PowerPoint Presentation Biol 316 Invertebrate Zoology

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Biol 316 - Invertebrate Zoology
Anne Gaskett agaskett_at_bio.mq.edu.au

• Animal Communication 1
• Signals, Cues, Functions

www.fiddlercrab.info/uca_mystery.html
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animal communication
http//www.koko.org/friends/kokomart.koko.html ht
tp//www.youtube.com/watch?vQ5RrORtDZuQ
www.alexfoundation.org/irene.htm
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todays lecture

• No apes or parrots
• 1 Functions of Communication
• 2 Definitions
• 3 Cues vs. Signals
• 4 Evolution of Signals
• 5 Signal Modes
• - multiple signalling (in several modes)
• - chemical signalling

5
1. functions of communication
sex and reproduction settlement
aggregation defence group resource sharing
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sex reproduction signals

• Mass spawning cues

aquatic broadcast spawners under selection to
release their gametes simultaneously with
conspecifics
Kina sea urchin - Evechinus chloroticus www.forest
andbird.org.nz/bestfishguide/species/kina.asp
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sex reproduction signals

• Mass spawning cues

• Mass spawning cues

Environmental and chemical?
Brittle star - Ophiocoma dentata cse.fra.affrc.go.
jp/seastar/ZamamiOphiuroid.html
Soong et al. 2005 Presence of spawn-inducing
pheromones in brittle stars Mar Ecol Prog Ser
292195-201
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sex reproduction signals

• Attracting or finding mates
• Particularly important for solitary, widely
  dispersed or wide ranging animals

Nautilus pompilius www-biol.paisley.ac.uk/biomedia
/ gallery/nautilus.htm
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sex reproduction signals

• Attracting or finding mates
• Particularly important for solitary, widely
  dispersed or wide ranging animals

Westermann Beuerlein 2005 Y-maze experiments on
chemotactic behaviour Nautilus Mar Biol
147145151
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sex reproduction signals

• correct identification of potential mates
• Same species?
• Correct sex?
• Sexually mature?
• Interested?

Box Jellyfish Carybdea sivickisi www.ucmp.berkel
ey.edu/cnidaria/C_sivickisi.html
Lewis Long 2005 Courtship and reproduction in
Carybdea sivickisi (Cnidaria Cubozoa) Mar Biol
147 477483
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sex reproduction signals

• assess mate quality
• Some signals indicate benefits of mating with an
  individual, e.g. Tiger moth, Utetheisa ornatrix

converts some toxin into pheromones
for signalling to females
Male feeds and sequesters plant toxin
Eisner Meinwald 1995 The chemistry of sexual
selection PNAS 9250-55
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sex reproduction signals

• assess mate quality

because the male transfers the rest of his
stored toxin to the female during mating
and the female incorporates the toxin into her
eggs to deter predators
Females copulate with males with more of this
pheromone
Eisner Meinwald 1995 The chemistry of sexual
selection PNAS 9250-55
13
sex reproduction signals

• assess mate quality

For this tiger moth Male pheromone
communicates that he will provide direct benefits
to female and offspring Thus, his pheromone is
an honest signal of his quality as a mate
Eisner Meinwald 1995 The chemistry of sexual
selection PNAS 9250-55
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settlement signals

• for aquatic animals
• settlement signals can indicate

presence of mates good habitat safety in
numbers
Crab larva, megalopa stage life.bio.sunysb.edu/mar
inebio/larvae.html
Larval crabs can metamorphose and settle more
quickly in presence of adult conspecific odours
Gebauer et al. 2002 Metamorphosis in a
crabsettlement cues from adult odors J Exp Mar
Biol Ecol 268112
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aggregation signals
Sawfly larvae (spitfire caterpillars) Perga
affinis P. dorsalis
http//www.ento.csiro.au/insect_id/wasps.html
Jerrawarra Creek Landcare Group

• Disperse in eucalypt during night
• Use vibration signals to re-aggregate for day

Carne 1961 The characteristics and behaviour of
the saw-fly Perga affinis (Hymenoptera) Aust J
Zool 10138
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defence
When under attack or threat, closely related
social animals often emit alarm signals
Often chemical e.g. aphids Damaged aphids
release a signal stimulating escape by rest of
colony
aphid colony http//www.inra.fr/Internet/Produits/
HYPPZ/IMAGES/7030531.jpg
Mondor et al. 2000 Ontogeny of alarm pheromone
secretion in pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum J Chem
Ecol 26(12)
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defence
Vibrational alarm signals - Termites
Macrotermes bellicosis www.mpl.ird.fr/SeqBio/Pages
/implantsenegal.html
Zootermopsis augusticolis http//www.enature.com/f
ieldguides
Röhrig et al. 99 Vibrational alarm communication
in a termite Macrotermes Insectes soc.
467177 Rosengaus et al. 99 Pathogen alarm
behavior in a termiteNaturwissenschaften 86,
544548
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group resource sharing
Share mutually beneficial information about the
location or quality of resources
Best known example Honey bee waggle dance
communicates food location new nest sites
entomology.unl.edu/beekpg/tidings/btid2004/btdmar2
004.htm
Video www.youtube.com/watch?v-7ijI-g4jHg
Dyer 2002 The biology of dance language Annu Rev
Entomol 4791749
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todays lecture

• No apes or parrots
• 1 Functions of Communication
• 2 Definitions
• 3 Cues vs. Signals
• 4 Evolution of Signals
• 5 Signal Modes
• - multiple signalling (in several modes)
• - chemical signalling

sex reproduction settlement aggregation defence
group resource sharing
20
todays lecture

• No apes or parrots
• 1 Functions of Communication
• 2 Definitions
• 3 Cues vs. Signals
• 4 Evolution of Signals
• 5 Signal Modes
• - multiple signalling (in several modes)
• - chemical signalling

21
definitions

• Communication

when an action by one organism influences another
organisms behaviour in an adaptive manner -
involves cues signals

• Emitter animal producing the signal
• Receiver animal acting on the signal
• Signal mode or channel medium of signal
  transmission
• Context setting in which signal is produced
  received
• Noise background stimuli not involved in
  signal

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todays lecture

• No apes or parrots
• 1 Functions of Communication
• 2 Definitions
• 3 Cues vs. Signals
• 4 Evolution of Signals
• 5 Signal Modes
• - multiple signalling (in several modes)
• - chemical signalling

23
cues vs signals
Signals - intentionally emitted to provoke a
specific response from the receiver.
Cues not deliberately emitted, but used by the
receiver to assess the emitter
Many male insects use female body size as a cue
- larger females tend to have more offspring and
several partners - males that
invest more sperm when mating with a large
female secure repro advantage
www.unict.it/dipartimenti/biologia_animale
Bonduriansky 2001 The evolution of male mate
choice in insects Biol Rev 76305-339
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prey choice cues?
Duel pheromone squid jig
Just when you thought it could not possibly get
better than drifting a Yo-Zuri Shrimp Hunter
squid jig along comes this
http//www.campbellsprotackle.com
Prey cues may include shape, size, texture,
colour, movement, gait, scent, sound
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todays lecture

• No apes or parrots
• 1 Functions of Communication
• 2 Definitions
• 3 Cues vs. Signals
• 4 Evolution of Signals
• 5 Signal Modes
• - multiple signalling (in several modes)
• - chemical signalling

26
evolution of signals

• signals are derived from pre-existing
  movements, chemicals, body parts colours
• If having or detecting these signals enhances
  reproductive output - offspring of signallers
  will be more abundant in the next generation
• Offspring that inherit their parents signalling
  ability will also have enhanced reproductive
  output
• selection acts to improve signal function

Wyatt 2003
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evolution of signals

• Ant alarm pheromones
• Extremely common
• Derived from
• chemicals already used by ants for defence
• chemicals that leak out when an ant is injured
• Multiple independent evolutions

D Gray www.amonline.net.au/factsheets/ants.htm
Blum 1985 Holdobler Wilson 1990 The Ants
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todays lecture

• No apes or parrots
• 1 Functions of Communication
• 2 Definitions
• 3 Cues vs. Signals
• 4 Evolution of Signals
• 5 Signal Modes
• - multiple signalling (in several modes)
• - chemical signalling

29
signal modes
Termites cooperate to increase the range of
their vibrational alarm signal
Alcock 1984, Barnard 2004
30
todays lecture

• No apes or parrots
• 1 Functions of Communication
• 2 Definitions
• 3 Cues vs. Signals
• 4 Evolution of Signals
• 5 Signal Modes
• - multiple signalling (in several modes)
• - chemical signalling

31
Multiple signalling
communication often uses several simultaneous
signals - sometimes in different sensory modes
e.g. pheromones and visual stimuli

• does each mode reiterate the same message?
• backups to increase signal accuracy?
• do modes convey different parts of message or
  stimulate different parts of response?
• does one mode indicate a context and thus
  modify the message?

More info? See Candolin 2003 The use of multiple
cues in mate choice Biol Rev 78575-595
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Multiple signalling
Jumping spiders (Salticidae)
Complex courtship behaviour Visual (colours,
gestures), Vibratory Chemical
Salticid courtship movies www.youtube.com/watch?v
UTbHpV_zFjE http//tolweb.org/accessory/Movies_of
_Jumping_Spider_Courtship?acc_id64 My favorites
Habronattus tarsalis, H. tuberculatus, H.
carolinensis
33
todays lecture

• No apes or parrots
• 1 Functions of Communication
• 2 Definitions
• 3 Cues vs. Signals
• 4 Evolution of Signals
• 5 Signal Modes
• - multiple signalling (in several modes)
• - chemical signalling

34
chemical signals

• Pheromones intraspecific, mutually beneficial
• but not necessarily species specific

Rasmussen et al. 1996 Insect pheromone in
elephants Nature 379684
(Z)-7-dodecenyl acetate
plus females of 136 other moth species
Elephas maximus
Images hortipm.tamu.edu/pestprofiles
ukmoths.org.uk www.zlutejslon.cz/namalujte_sloni.h
tml mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu
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chemical signal emission

• via glands in skin/cuticle
• e.g. honeybee Nasonov gland
• via silk
• e.g. spider webs lepidoptera cocoons
• or

Photos http//en.wikipedia.org
36
chemical signal emission

• via specific organs
• e.g. inflatable coremata of male lepidoptera
• Also brushes, fans, moustaches

More info? See Norden Batra 85 Male bees
sport black moustaches for picking up parsnip
perfume Proc Entomol Soc Wash 87317-322
Wyatt 2003
37
chemoreception

• chemical signals are primarily received by
  olfaction (smelling) rather than gustation
  (tasting)
• chemoreceptors can be on antennae, feet,
  ovipositor, palps
• Aquatic animals boundary layer of water can
  hinder chemoreceptors

http//upload.wikimedia.org
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chemoreception
Male Cupiennius salei handling female silk with
his pedipalps
Tichy et al. 2001 Female sex pheromone of a
wandering spider J Comp Physiol A 18775-78
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chemoreception
A SEM male spider sensillum on pedipalp. B C
TEM cross sections through sensillum tip showing
terminal pore opening and numerous nerve dendrites
Tichy et al. 2001 Female sex pheromone of a
wandering spider J Comp Physiol A 18775-78
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chemoreception
Measured sensillum nerves electrical responses
to
female silk gt14 spikes/100 milliseconds
male silk 1-3 spikes/100 milliseconds
Tichy et al. 2001 Female sex pheromone of a
wandering spider J Comp Physiol A 18775-78
41
chemoreception
Identified Cupiennius salei female sex pheromone
(via NMR spectroscopy)
Female silk
Male silk
Papke et al. 2000 Identification of a new sex
pheromone Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 39(23)4339-4341
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chemoreception
Identified Cupiennius salei female sex pheromone
(via NMR spectroscopy)
Female silk
Male silk
Papke et al. 2000 Identification of a new sex
pheromone Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 39(23)4339-4341
43
chemoreception
Made a synthetic version
Named it (S)-Cupilure after the spider genus
(Cupiennius)
Put some Cupilure on unattractive male silk
males courted!
Papke et al. 2000 Identification of a new sex
pheromone Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 39(23)4339-4341
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chemoreception
Only 3 spider sex pheromones ever identified
www.biopix.dk
www.sdnhm.org
All biosynthetically very close to normal
metabolic byproducts
Gaskett 2007 Spider sex pheromones Biol. Rev.
8227-48
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todays lecture

• No apes or parrots
• 1 Functions of Communication
• 2 Definitions
• 3 Cues vs. Signals
• 4 Evolution of Signals
• 5 Signal Modes
• - multiple signalling (in several modes)
• - chemical signalling

sex reproduction settlement aggregation defence
group resource sharing
46
Best book for more information

• Wyatt 2003 Pheromones Animal Behaviour,
  Cambridge University Press
• Curious about your olfactory system?
• Frye et al. 1990 Dose-related effects of
  cigarette smoking on olfactory function Journal
  of the American Medical Association 263(9)1233-6
• Brand Millot 2001 Sex differences in human
  olfaction Quarterly Journal of Experimental
  Psychology 54B(3) 259270