Information transfer determined by association of neighbours in European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster) colonies

Abstract

The Information Centre Hypothesis (ICH) and the Two-Strategies Hypothesis (TSH) predict that foraging success is enhanced by information exchanged among individuals within a colony or roost. Nest location within a colony may be critical in this regard, as individuals with abundant, nearby neighbours likely have greater access to information regarding a new food resource than relatively isolated breeders. To determine how the availability of neighbours influences information transfer, we quantified foraging success in a population of European bee-eaters (Merops apiaster) provided with a honey bee (Apis mellifera) hive as a new food resource. To quantify potential information transfer we developed a neighbour index that incorporated both the number and proximity of neighbours into a single continuous measure. The change in feeding rate of individual birds after introducing the honey bee hive was positively correlated with our neighbour index, suggesting that information transfer among colony members, at least in part, selects for colonial breeding in European bee-eaters