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Kolkert H, Andrew R, Smith R, Rader R, Reid N. Insectivorous bats selectively source moths and eat mostly pest insects on dryland and irrigated cotton farms. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:371-388. [PMID: 31988733 PMCID: PMC6972826 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2019] [Revised: 11/11/2019] [Accepted: 11/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Insectivorous bats are efficient predators of pest arthropods in agroecosystems. This pest control service has been estimated to be worth billions of dollars to agriculture globally. However, few studies have explicitly investigated the composition and abundance of dietary prey items consumed or assessed the ratio of pest and beneficial arthropods, making it difficult to evaluate the quality of the pest control service provided. In this study, we used metabarcoding to identify the prey items eaten by insectivorous bats over the cotton-growing season in an intensive cropping region in northern New South Wales, Australia. We found that seven species of insectivorous bat (n = 58) consumed 728 prey species, 13 of which represented around 50% of total prey abundance consumed. Importantly, the identified prey items included major arthropod pests, comprising 65% of prey relative abundance and 13% of prey species recorded. Significant cotton pests such as Helicoverpa punctigera (Australian bollworm) and Achyra affinitalis (cotton webspinner) were detected in at least 76% of bat fecal samples, with Teleogryllus oceanicus (field crickets), Helicoverpa armigera (cotton bollworm), and Crocidosema plebejana (cotton tipworm) detected in 55% of bat fecal samples. Our results indicate that insectivorous bats are selective predators that exploit a narrow selection of preferred pest taxa and potentially play an important role in controlling lepidopteran pests on cotton farms. Our study provides crucial information for farmers to determine the service or disservice provided by insectivorous bats in relation to crops, for on-farm decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heidi Kolkert
- Ecosystem ManagementSchool of Environmental and Rural ScienceUniversity of New EnglandArmidaleNSWAustralia
| | - Rose Andrew
- Ecosystem ManagementSchool of Environmental and Rural ScienceUniversity of New EnglandArmidaleNSWAustralia
| | - Rhiannon Smith
- Ecosystem ManagementSchool of Environmental and Rural ScienceUniversity of New EnglandArmidaleNSWAustralia
| | - Romina Rader
- Ecosystem ManagementSchool of Environmental and Rural ScienceUniversity of New EnglandArmidaleNSWAustralia
| | - Nick Reid
- Ecosystem ManagementSchool of Environmental and Rural ScienceUniversity of New EnglandArmidaleNSWAustralia
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To Scream or to Listen? Prey Detection and Discrimination in Animal-Eating Bats. BAT BIOACOUSTICS 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-3527-7_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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Rau F, Clemens J, Naumov V, Hennig RM, Schreiber S. Firing-rate resonances in the peripheral auditory system of the cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2015; 201:1075-90. [PMID: 26293318 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-015-1036-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2015] [Revised: 08/03/2015] [Accepted: 08/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
In many communication systems, information is encoded in the temporal pattern of signals. For rhythmic signals that carry information in specific frequency bands, a neuronal system may profit from tuning its inherent filtering properties towards a peak sensitivity in the respective frequency range. The cricket Gryllus bimaculatus evaluates acoustic communication signals of both conspecifics and predators. The song signals of conspecifics exhibit a characteristic pulse pattern that contains only a narrow range of modulation frequencies. We examined individual neurons (AN1, AN2, ON1) in the peripheral auditory system of the cricket for tuning towards specific modulation frequencies by assessing their firing-rate resonance. Acoustic stimuli with a swept-frequency envelope allowed an efficient characterization of the cells' modulation transfer functions. Some of the examined cells exhibited tuned band-pass properties. Using simple computational models, we demonstrate how different, cell-intrinsic or network-based mechanisms such as subthreshold resonances, spike-triggered adaptation, as well as an interplay of excitation and inhibition can account for the experimentally observed firing-rate resonances. Therefore, basic neuronal mechanisms that share negative feedback as a common theme may contribute to selectivity in the peripheral auditory pathway of crickets that is designed towards mate recognition and predator avoidance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Rau
- Behavioral Physiology, Department of Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstr. 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Jan Clemens
- Behavioral Physiology, Department of Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstr. 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099, Berlin, Germany
| | - Victor Naumov
- Behavioral Physiology, Department of Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstr. 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany
| | - R Matthias Hennig
- Behavioral Physiology, Department of Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstr. 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany
| | - Susanne Schreiber
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099, Berlin, Germany
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Department of Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstr. 13, Haus 4, 10115, Berlin, Germany
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Clarin TM, Borissov I, Page RA, Ratcliffe JM, Siemers BM. Social learning within and across species: information transfer in mouse-eared bats. CAN J ZOOL 2014. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2013-0211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Social learning describes information transfer between individuals through observation or direct interaction. Bats can live and forage in large groups, sometimes comprising several species, and are thus well suited for investigations of both intraspecific and interspecific information transfer. Although social learning has been documented within several bat species, it has not been shown to occur between species. Furthermore, it is not fully understood what level of interaction between individuals is necessary for social learning in bats. We address these questions by comparing the efficiency of observation versus interaction in intraspecific social learning and by considering interspecific social learning in sympatric bat species. Observers learned from demonstrators to identify food sources using a light cue. We show that intraspecific social learning exists in the greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis (Borkhausen, 1797)) and that direct interaction with a demonstrator more efficiently leads to information transfer than observational learning alone. We also found evidence for interspecific information transfer from M. myotis to the lesser mouse-eared bat (Myotis oxygnathus Monticelli, 1885). Additionally, we opportunistically retested one individual that we recaptured from the wild 1 year after initial learning and found long-term memory of the trained association. Our study adds to the understanding of learning, information transfer, and long-term memory in wild-living animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theresa M.A. Clarin
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Sensory Ecology Group, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße 11, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Ivailo Borissov
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Sensory Ecology Group, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße 11, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Rachel A. Page
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Republic of Panamá
| | - John M. Ratcliffe
- University of Southern Denmark, Department of Biology, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M, Denmark
| | - Björn M. Siemers
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Sensory Ecology Group, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße 11, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
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Marsat G, Pollack GS. Bursting neurons and ultrasound avoidance in crickets. Front Neurosci 2012; 6:95. [PMID: 22783158 PMCID: PMC3387578 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2012.00095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2012] [Accepted: 06/11/2012] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Decision making in invertebrates often relies on simple neural circuits composed of only a few identified neurons. The relative simplicity of these circuits makes it possible to identify the key computation and neural properties underlying decisions. In this review, we summarize recent research on the neural basis of ultrasound avoidance in crickets, a response that allows escape from echolocating bats. The key neural property shaping behavioral output is high-frequency bursting of an identified interneuron, AN2, which carries information about ultrasound stimuli from receptor neurons to the brain. AN2's spike train consists of clusters of spikes - bursts - that may be interspersed with isolated, non-burst spikes. AN2 firing is necessary and sufficient to trigger avoidance steering but only high-rate firing, such as occurs in bursts, evokes this response. AN2 bursts are therefore at the core of the computation involved in deciding whether or not to steer away from ultrasound. Bursts in AN2 are triggered by synaptic input from nearly synchronous bursts in ultrasound receptors. Thus the population response at the very first stage of sensory processing - the auditory receptor - already differentiates the features of the stimulus that will trigger a behavioral response from those that will not. Adaptation, both intrinsic to AN2 and within ultrasound receptors, scales the burst-generating features according to the stimulus statistics, thus filtering out background noise and ensuring that bursts occur selectively in response to salient peaks in ultrasound intensity. Furthermore AN2's sensitivity to ultrasound varies adaptively with predation pressure, through both developmental and evolutionary mechanisms. We discuss how this key relationship between bursting and the triggering of avoidance behavior is also observed in other invertebrate systems such as the avoidance of looming visual stimuli in locusts or heat avoidance in beetles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gary Marsat
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa Ottawa, ON, Canada
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Yager DD. Predator detection and evasion by flying insects. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2012; 22:201-7. [PMID: 22226428 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2011.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2011] [Revised: 12/12/2011] [Accepted: 12/17/2011] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Echolocating bats detect prey using ultrasonic pulses, and many nocturnally flying insects effectively detect and evade these predators through sensitive ultrasonic hearing. Many eared insects can use the intensity of the predator-generated ultrasound and the stereotyped progression of bat echolocation pulse rate to assess risk level. Effective responses can vary from gentle turns away from the threat (low risk) to sudden random flight and dives (highest risk). Recent research with eared moths shows that males will balance immediate bat predation risk against reproductive opportunity as judged by the strength and quality of conspecific pheromones present. Ultrasound exposure may, in fact, bias such decisions for up to 24 hours through plasticity in the CNS olfactory system. However, brain processing of ultrasonic stimuli to yield adaptive prey behaviors remains largely unstudied, so possible mechanisms are not known.
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Affiliation(s)
- David D Yager
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, United States.
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Rosen MJ, Levin EC, Hoy RR. The cost of assuming the life history of a host: acoustic startle in the parasitoid fly Ormia ochracea. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010; 212:4056-64. [PMID: 19946084 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.033183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
In the obligatory reproductive dependence of a parasite on its host, the parasite must trade the benefit of 'outsourcing' functions like reproduction for the risk of assuming hazards associated with the host. In the present study, we report behavioral adaptations of a parasitic fly, Ormia ochracea, that resemble those of its cricket hosts. Ormia females home in on the male cricket's songs and deposit larvae, which burrow into the cricket, feed and emerge to pupate. Because male crickets call at night, gravid female Ormia in search of hosts are subject to bat predation, in much the same way as female crickets are when responding to male song. We show that Ormia has evolved the same evasive behavior as have crickets: an acoustic startle response to bat-like ultrasound that manifests clearly only during flight. Furthermore, like crickets, Ormia has a sharp response boundary between the frequencies of song and bat cries, resembling categorical perception first described in the context of human speech.
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Affiliation(s)
- M J Rosen
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
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Fullard JH, ter Hofstede HM, Ratcliffe JM, Pollack GS, Brigidi GS, Tinghitella RM, Zuk M. Release from bats: genetic distance and sensoribehavioural regression in the Pacific field cricket, Teleogryllus oceanicus. Naturwissenschaften 2009; 97:53-61. [PMID: 19777200 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-009-0610-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2009] [Revised: 09/01/2009] [Accepted: 09/09/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The auditory thresholds of the AN2 interneuron and the behavioural thresholds of the anti-bat flight-steering responses that this cell evokes are less sensitive in female Pacific field crickets that live where bats have never existed (Moorea) compared with individuals subjected to intense levels of bat predation (Australia). In contrast, the sensitivity of the auditory interneuron, ON1 which participates in the processing of both social signals and bat calls, and the thresholds for flight orientation to a model of the calling song of male crickets show few differences between the two populations. Genetic analyses confirm that the two populations are significantly distinct, and we conclude that the absence of bats has caused partial regression in the nervous control of a defensive behaviour in this insect. This study represents the first examination of natural evolutionary regression in the neural basis of a behaviour along a selection gradient within a single species.
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Affiliation(s)
- James H Fullard
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Rd. N., Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada.
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ter Hofstede HM, Killow J, Fullard JH. Gleaning bat echolocation calls do not elicit antipredator behaviour in the Pacific field cricket, Teleogryllus oceanicus (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2009; 195:769-76. [DOI: 10.1007/s00359-009-0454-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2008] [Revised: 05/26/2009] [Accepted: 05/29/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Auditory temporal resolution of a wild white-beaked dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris). J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2009; 195:375-84. [PMID: 19198850 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-009-0415-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2008] [Revised: 01/05/2009] [Accepted: 01/08/2009] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Adequate temporal resolution is required across taxa to properly utilize amplitude modulated acoustic signals. Among mammals, odontocete marine mammals are considered to have relatively high temporal resolution, which is a selective advantage when processing fast traveling underwater sound. However, multiple methods used to estimate auditory temporal resolution have left comparisons among odontocetes and other mammals somewhat vague. Here we present the estimated auditory temporal resolution of an adult male white-beaked dolphin, (Lagenorhynchus albirostris), using auditory evoked potentials and click stimuli. Ours is the first of such studies performed on a wild dolphin in a capture-and-release scenario. The white-beaked dolphin followed rhythmic clicks up to a rate of approximately 1,125-1,250 Hz, after which the modulation rate transfer function (MRTF) cut-off steeply. However, 10% of the maximum response was still found at 1,450 Hz indicating high temporal resolution. The MRTF was similar in shape and bandwidth to that of other odontocetes. The estimated maximal temporal resolution of white-beaked dolphins and other odontocetes was approximately twice that of pinnipeds and manatees, and more than ten-times faster than humans and gerbils. The exceptionally high temporal resolution abilities of odontocetes are likely due primarily to echolocation capabilities that require rapid processing of acoustic cues.
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Stamper SA, Simmons JA, Delong CM, Bragg R. Detection of targets colocalized in clutter by big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus). THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2008; 124:667-673. [PMID: 18647008 PMCID: PMC2677335 DOI: 10.1121/1.2932338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2007] [Revised: 04/29/2008] [Accepted: 04/30/2008] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Echolocating big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) frequently catch insects during aerial pursuits in open spaces, but they also capture prey swarming on vegetation, and from substrates. To evaluate perception of targets on cluttered surfaces, big brown bats were trained in a two-alternative forced-choice task to locate a target, varying in height, that was embedded partway in holes (clutter) cut in a foam surface. The holes were colocalized with the possible positions of the target at distances ranging from 25 to 35 cm. For successful perception of the target, the bat had to detect the echoes contributed by the target in the same time window that contained echoes from the clutter. Performance was assessed in terms of target reflective strength relative to clutter strength in the same time window. The bats detected the target whenever the target strength was greater than 1-2 dB above the clutter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah A Stamper
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Box GL-N, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA.
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YAGER DAVIDD, SVENSON GAVINJ. Patterns of praying mantis auditory system evolution based on morphological, molecular, neurophysiological, and behavioural data. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2008. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2008.00996.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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