clustering that suggests different flower responses may constitute adaptations to local conditions. Our study proposes a framework for modelling the potential effects of climate change and floral temperature on flower pollination dynamics at local and global scales.
Mani Shrestha; Jair E. Garcia; Zoë Bukovac; Alan Dorin; Adrian G. Dyer. Pollination in a new climate: Assessing the potential influence of flower temperature variation on insect pollinator behaviour. PLOS ONE 2018, 13, e0200549 .
AMA StyleMani Shrestha, Jair E. Garcia, Zoë Bukovac, Alan Dorin, Adrian G. Dyer. Pollination in a new climate: Assessing the potential influence of flower temperature variation on insect pollinator behaviour. PLOS ONE. 2018; 13 (8):e0200549.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMani Shrestha; Jair E. Garcia; Zoë Bukovac; Alan Dorin; Adrian G. Dyer. 2018. "Pollination in a new climate: Assessing the potential influence of flower temperature variation on insect pollinator behaviour." PLOS ONE 13, no. 8: e0200549.
The influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Artificial Life (ALife) technologies upon society, and their potential to fundamentally shape the future evolution of humankind, are topics very much at the forefront of current scientific, governmental and public debate. While these might seem like very modern concerns, they have a long history that is often disregarded in contemporary discourse. Insofar as current debates do acknowledge the history of these ideas, they rarely look back further than the origin of the modern digital computer age in the 1940s-50s. In this paper we explore the earlier history of these concepts. We focus in particular on the idea of self-reproducing and evolving machines, and potential implications for our own species. We show that discussion of these topics arose in the 1860s, within a decade of the publication of Darwin's The Origin of Species, and attracted increasing interest from scientists, novelists and the general public in the early 1900s. After introducing the relevant work from this period, we categorise the various visions presented by these authors of the future implications of evolving machines for humanity. We suggest that current debates on the co-evolution of society and technology can be enriched by a proper appreciation of the long history of the ideas involved.
Tim Taylor; Alan Dorin. Past Visions of Artificial Futures: One Hundred and Fifty Years under the Spectre of Evolving Machines. 2018, 1 .
AMA StyleTim Taylor, Alan Dorin. Past Visions of Artificial Futures: One Hundred and Fifty Years under the Spectre of Evolving Machines. . 2018; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTim Taylor; Alan Dorin. 2018. "Past Visions of Artificial Futures: One Hundred and Fifty Years under the Spectre of Evolving Machines." , no. : 1.
This paper presents a novel application of agent-based simulation software to tune real greenhouse infrastructure containing flowering seed or vegetable crop plants and their insect pollinators. Greenhouses provide controlled environments for the growth of high-value crops. As global climate and weather become more unpredictable, we are becoming more dependent upon technologically sophisticated greenhouses for reliable crop production. For crop pollination in a greenhouse, although manual or technological alternatives have been explored, pollination by bees is still required in many crops for the best seed yields and food quality. However, the design of greenhouses is driven primarily by the requirements of the plants rather than the pollinators. In light of this, we have designed simulations to explore improvements to greenhouse conditions and layout that benefit the insect pollinators and assist them to pollinate the crop. The software consists of an agent-based model of insect behaviour that is used to predict pollination outcomes under a range of conditions. The best parameters discovered in simulation can be used to adjust real greenhouse layouts. We present a key test case for our method, and discuss future work in which the technique has the potential to be applied in a continuous feedback loop providing predictions of greenhouse re-configurations that can be made by real-time control systems in a modern greenhouse. This is a novel approach linking simulation behaviour to real techno-ecological systems to improve crop and seed yield from valuable greenhouse infrastructure. This paper presents a novel application of agent-based simulation software to tune real greenhouse infrastructure containing flowering seed or vegetable crop plants and their insect pollinators. Greenhouses provide controlled environments for the growth of high-value crops. As global climate and weather become more unpredictable, we are becoming more dependent upon technologically sophisticated greenhouses for reliable crop production. For crop pollination in a greenhouse, although manual or technological alternatives have been explored, pollination by bees is still required in many crops for the best seed yields and food quality. However, the design of greenhouses is driven primarily by the requirements of the plants rather than the pollinators. In light of this, we have designed simulations to explore improvements to greenhouse conditions and layout that benefit the insect pollinators and assist them to pollinate the crop. The software consists of an agent-based model of insect behaviour that is used to predict pollination outcomes under a range of conditions. The best parameters discovered in simulation can be used to adjust real greenhouse layouts. We present a key test case for our method, and discuss future work in which the technique has the potential to be applied in a continuous feedback loop providing predictions of greenhouse re-configurations that can be made by real-time control systems in a modern greenhouse. This is a novel approach linking simulation behaviour to real techno-ecological systems to improve crop and seed yield from valuable greenhouse infrastructure. This paper presents a novel application of agent-based simulation software to tune real greenhouse infrastructure containing flowering seed or vegetable crop plants and their insect pollinators. Greenhouses provide controlled environments for the growth of high-value crops. As global climate and weather become more unpredictable, we are becoming more dependent upon technologically sophisticated greenhouses for reliable crop production. For crop pollination in a greenhouse, although manual or technological alternatives have been explored, pollination by bees is still required in many crops for the best seed yields and food quality. However, the design of greenhouses is driven primarily by the requirements of the plants rather than the pollinators. In light of this, we have designed simulations to explore improvements to greenhouse conditions and layout that benefit the insect pollinators and assist them to pollinate the crop. The software consists of an agent-based model of insect behaviour that is used to predict pollination outcomes under a range of conditions. The best parameters discovered in simulation can be used to adjust real greenhouse layouts. We present a key test case for our method, and discuss future work in which the technique has the potential to be applied in a continuous feedback loop providing predictions of greenhouse re-configurations that can be made by real-time control systems in a modern greenhouse. This is a novel approach linking simulation behaviour to real techno-ecological systems to improve crop and seed yield from valuable greenhouse infrastructure.
Alan Dorin; Adrian Dyer; Tim Taylor; Zoë Bukovac. Simulation-governed design and tuning of greenhouses for successful bee pollination. The 2018 Conference on Artificial Life 2018, 1 .
AMA StyleAlan Dorin, Adrian Dyer, Tim Taylor, Zoë Bukovac. Simulation-governed design and tuning of greenhouses for successful bee pollination. The 2018 Conference on Artificial Life. 2018; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlan Dorin; Adrian Dyer; Tim Taylor; Zoë Bukovac. 2018. "Simulation-governed design and tuning of greenhouses for successful bee pollination." The 2018 Conference on Artificial Life , no. : 1.
The influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Artificial Life (ALife) technologies upon society, and their potential to fundamentally shape the future evolution of humankind, are topics very much at the forefront of current scientific, governmental and public debate. While these might seem like very modern concerns, they have a long history that is often disregarded in contemporary discourse. Insofar as current debates do acknowledge the history of these ideas, they rarely look back further than the origin of the modern digital computer age in the 1940s–50s. In this paper we explore the earlier history of these concepts. We focus in particular on the idea of self-reproducing and evolving machines, and potential implications for our own species. We show that discussion of these topics arose in the 1860s, within a decade of the publication of Darwin’s The Origin of Species, and attracted increasing interest from scientists, novelists and the general public in the early 1900s. After introducing the relevant work from this period, we categorise the various visions presented by these authors of the future implications of evolving machines for humanity. We suggest that current debates on the co-evolution of society and technology can be enriched by a proper appreciation of the long history of the ideas involved. The influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Artificial Life (ALife) technologies upon society, and their potential to fundamentally shape the future evolution of humankind, are topics very much at the forefront of current scientific, governmental and public debate. While these might seem like very modern concerns, they have a long history that is often disregarded in contemporary discourse. Insofar as current debates do acknowledge the history of these ideas, they rarely look back further than the origin of the modern digital computer age in the 1940s–50s. In this paper we explore the earlier history of these concepts. We focus in particular on the idea of self-reproducing and evolving machines, and potential implications for our own species. We show that discussion of these topics arose in the 1860s, within a decade of the publication of Darwin’s The Origin of Species, and attracted increasing interest from scientists, novelists and the general public in the early 1900s. After introducing the relevant work from this period, we categorise the various visions presented by these authors of the future implications of evolving machines for humanity. We suggest that current debates on the co-evolution of society and technology can be enriched by a proper appreciation of the long history of the ideas involved. The influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Artificial Life (ALife) technologies upon society, and their potential to fundamentally shape the future evolution of humankind, are topics very much at the forefront of current scientific, governmental and public debate. While these might seem like very modern concerns,...
Tim Taylor; Alan Dorin. Past Visions of Artificial Futures:. The 2018 Conference on Artificial Life 2018, 1 .
AMA StyleTim Taylor, Alan Dorin. Past Visions of Artificial Futures:. The 2018 Conference on Artificial Life. 2018; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTim Taylor; Alan Dorin. 2018. "Past Visions of Artificial Futures:." The 2018 Conference on Artificial Life , no. : 1.
Flowers are often viewed by bee pollinators against a variety of different backgrounds. On the Australian continent, backgrounds are very diverse and include surface examples of all major geological stages of the Earth’s history, which have been present during the entire evolutionary period of Angiosperms. Flower signals in Australia are also representative of typical worldwide evolutionary spectral adaptations that enable successful pollination. We measured the spectral properties of 581 natural surfaces, including rocks, sand, green leaves, and dry plant materials, sampled from tropical Cairns through to the southern tip of mainland Australia. We modelled in a hexagon colour space, how interactions between background spectra and flower-like colour stimuli affect reliable discrimination and detection in bee pollinators. We calculated the extent to which a given locus would be conflated with the loci of a different flower-colour stimulus using empirically determined colour discrimination regions for bee vision. Our results reveal that whilst colour signals are robust in homogeneous background viewing conditions, there could be significant pressure on plant flowers to evolve saliently-different colours to overcome background spectral noise. We thus show that perceptual noise has a large influence on how colour information can be used in natural conditions.
Zoë Bukovac; Mani Shrestha; Jair E. Garcia; Martin Burd; Alan Dorin; Adrian G. Dyer. Why background colour matters to bees and flowers. Journal of Comparative Physiology A 2017, 203, 369 -380.
AMA StyleZoë Bukovac, Mani Shrestha, Jair E. Garcia, Martin Burd, Alan Dorin, Adrian G. Dyer. Why background colour matters to bees and flowers. Journal of Comparative Physiology A. 2017; 203 (5):369-380.
Chicago/Turabian StyleZoë Bukovac; Mani Shrestha; Jair E. Garcia; Martin Burd; Alan Dorin; Adrian G. Dyer. 2017. "Why background colour matters to bees and flowers." Journal of Comparative Physiology A 203, no. 5: 369-380.
Moataz ElQadi; Alan Dorin; Adrian Dyer; Martin Burd; Zoë Bukovac; Mani Shrestha. Mapping species distributions with social media geo-tagged images: Case studies of bees and flowering plants in Australia. Ecological Informatics 2017, 39, 23 -31.
AMA StyleMoataz ElQadi, Alan Dorin, Adrian Dyer, Martin Burd, Zoë Bukovac, Mani Shrestha. Mapping species distributions with social media geo-tagged images: Case studies of bees and flowering plants in Australia. Ecological Informatics. 2017; 39 ():23-31.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMoataz ElQadi; Alan Dorin; Adrian Dyer; Martin Burd; Zoë Bukovac; Mani Shrestha. 2017. "Mapping species distributions with social media geo-tagged images: Case studies of bees and flowering plants in Australia." Ecological Informatics 39, no. : 23-31.