Noise in Chemical Communication

Nehring, Volker; Wyatt, Tristram D.; d’Ettorre, Patrizia

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-41494-7_13

Cited by 13 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 123 publications

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“…Minors have less room to house receptors and neurons that can perceive and process the nestmate recognition labels, since body surface and volume increase exponentially with size and receptor density is stable across Acromyrmex castes (Abramowski et al, 2010;Gill et al, 2013). Fewer receptors and a smaller neural network size decrease the sensitivity and accuracy of recognition (Hopkins, 1983;Wyatt, 2003;Spaethe et al, 2007;Chittka and Niven, 2009;Nehring et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Variation in nestmate recognition ability among polymorphic leaf-cutting ant workers

Larsen

Fouks

Bos

et al. 2014

Journal of Insect Physiology

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Variation in nestmate recognition ability among polymorphic leaf-cutting ant workers

Larsen

Fouks

Bos

et al. 2014

Journal of Insect Physiology

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“…Accordingly, this strategy requires olfactory receptors that are highly specific to a given ligand and central circuits which allow for a quick and hard-wired translation of a chemical stimulus into a specific behavioral response ( Wilson and Stevenson, 2006 ). Further, this strategy requires that the “key” or “character impact” compound in question is reliably present in the odor mixture and that it can be reliably detected against the noise of the other compounds that are part of the odor mixture as well as against the chemical background noise in the environment ( Nehring et al, 2013 ). Thus, this strategy also requires a high olfactory sensitivity for such a compound in species for which the corresponding odor is behaviorally relevant.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One possible strategy for an animal to recognize a complex odor mixture is to rely on only one or a few “key” or “character impact” compound(s) which determine its odor identity ( Dunkel et al, 2014 ). This strategy, of course, requires that the compound in question is reliably present in the odor mixture and that it can be reliably detected against the noise of the other compounds ( Nehring et al, 2013 ). Thus, a high olfactory sensitivity for such a “key” or “character impact” compound should be expected in species for which the corresponding odor mixture is behaviorally relevant ( Laska et al, 2005 ; Sarrafchi et al, 2013 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attractant or Repellent? Behavioral Responses to Mammalian Blood Odor and to a Blood Odor Component in a Mesopredator, the Meerkat (Suricata suricatta)

Pettersson

Amundin

Laska

2018

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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It is well-established that the odor of mammalian blood is attractive to top predators such as tigers and wolves and aversive to prey species such as mice and rats. Recent studies have shown that the mammalian blood odor component trans-4,5-epoxy-(E)-2-decenal (TED) elicits corresponding behavioral responses in these two groups of mammals. Here we assess whether a mesopredator, that is, a small-bodied carnivorous mammal that is both predator and prey, is attracted to or repelled by the odor of mammalian blood and TED. To this end, we assessed the behavior of a group of 15 captive meerkats (Suricata suricatta) when presented with wooden logs that were impregnated either with horse blood or with TED, and compared it to their behavior toward a fruity odor (iso-pentyl acetate) and a near-odorless solvent (diethyl phthalate). We found that the meerkats displayed significantly more interactions with the odorized wooden logs such as sniffing and pawing when these were impregnated with the two prey-associated odors compared to the two non-prey-associated odors. Most importantly, no significant difference was found in the number of interactions with the wooden logs impregnated with horse blood and TED, respectively. These results demonstrate that meerkats, despite being small-bodied mesopredators, are clearly attracted to the odor of mammalian blood. Further, the results suggest that a single blood odor component can be as efficient as the odor of real blood in eliciting behavioral responses in this herpestid mammal, similar to previous findings in feline and canine top predators.

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“…All else being equal, individuals with lower concentrations of recognition cues should be less likely to be attacked by discriminators [ 13 ]. Even if relative abundance of substances in the recognition labels differed between the discriminator and a non-nestmate, the discriminator is expected to not perceive these differences if the substances in question are below a hypothetical physiological detection threshold (low concentration, [ 38 ]). Therefore, theory predicts that cockroaches from Acromyrmex colonies should receive less aggression than those from Atta colonies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical disguise of myrmecophilous cockroaches and its implications for understanding nestmate recognition mechanisms in leaf-cutting ants

et al. 2016

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BackgroundCockroaches of the genus Attaphila regularly occur in leaf-cutting ant colonies. The ants farm a fungus that the cockroaches also appear to feed on. Cockroaches disperse between colonies horizontally (via foraging trails) and vertically (attached to queens on their mating flights). We analysed the chemical strategies used by the cockroaches to integrate into colonies of Atta colombica and Acromyrmex octospinosus. Analysing cockroaches from nests of two host species further allowed us to test the hypothesis that nestmate recognition is based on an asymmetric mechanism. Specifically, we test the U-present nestmate recognition model, which assumes that detection of undesirable cues (non-nestmate specific substances) leads to strong rejection of the cue-bearers, while absence of desirable cues (nestmate-specific substances) does not necessarily trigger aggression.ResultsWe found that nests of Atta and Acromyrmex contained cockroaches of two different and not yet described Attaphila species. The cockroaches share the cuticular chemical substances of their specific host species and copy their host nest’s colony-specific cuticular profile. Indeed, the cockroaches are accepted by nestmate but attacked by non-nestmate ant workers. Cockroaches from Acromyrmex colonies bear a lower concentration of cuticular substances and are less likely to be attacked by non-nestmate ants than cockroaches from Atta colonies.ConclusionsNest-specific recognition of Attaphila cockroaches by host workers in combination with nest-specific cuticular chemical profiles suggest that the cockroaches mimic their host’s recognition labels, either by synthesizing nest-specific substances or by substance transfer from ants. Our finding that the cockroach species with lower concentration of cuticular substances receives less aggression by both host species fully supports the U-present nestmate recognition model. Leaf-cutting ant nestmate recognition is thus asymmetric, responding more strongly to differences than to similarities.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12898-016-0089-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Noise in Chemical Communication

Cited by 13 publications

References 123 publications

Variation in nestmate recognition ability among polymorphic leaf-cutting ant workers

Variation in nestmate recognition ability among polymorphic leaf-cutting ant workers

Attractant or Repellent? Behavioral Responses to Mammalian Blood Odor and to a Blood Odor Component in a Mesopredator, the Meerkat (Suricata suricatta)

Chemical disguise of myrmecophilous cockroaches and its implications for understanding nestmate recognition mechanisms in leaf-cutting ants

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