Biotremology

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Elephants produce low-frequency rumbles which travel over long distances as seismic waves and are detected by sense organs in the elephant's feet. [1]

Biotremology is the study of production, dispersion and reception of mechanical vibrations by organisms, and their effect on behavior. This involves neurophysiological and anatomical basis of vibration production and detection, and relation of vibrations to the medium they disperse through. Vibrations can represent either signals used in vibrational (seismic) communication or inadvertent cues used, for example, in locating prey (in some cases even both). In almost all known cases, they are transmitted as surface waves along the boundary of a medium, i.e. Rayleigh waves or bending waves. [2] [3] While most attention is directed towards the role of vibrations in animal behavior, plants actively respond to sounds and vibrations as well, so this subject is shared with plant bioacoustics. [4] Other groups of organisms (such as nematodes [5] ) are also postulated to either actively produce or at least use vibrations to sense their environment, but those are currently far less studied.

Contents

Traditionally regarded part of bioacoustics, the discipline has recently begun to actively diverge on its own, because of the many peculiarities of the studied modality compared with sound. [2] Vibrational communication has been recognized as evolutionarily older than sound and much more prevalent, at least among arthropods, [6] [7] although the two modalities are closely related and sometimes overlap. [8] While many experimental approaches are shared between the two disciplines, scientists in the field of biotremology often use special equipment, such as laser vibrometers, for detecting faint vibrational emissions by animals and electromagnetic transducers in contact with the substrate for artificial playback experiments. [9]

History

Leafhoppers are a group of insects known for using only vibrational signals during courtship. They also comprise numerous pests (the American grapevine leafhopper pictured), so biotremologists are developing alternative methods of pest control on this basis. Scaphoideus titanus mating.jpg
Leafhoppers are a group of insects known for using only vibrational signals during courtship. They also comprise numerous pests (the American grapevine leafhopper pictured), so biotremologists are developing alternative methods of pest control on this basis.

People have observed vibrational communication by animals for hundreds of years, although the idea that vibrations may convey information dates to the middle of the 20th century. Swedish entomologist Frej Ossiannilsson pioneered the field in 1949 by suggesting vibrations transmitted through plants play a role in insect communication. His work demonstrating this suggestion was not heeded by contemporaries because many zoologists believed that such small animals are physically incapable of conveying information through solid substrates. Only with the advent of accessible signal processing technology decades later did the work by other pioneering individuals and groups, such as the Slovenian zoologist Matija Gogala, establish the basis of biotremology. It remains a relatively understudied discipline, at least compared to bioacoustics, partly because most of animal-produced signals are undetectable to non-augmented human senses. [2]

Nevertheless, several instances of practical utilization of the knowledge obtained are already in use or are being actively developed, such as mating disruption using vibrational noise for non-chemical pest control and detection of concealed arthropod pests (such as wood-boring insects). [10] [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acoustics</span> Branch of physics involving mechanical waves

Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics technology may be called an acoustical engineer. The application of acoustics is present in almost all aspects of modern society with the most obvious being the audio and noise control industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acoustical engineering</span> Branch of engineering dealing with sound and vibration

Acoustical engineering is the branch of engineering dealing with sound and vibration. It includes the application of acoustics, the science of sound and vibration, in technology. Acoustical engineers are typically concerned with the design, analysis and control of sound.

Animal communication is the transfer of information from one or a group of animals to one or more other animals that affects the current or future behavior of the receivers. Information may be sent intentionally, as in a courtship display, or unintentionally, as in the transfer of scent from the predator to prey with kairomones. Information may be transferred to an "audience" of several receivers. Animal communication is a rapidly growing area of study in disciplines including animal behavior, sociology, neurology, and animal cognition. Many aspects of animal behavior, such as symbolic name use, emotional expression, learning, and sexual behavior, are being understood in new ways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bioacoustics</span> Study of sound relating to biology

Bioacoustics is a cross-disciplinary science that combines biology and acoustics. Usually it refers to the investigation of sound production, dispersion and reception in animals. This involves neurophysiological and anatomical basis of sound production and detection, and relation of acoustic signals to the medium they disperse through. The findings provide clues about the evolution of acoustic mechanisms, and from that, the evolution of animals that employ them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plant defense against herbivory</span> Evolutionary mechanism

Plant defense against herbivory or host-plant resistance is a range of adaptations evolved by plants which improve their survival and reproduction by reducing the impact of herbivores. Many plants produce secondary metabolites, known as allelochemicals, that influence the behavior, growth, or survival of herbivores. These chemical defenses can act as repellents or toxins to herbivores or reduce plant digestibility. Another defensive strategy of plants is changing their attractiveness. Plants can sense being touched, and they can respond with strategies to defend against herbivores. To prevent overconsumption by large herbivores, plants alter their appearance by changing their size or quality, reducing the rate at which they are consumed.

<i>Umbonia crassicornis</i> Species of true bug

Umbonia crassicornis, commonly known as the thorn bug, is a widespread member of the insect family Membracidae, and an occasional pest of ornamentals and fruit trees in southern Florida. The body length of the adult is approximately 10 millimetres (0.39 in). This is a variable species as to size, color and structure, particularly the pronotal horn of males. This tall, essentially perpendicular thorn-like pronotum discourages birds and other predators from eating it, if only by mistakenly confusing it with a thorn. Typically, the adult is green or yellow with reddish lines and brownish markings.

Mating disruption (MD) is a pest management technique designed to control certain insect pests by introducing artificial stimuli that confuse the individuals and disrupt mate localization and/or courtship, thus preventing mating and blocking the reproductive cycle. It usually involves the use of synthetic sex pheromones, although other approaches, such as interfering with vibrational communication, are also being developed.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to acoustics:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivan Regen</span> Slovenian biologist (1868–1947)

IvanRegen was a Slovenian biologist, best known for his studies in the field of bioacoustics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hearing</span> Sensory perception of sound by living organisms

Hearing, or auditory perception, is the ability to perceive sounds through an organ, such as an ear, by detecting vibrations as periodic changes in the pressure of a surrounding medium. The academic field concerned with hearing is auditory science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matija Gogala</span>

Matija Gogala is a Slovene entomologist, working mainly in the fields of insect bioacoustics, physiology, and taxonomy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insect</span> Class of arthropods

Insects are hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body, three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and a pair of antennae. Insects are the most diverse group of animals, with more than a million described species; they represent more than half of all animal species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seismic communication</span>

Seismic or vibrational communication is a process of conveying information through mechanical (seismic) vibrations of the substrate. The substrate may be the earth, a plant stem or leaf, the surface of a body of water, a spider's web, a honeycomb, or any of the myriad types of soil substrates. Seismic cues are generally conveyed by surface Rayleigh or bending waves generated through vibrations on the substrate, or acoustical waves that couple with the substrate. Vibrational communication is an ancient sensory modality and it is widespread in the animal kingdom where it has evolved several times independently. It has been reported in mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, arachnids, crustaceans and nematode worms. Vibrations and other communication channels are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but can be used in multi-modal communication.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Subgenual organ</span>

The subgenual organ is an organ in insects that is involved in the perception of sound. The name refers to the location of the organ just below the knee in the tibia of all legs in most insects.

<i>Enchenopa binotata</i> complex Species of true bug

Enchenopa binotata is a complex of multiple species found mostly in Eastern North America, but have also been reported in Central America. They are commonly referred to as treehoppers and are sap-feeding insects. The species in the complex look similar to each other in morphology, but are identified as different species by the host plant they occupy.

Plant bioacoustics refers to the creation of sound waves by plants. Measured sound emissions by plants as well as differential germination rates, growth rates and behavioral modifications in response to sound are well documented. Plants detect neighbors by means other than well-established communicative signals including volatile chemicals, light detection, direct contact and root signaling. Because sound waves travel efficiently through soil and can be produced with minimal energy expenditure, plants may use sound as a means for interpreting their environment and surroundings. Preliminary evidence supports that plants create sound in root tips when cell walls break. Because plant roots respond only to sound waves at frequencies which match waves emitted by the plants themselves, it is likely that plants can receive and transduce sound vibrations into signals to elicit behavioral modifications as a form of below ground communication.

<i>Tylopelta gibbera</i> Species of true bug

Tylopelta gibbera is a species of treehopper in the family Membracidae. This insect has a range which extends from Guatemala into the central United States, although it is occasionally found in Canada. Vibrational communication has been noted in this species, although there is discussion as to what exactly it is being used for.

<i>Macrolophus pygmaeus</i> Species of true bug

Macrolophus pygmaeus is a species of plant bug in the family Miridae. It is found in Europe except the high north, south to north Africa and east to Asia Minor then to Central Asia. This species is omnivorous, preying on Tuta absoluta eggs and larvae, Ephestia kuehniella eggs, Macrosiphum euphorbiae nymphs, and plants such as Vicia fava. When feeding on plants, M. pygmaeus consumes extrafloral nectar. Its varied diet has created interest in M. pygmaeus as a pest control insect for the prior mentioned species.

Frej Ossiannilsson was a Swedish entomologist who specialized in Auchenorrhyncha, and is known also for discovering vibrational communication of insects. He is considered a pioneer of biotremology for work on behavioural and anatomical basis of vibrational communication.

Phonotropism is the growth of organisms in response to sound stimuli. Root phonotropism is when the roots of a plant grow towards or away in response to a sound source. Acoustic cues are detected by the plant as sound waves which then induces a mechanistic response that changes plant behavior. Plants adapt to respond to external stimuli because of their sessile nature, and it is evolutionarily plausible that these organisms have adapted to take advantage of these inputs to help foraging behavior or defense mechanisms. Arabidopsis roots have been observed to gravitate towards sounds of flowing water, while caterpillar feeding vibrations alone are sufficient to alter plant defense hormones and volatile emissions in Arabidopsis leaves.

References

  1. ↑ Günther, R.H.; O'Connell-Rodwell, C.E.; Klemperer, S.L. (2004). "Seismic waves from elephant vocalizations: A possible communication mode?". Geophysical Research Letters. 31 (11): L11602. Bibcode:2004GeoRL..3111602G. doi:10.1029/2004GL019671.
  2. 1 2 3 Hill, Peggy S.M.; Wessel, Andreas (2016). "Biotremology". Current Biology . 26 (5): R187–R191. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.01.054 . PMID   26954435.
  3. ↑ Virant-Doberlet, Meta; Čokl, Andrej; Zorović, Maja (2006). "Use of Substrate Vibrations for Orientation: From Behaviour to Physiology". In Drosopoulos, Sakis; Claridge, Michael F. (eds.). Insect Sounds and Communication. Boca Raton: CRC Press. pp. 81–98. doi:10.1201/9781420039337.ch5 (inactive 2024-11-11). ISBN   978-0-8493-2060-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  4. ↑ Gagliano, Monica; Mancuso, Stefano; Robert, Daniel (2012). "Towards understanding plant bioacoustics". Trends in Plant Science. 17 (6): 323–325. doi:10.1016/j.tplants.2012.03.002. PMID   22445066.
  5. ↑ Holbrook, Robert I.; Mortimer, Beth (2018). "Vibration sensitivity found in Caenorhabditis elegans". The Journal of Experimental Biology. 221 (15): jeb178947. doi: 10.1242/jeb.178947 . PMID   29903836.
  6. ↑ Cocroft, Reginald B.; Rodríguez, Rafael L. (2005). "The behavioral ecology of insect vibrational communication". BioScience . 55 (4): 323–334. doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2005)055[0323:TBEOIV]2.0.CO;2.
  7. ↑ Hill, Peggy S.M. (2008). Vibrational Communication in Animals. Harvard University Press. ISBN   9780674027985.
  8. ↑ Caldwell, Michael S. (2014). "Interactions Between Airborne Sound and Substrate Vibration in Animal Communication". In Cocroft, Reginald B.; Gogala, Matija; Hill, Peggy S.M.; Wessel, Andreas (eds.). Studying vibrational communication. Animal Signals and Communication. Vol. 3. Springer. pp. 65–92. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-43607-3_6. ISBN   978-3-662-43606-6.
  9. ↑ Michelsen, Axel (2014). "Physical Aspects of Vibrational Communication". In Cocroft, Reginald B.; Gogala, Matija; Hill, Peggy S.M.; Wessel, Andreas (eds.). Studying vibrational communication. Animal Signals and Communication. Vol. 3. Springer. pp. 199–213. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-43607-3_11. ISBN   978-3-662-43606-6.
  10. 1 2 Polajnar, Jernej; Eriksson, Anna; Lucchi, Andrea; Anfora, Gianfranco; Virant-Doberlet, Meta; Mazzoni, Valerio (2015). "Manipulating behaviour with substrate-borne vibrations – potential for insect pest control" (PDF). Pest Management Science. 17 (1): 15–23. doi: 10.1002/ps.3848 . PMID   24962656.
  11. ↑ Mankin, Richard W. (2012). "Applications of acoustics in insect pest management". CAB Reviews. 7 (1): 1–7. doi:10.1079/PAVSNNR20127001.
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