Allomones and Kairomones: Transspecific Chemical Messengers

Brown, William L.; Eisner, Thomas; Whittaker, R. H.

doi:10.2307/1294753

Cited by 252 publications

(113 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Moreover, relative changes in light intensity and chemical substances exuded by predators (the predators' "smell") are known to be proximate factors in the initiation and direction of DVM (Dodson 1988;Loose, von Elert & Dawidowicz 1993). These chemical substances are called kairomones because the prey species (the receiver of the kairomone) can benefit by using them to signal information about the presence of the predator (the chemical releaser), whereas the predator receives no benefit (Brown et al 1970). Various vertebrate (fish) and invertebrate (rotifers, copepods, and backswimmer and phantom midge larvae) predators release kairomones, which induce changes in the morphology, life history traits, and behaviour of zooplankton (Larsson & Dodson 1993;Hanazato 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diel vertical migration patterns in two populations of Chaoborus flavicans larvae (Diptera: Chaoboridae) in response to fish kairomones

Oda¹,

Hanazato²

2008

J Limnol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diel vertical migration patterns in two populations of Chaoborus flavicans larvae (Diptera: Chaoboridae) in response to fish kairomones

Oda¹,

Hanazato²

2008

J Limnol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Chemical substances released by predators, defined as kairomones (Brown et al 1970), lead to phenotypic changes in some of their prey. These chemically mediated antipredator responses have been shown in a variety of aquatic organisms (for review, see Tollrian and Harvell 1999;Lass and Spaak 2003).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Inducible defenses: The relevance of chemical alarm cues in Daphnia

Laforsch¹,

Beccara²,

Tollrian³

2006

Limnol. Oceanogr.

106

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many aquatic organisms use chemical cues to recognize predators and to activate inducible defenses. In zooplankton, most of these cues are thought to be kairomones released by specific predators. However, in several other organisms, e.g., fish and amphibians, alarm signals from conspecifics also provide reliable cues. We tested whether alarm substances also act as chemical cues in Daphnia and assessed their relevance compared with predator kairomones. Water-borne cues from macerated conspecifics altered morphology in all Daphnia species tested (Daphnia cucullata, Daphnia longicephala, and Daphnia lumholtzi). However, kairomones released by feeding predators had distinctly stronger effects. In D. cucullata, we tested for the relevance of predator diet and found that the increase in relative helmet length was most pronounced when the predator was fed with conspecifics instead of heterospecifics. Cross-species experiments with alarm substances also revealed that D. cucullata is more sensitive to info-chemicals from macerated conspecifics than to chemical cues from D. magna. Unspecific alarm cues together with cues released by predators consuming prey may form a blend of chemicals that indicates predation risk and activates inducible defenses in nature.

show abstract

“…These chemical cues are termed kairomones, as they are understood to be interspecific signal chemicals that only benefit the receiving organism (zooplankter) in the context of the signal transmission, although potentially providing some benefit to the transmitting organism (predator) in another context (Brown et al 1970;Dicke and Sabelis 1988). It appears that zooplankters do not respond directly to the kairomone molecules produced by a predator by orienting away from them, but rather these chemical cues modify other behaviors (e.g., DVM), which have their own proximate regulatory mechanisms (e.g., light).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Photobehavior as an inducible defense in the marine copepod Calanopia americana

Cohen

Forward

2005

Limnol. Oceanogr.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The photoresponses of Calanopia americana involved in diel vertical migration (DVM) were tested after exposure of copepods to the following predator kairomones: (1) crude body mucus from fish (Fundulus heteroclitus), (2) crude body mucus from ctenophores (Mnemiopsis leidyi), and (3) Ͻ10-kDa F. heteroclitus odor. Crude mucus (10% v/v) from fish and ctenophores and Ͻ10-kDa fish odor at several concentrations (0.01-10% v/v) either shifted or removed the ascent response of C. americana to relative rates of irradiance decrease that occur at sunset. The estimated concentrations of uronic acids and sulfated glycosaminoglycans in the test solutions are consistent with bioactive kairomone molecules being modified amino sugars. The phenotypic plasticity of photoresponses underlying DVM in this marine copepod species indicates that vertical migration in some marine crustacean zooplankton is likely an inducible defense, as reported for crustacean zooplankton from other habitats.

show abstract

Allomones and Kairomones: Transspecific Chemical Messengers

Cited by 252 publications

References 18 publications

Diel vertical migration patterns in two populations of Chaoborus flavicans larvae (Diptera: Chaoboridae) in response to fish kairomones

Diel vertical migration patterns in two populations of Chaoborus flavicans larvae (Diptera: Chaoboridae) in response to fish kairomones

Inducible defenses: The relevance of chemical alarm cues in Daphnia

Photobehavior as an inducible defense in the marine copepod Calanopia americana

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About