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Article Edits: Biorhythms

Additional Studies Supporting The Classification of Biorhythms As Pseudoscientific

Several controlled, experimental studies have been conducted in order to investigate the validity of biorhythms. Such studies have yielded results that provide support for the classification of biorhythms as a pseudoscience. These studies include:

Prytula and Colleagues (1980)

They found that subjects did not perceive biorhythms generated from random dates as being any more or less valid than those constructed using their birthdays. Further, these subjects did not display any differences in rating between the 'valid' (i.e., constructed using the subject's birthday), and random biorhythms. Overall, the results of this experiment provide data supporting the argument against the perceived validity of biorhythms.

James (1984)

James hypothesized that if biorhythms were rooted in science, then each proposed biorhythm cycle would contribute to task performance. Further, he predicted that each type of biorhythm cycle (i.e., intellectual, physical, and emotional) would be most influential on tasks associated with the corresponding cycle type. For example, he postulated that intellectual biorhythm cycles would be most influential on academic testing performance. In order to test his hypotheses, James observed 368 participants, noting their performance on tasks associated with intellectual, physical, and emotional functioning. Based on data collected from his experimental research, James concluded the there was no relation between subjects' biorhythmic status (on any of the three cycle types), and their performance on the associated practical tests.

Peveto (1980)

Peveto examined the proposed relationship between biorhythms and academic performance, specifically in terms of reading ability. Through examination of the data collected, Peveto concluded that there were no significant differences in the academic performance of the students, in regards to reading, during the high, low, or critical positions of neither the physical biorhythm cycle, the emotional biorhythm cycle, nor the intellectual biorhythm cycle. As a result, it was concluded that biorhythm cycles have no affect on the academic performance of students, when academic performance was measured using reading ability.

Article: Round dance (honey bee)

[the article being expanded is: round dance (honey bee)]

Honey bee (Apis mellifera)

Round dance is a term used to describe the communicative behaviour of a foraging honey bee (Apis mellifera), in which she flies over the comb in close circles, alternating right and then left. The round dance indicates that the forager has located a profitable food source close to the hive. When the food source is relatively far away (over 50 meters), the round dance transitions into the waggle dance. By performing the round dance, the forager communicates information pertaining to the food source's distance and direction from the hive to the follower bees. Elements of the round dance also provide information regarding the forager's subjective evaluation of the food source's profitability.

Nobel laureate Karl von Frisch was one of the first ethologists to investigate both the waggle dance and round dance through his studies examining honey bee foraging behaviours, and is credited with translating many of their underlying mechanisms.

Description

If a foraging honey bee (Apis mellifera) locates a profitable food source, she returns to the hive and performs a round dance to communicate its location. The forager bee moves in close circles over the comb, alternating directions. The round dance is performed by the forager bee when the food source is located in the immediate vicinity of the hive. Karl von Frisch determined that the critical distance for switching between the round dance and the waggle dance exists at 50 meters away from the hive. The scent attached to the forager bee's body communicates the type of food source in question to the follower bees. However, the scent of the food source alone is not sufficient information to guide the follower bees to said food source.

Mechanism

It has been shown that many of the mechanisms used to communicate distance and direction in the waggle dance are also employed in the round dance. The following section will focus on the role of each mechanism as a function of the round dance, specifically.

Acoustic Signals

The round dance uses the position of the sun to indicate the direction from the hive to the food source in the same way that the waggle dance does

Acoustic signals are produced as a part of the round dance. These acoustic signals communicate information regarding direction, and give an indication of the distance to the food source. The dance sounds produced by the round dance are airborne, and are of sufficient strength to stimulate Johnston's organs in the antenna of the follower bees to which the forager is communicating. The follower bees extract information about the direction of the food source from the acoustic field that the forager produces. Direction to the food source is communicated through the sound information emitted by the forager bee, as well as through the air currents that accompany the dance sound. Such that, the duration and frequency of the sound produced, along with the magnitude of the pressure gradient produced provide the follower bees with information regarding the direction to the food source. Acoustic signals are also used to communicate distance. The duration of the acoustic signal transmitted is proportional to the distance to the food source. In that, the train of sound pulses produced by the forager bee, known as the dance sound, increases relative to the distance to the food source.

Position of the Sun

The round dance uses the position of the sun in order to indicate the direction of the food source in the same way that the waggle dance does. On the vertical surface of the comb, the forager expresses the angle between the position of the sun and the path to the food source through an angular deflection from perfect vertical. Honey bees use both the position of the sun and the polarization patterns of a blue sky to communicate the direction of the food source. Support for this theory rests in the observation that honey bees can still recognize the sun's position when it is obscured by a cloud or a mountain, for example. Honey bees also recognize the daily movements of the sun and can use the sun as a compass by calculating the hour of the day.

Communicating Profitability

The round dance communicates the subjective evaluation of a food resource's profitability made by the forager. In regards to nectar, a common food source for honey bees, profitability is determined by its energetic value. Karl von Frisch originally suggested a relationship between what he termed the "liveliness" of the round dance and the value of the food source. Since then, the "liveliness" of the round dance has been dissected into quantifiable parts. Honey bees communicate information regarding the profitability of a food source through: rate of reversals, number of reversals, and dance duration. Research indicates that the rate of reversals in the round dance is the measure of profitability that is most highly correlated to food source quality. The energetic value of the food source is also correlated with several aspects of the dance sound. There is a positive correlation between energetic value and mean carrier frequency, pulse repetition rate, amplitude, and duration of the sound bursts.

However, costs can be associated with the food sources, and consequently lower their subjective profitability. Some possible costs include: distance from the hive, and nectar flow rate. Furthermore, the forager's subjective rating of the profitability of a food source depends on the quality of food sources that the forager had previously encountered. If the forager had previously encountered a food source of higher energetic value, and less cost, she will rate the current food source as less profitable than if she had previously encountered a food source of less energetic value. Thus, the forager bee integrates the costs and benefits associated with each potential food source and communicates their subjective profitability through their round dance performance. However, the forager bee only communicates the food source if it passes a certain concentration threshold for dancing, by passing this threshold it is determined that there are enough benefits associated with the food source to justify expending the energy required for performing the round dance.

Response to Communicated Profitability

Although the round dance communicates the different profitabilities associated with each food source, the round dances displaying both rich and poor food resources are equally stimulating to the follower bees. The follower bees do not respond to only the most rich food resources because the benefits of being highly selective about which dance to respond to are low. It is suggested that bees benefit more from responding to a wide array of food sources rather than all congregating at the same, slightly richer food source. Also, since all food resources have to pass the concentration threshold for dancing in order to be communicated via the round dance, any food resource that is communicated through the round dance must have a relatively high profitability.

Drafting Article Edits:

Article being edited: round dance (honey bee)

Possible References:

• Honey Bee Foraging Profitability and Round Dance Correlates
  • bees communicating profitability of food source (caloric cost vs profit) through their round dance
    • dancing at all; rate & number of reversals/ liveliness; duration
• Honeybee Dance Communication
  • round dance= when food source is near (as opposed to waggle dance which is for food sources at a greater distance)
  • acoustic signals are emitted in the round dance= give information to worker bees about location (direction and some information about distance)
  • round vs waggle : how distance and direction are coded in dance patterns
• Honeybee, Apis mellifera, round dance is influenced by trace components of floral nectar
  • profitability= energetic value of food source (nectar- mostly sugars)
  • experimental manipulation= changing food sources (nectar vs avocado)
  • bees make context dependent evaluations
• Acoustical and Behavioral Correlates of Profitability of Food Sources in Honey Bee Round Dances
  • how bees communicate profitability of food sources
    • rate of reversals; aspects of the dance's sound
    • liveliness; body temperature
• Decoding the Language of the Bee
  • von Frisch
  • round dance= for nearby food sources
  • ++ specific information on timing/patterns/distances
• Tactics of dance choice in honey bees: do foragers compare dances?
  • honeybees don't sample multiple dances- follow only one
  • democracy

Tentative Outline:

• *article should be 4-5 paragraphs in length
• 1. Lead Section:
  • summarize entire article
• 2. Description:
  • relation to waggle dance
  • von Frisch's article has + information about this
• 3. Mechanism:
  • how round dance communicates profitability of food source
  • give specifics from V.F's article about patterns/distances etc
    • sound, relation to sun
• 4. Application:
  • how to use to help protect bee populations?
• link to 5 articles
  • Karl von Frisch
  • Waggle dance
  • honeybee
• link TO this article from 2-3 others
  • Karl von Frisch
  • Waggle dance
• add media through commons

Article Selection:

• 1. waggle dance
  • critiqued below
• 2. round dance
  • aspect of waggle dance- less developed topic
  • CHOSEN TOPIC

Article Evaluation:

The name of the article being evaluated is waggle dance.

Content:

Overall, this article outlines important information, but it is not communicated in a clear manner. The confusion begins in the "Overview" section and is not resolved throughout the entirety of the article. The article speaks about multiple "dance" types, however, at many different instances, the comparison of different "dance" types is confusing because it is not clear which "dance" type is being referenced. Additionally, when contrasting the round dance and the waggle dance, transitions in information seem very choppy, making it hard to understand what is being explained.

Another issue with the article is its lack of consistency. Firstly, throughout the article, use of either "honey bee" or "honeybee" should be consistent. Next, some species names are linked to their respective Wiki Pages, but not all. In my opinion, it would be beneficial to link all species names to their respective articles. I think that this would be beneficial for both fluency and maximization of reader understanding.

In terms of relevance, I do not believe that the links to similar topics at the top of the article are necessary. I think that these links make the article appear less professional. Furthermore, I believe that the links serve as a distraction from the article's true topic.

Finally, in the first figure contained within the article, it is not a honeybee that is represented, but rather a fly. Thus, the figure does not accurately represent the information that the article is attempting to portray. Therefore, the figure included in the "Overview" section is not an appropriate figure for this article.

Tone:

There is no bias displayed throughout the article.

In my opinion, the "Evolution" and "Mechanism" sections should be extended to give an accurate representation of the importance of these topics in understanding the waggle dance.

Sources:

Throughout the article, there are several "facts" that are not accompanied by a citation. Of particular note, the "Description" and "Mechanism" sections contain large chunks of information with only one or two citations. I think it would be beneficial to make sure that every "fact" has a corresponding citation.

The article references information from reliable sources. The references cited support claims made in the article. Furthermore, the sources appear to be neutral.

In my opinion, adding a link to Karl von Frisch's Nobel Lecture beside the sentence crediting him with his discoveries on the topic of the waggle dance would be an improvement to the article.

Talk Page:

This article has a C-rating.

There is not much activity on this article's Talk Page. The only threads posted on the Talk Page are minor edits and comments. The edits are all relatively small changes, mostly changes in phrasing. The comments all echo much of what I have outlined in this evaluation (e.g., a lot of unclear information, inappropriate figure).