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Anti-bat ultrasound production in moths is globally and phylogenetically widespread. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2117485119. [PMID: 35704762 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2117485119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Warning signals are well known in the visual system, but rare in other modalities. Some moths produce ultrasonic sounds to warn bats of noxious taste or to mimic unpalatable models. Here, we report results from a long-term study across the globe, assaying moth response to playback of bat echolocation. We tested 252 genera, spanning most families of large-bodied moths, and document anti-bat ultrasound production in 52 genera, with eight subfamily origins described. Based on acoustic analysis of ultrasonic emissions and palatability experiments with bats, it seems that acoustic warning and mimicry are the raison d'être for sound production in most moths. However, some moths use high-duty-cycle ultrasound capable of jamming bat sonar. In fact, we find preliminary evidence of independent origins of sonar jamming in at least six subfamilies. Palatability data indicate that jamming and warning are not mutually exclusive strategies. To explore the possible organization of anti-bat warning sounds into acoustic mimicry rings, we intensively studied a community of moths in Ecuador and, using machine-learning approaches, found five distinct acoustic clusters. While these data represent an early understanding of acoustic aposematism and mimicry across this megadiverse insect order, it is likely that ultrasonically signaling moths comprise one of the largest mimicry complexes on earth.
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Hamilton CA, Winiger N, Rubin JJ, Breinholt J, Rougerie R, Kitching IJ, Barber JR, Kawahara AY. Hidden phylogenomic signal helps elucidate arsenurine silkmoth phylogeny and the evolution of body size and wing shape trade-offs. Syst Biol 2021; 71:859-874. [PMID: 34791485 DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syab090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2020] [Revised: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the key objectives in biological research is understanding how evolutionary processes have produced Earth's diversity. A critical step towards revealing these processes is an investigation of evolutionary tradeoffs - that is, the opposing pressures of multiple selective forces. For millennia, nocturnal moths have had to balance successful flight, as they search for mates or host plants, with evading bat predators. However, the potential for evolutionary trade-offs between wing shape and body size are poorly understood. In this study, we used phylogenomics and geometric morphometrics to examine the evolution of wing shape in the wild silkmoth subfamily Arsenurinae (Saturniidae) and evaluate potential evolutionary relationships between body size and wing shape. The phylogeny was inferred based on 782 loci from target capture data of 42 arsenurine species representing all 10 recognized genera. After detecting in our data one of the most vexing problems in phylogenetic inference - a region of a tree that possesses short branches and no "support" for relationships (i.e., a polytomy), we looked for hidden phylogenomic signal (i.e., inspecting differing phylogenetic inferences, alternative support values, quartets, and phylogenetic networks) to better illuminate the most probable generic relationships within the subfamily. We found there are putative evolutionary trade-offs between wing shape, body size, and the interaction of fore- and hindwing shape. Namely, body size tends to decrease with increasing hindwing length but increases as forewing shape becomes more complex. Additionally, the type of hindwing (i.e., tail or no tail) a lineage possesses has a significant effect on the complexity of forewing shape. We outline possible selective forces driving the complex hindwing shapes that make Arsenurinae, and silkmoths as a whole, so charismatic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris A Hamilton
- Florida Museum of Natural History, McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 USA.,Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology & Nematology, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, 83844 USA
| | - Nathalie Winiger
- Florida Museum of Natural History, McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 USA.,Wildlife Ecology and Management, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Juliette J Rubin
- Florida Museum of Natural History, McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 USA
| | - Jesse Breinholt
- Florida Museum of Natural History, McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 USA.,Division of Bioinformatics, Intermountain Healthcare, Precision Genomics, St. George, UT 84790 USA
| | - Rodolphe Rougerie
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, Paris, France
| | - Ian J Kitching
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Jesse R Barber
- Department of Biological Sciences, Boise State University, Boise, ID, 83725 USA
| | - Akito Y Kawahara
- Florida Museum of Natural History, McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 USA
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Page RA, ter Hofstede HM. Sensory and Cognitive Ecology of Bats. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION, AND SYSTEMATICS 2021. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-012921-052635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
We see stunning morphological diversity across the animal world. Less conspicuous but equally fascinating are the sensory and cognitive adaptations that determine animals’ interactions with their environments and each other. We discuss the development of the fields of sensory and cognitive ecology and the importance of integrating these fields to understand the evolution of adaptive behaviors. Bats, with their extraordinarily high ecological diversity, are ideal animals for this purpose. An explosion in recent research allows for better understanding of the molecular, genetic, neural, and behavioral bases for sensory ecology and cognition in bats. We give examples of studies that illuminate connections between sensory and cognitive features of information filtering, evolutionary trade-offs in sensory and cognitive processing, and multimodal sensing and integration. By investigating the selective pressures underlying information acquisition, processing, and use in bats, we aim to illuminate patterns and processes driving sensory and cognitive evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel A. Page
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843–03092, Balboa, Ancón, República de Panamá
| | - Hannah M. ter Hofstede
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843–03092, Balboa, Ancón, República de Panamá
- Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755, USA
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Singh N, Joshi R, Kirti JS, Bisht SS, Param HS. A catalogue of Indian Arctiinae (Erebidae, Lepidoptera). Zootaxa 2021; 5058:1-118. [PMID: 34811187 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5058.1.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
We present a catalogue of 673 species and nine subspecies of Indian Arctiinae in 175 genera which represents 6.11% of the global Arctiinae. Out of 673 species, a monogeneric tribe Amerilini is represented by four species (0.59 % of Indian Arctiinae and 6.06 % of global Amerilini), Arctiini are known by 180 species in 38 genera (26.74 % of Indian Arctiinae and 2.73% of global Arctiini), Lithosiini comprise 419 species in 128 genera (62.25% of Indian Arctiinae and 13.30% of global Lithosiini), and Syntomini account for 70 species in eight genera (10.40 % of Indian Arctiinae and 5.83% of global Syntomini). Information related to type localities, records from India with respective literature references, and the genus/ species synonyms is provided. Brief summaries for the four tribes of Indian Arctiinae, stating their Indian genus and species diversities, diagnostic characters of imagines are also provided. Furthermore, we present data on the distribution of the Arctiinae within the biogeographic zones of India. In addition, a brief analysis of the research history of Indian Arctiinae illustrates the general patterns of when and by whom the Indian species were described.
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Affiliation(s)
- Navneet Singh
- Zoological Survey of India, M-Block, New Alipore, Kolkata 700053, West Bengal, India.
| | - Rahul Joshi
- Zoological Survey of India, Gangetic Plains Regional Centre, BH Colony, Patna 800026, Bihar, India .
| | - Jagbir Singh Kirti
- Department of Zoology Environmental Sciences, Punjabi University, Patiala, 147002, Punjab, India.
| | - Santosh Singh Bisht
- Department of Zoology Environmental Sciences, Punjabi University, Patiala, 147002, Punjab, India.
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Dowdy NJ, Conner WE. Nonchalant Flight in Tiger Moths (Erebidae: Arctiinae) Is Correlated With Unpalatability. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Rojas B, Burdfield-Steel E, De Pasqual C, Gordon S, Hernández L, Mappes J, Nokelainen O, Rönkä K, Lindstedt C. Multimodal Aposematic Signals and Their Emerging Role in Mate Attraction. Front Ecol Evol 2018. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2018.00093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Moore CD, Hassall C. A bee or not a bee: an experimental test of acoustic mimicry by hoverflies. Behav Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Dowdy NJ, Conner WE. Acoustic Aposematism and Evasive Action in Select Chemically Defended Arctiine (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) Species: Nonchalant or Not? PLoS One 2016; 11:e0152981. [PMID: 27096408 PMCID: PMC4838332 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2015] [Accepted: 03/22/2016] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Tiger moths (Erebidae: Arctiinae) have experienced intense selective pressure from echolocating, insectivorous bats for over 65 million years. One outcome has been the evolution of acoustic signals that advertise the presence of toxins sequestered from the moths’ larval host plants, i.e. acoustic aposematism. Little is known about the effectiveness of tiger moth anti-bat sounds in their natural environments. We used multiple infrared cameras to reconstruct bat-moth interactions in three-dimensional (3-D) space to examine how functional sound-producing organs called tymbals affect predation of two chemically defended tiger moth species: Pygarctia roseicapitis (Arctiini) and Cisthene martini (Lithosiini). P. roseicapitis and C. martini with intact tymbals were 1.8 and 1.6 times less likely to be captured by bats relative to those rendered silent. 3-D flight path and acoustic analyses indicated that bats actively avoided capturing sound-producing moths. Clicking behavior differed between the two tiger moth species, with P. roseicapitis responding in an earlier phase of bat attack. Evasive flight behavior in response to bat attacks was markedly different between the two tiger moth species. P. roseicapitis frequently paired evasive dives with aposematic sound production. C. martini were considerably more nonchalant and employed evasion in fewer interactions. Our results show that acoustic aposematism is effective at deterring bat predation in a natural context and that this strategy is likely to be the ancestral function of tymbal organs within the Arctiinae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas J. Dowdy
- Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - William E. Conner
- Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States of America
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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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Convergent evolution of anti-bat sounds. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2014; 200:811-21. [DOI: 10.1007/s00359-014-0924-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2014] [Revised: 06/10/2014] [Accepted: 06/13/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Corcoran AJ, Wagner RD, Conner WE. Optimal predator risk assessment by the sonar-jamming arctiine moth Bertholdia trigona. PLoS One 2013; 8:e63609. [PMID: 23671686 PMCID: PMC3646010 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0063609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2013] [Accepted: 04/06/2013] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Nearly all animals face a tradeoff between seeking food and mates and avoiding predation. Optimal escape theory holds that an animal confronted with a predator should only flee when benefits of flight (increased survival) outweigh the costs (energetic costs, lost foraging time, etc.). We propose a model for prey risk assessment based on the predator's stage of attack. Risk level should increase rapidly from when the predator detects the prey to when it commits to the attack. We tested this hypothesis using a predator – the echolocating bat – whose active biosonar reveals its stage of attack. We used a prey defense – clicking used for sonar jamming by the tiger moth Bertholdia trigona– that can be readily studied in the field and laboratory and is enacted simultaneously with evasive flight. We predicted that prey employ defenses soon after being detected and targeted, and that prey defensive thresholds discriminate between legitimate predatory threats and false threats where a nearby prey is attacked. Laboratory and field experiments using playbacks of ultrasound signals and naturally behaving bats, respectively, confirmed our predictions. Moths clicked soon after bats detected and targeted them. Also, B. trigona clicking thresholds closely matched predicted optimal thresholds for discriminating legitimate and false predator threats for bats using search and approach phase echolocation – the period when bats are searching for and assessing prey. To our knowledge, this is the first quantitative study to correlate the sensory stimuli that trigger defensive behaviors with measurements of signals provided by predators during natural attacks in the field. We propose theoretical models for explaining prey risk assessment depending on the availability of cues that reveal a predator's stage of attack.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron J Corcoran
- Wake Forest University, Department of Biology, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States of America.
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Corcoran AJ, Conner WE. Sonar jamming in the field: effectiveness and behavior of a unique prey defense. J Exp Biol 2012; 215:4278-87. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.076943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
SUMMARY
Bats and insects provide a model system for integrating our understanding of predator–prey ecology, animal behavior and neurophysiology. Previous field studies of bat–insect interactions have been limited by the technological challenges involved with studying nocturnal, volant animals that use ultrasound and engage in battles that frequently last a fraction of a second. We overcame these challenges using a robust field methodology that included multiple infrared cameras calibrated for three-dimensional reconstruction of bat and moth flight trajectories and four ultrasonic microphones that provided a spatial component to audio recordings. Our objectives were to document bat–moth interactions in a natural setting and to test the effectiveness of a unique prey defense – sonar jamming. We tested the effect of sonar jamming by comparing the results of interactions between bats and Grote’s tiger moth, Bertholdia trigona, with their sound-producing organs either intact or ablated. Jamming was highly effective, with bats capturing more than 10 times as many silenced moths as clicking moths. Moths frequently combined their acoustic defense with two separate evasive maneuvers: flying away from the bat and diving. Diving decreased bat capture success for both clicking and silenced moths, while flying away did not. The diving showed a strong directional component, a first for insect defensive maneuvers. We discuss the timing of B. trigona defensive maneuvers – which differs from that of other moths – in the context of moth auditory neuroethology. Studying bat–insect interactions in their natural environment provides valuable information that complements work conducted in more controlled settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron J. Corcoran
- Wake Forest University, Department of Biology, Winston-Salem, NC 27106, USA
| | - William E. Conner
- Wake Forest University, Department of Biology, Winston-Salem, NC 27106, USA
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Corcoran AJ, Barber JR, Hristov NI, Conner WE. How do tiger moths jam bat sonar? ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011; 214:2416-25. [PMID: 21697434 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.054783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The tiger moth Bertholdia trigona is the only animal in nature known to defend itself by jamming the sonar of its predators - bats. In this study we analyzed the three-dimensional flight paths and echolocation behavior of big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) attacking B. trigona in a flight room over seven consecutive nights to determine the acoustic mechanism of the sonar-jamming defense. Three mechanisms have been proposed: (1) the phantom echo hypothesis, which states that bats misinterpret moth clicks as echoes; (2) the ranging interference hypothesis, which states that moth clicks degrade the bats' precision in determining target distance; and (3) the masking hypothesis, which states that moth clicks mask the moth echoes entirely, making the moth temporarily invisible. On nights one and two of the experiment, the bats appeared startled by the clicks; however, on nights three through seven, the bats frequently missed their prey by a distance predicted by the ranging interference hypothesis (∼15-20 cm). Three-dimensional simulations show that bats did not avoid phantom targets, and the bats' ability to track clicking prey contradicts the predictions of the masking hypothesis. The moth clicks also forced the bats to reverse their stereotyped pattern of echolocation emissions during attack, even while bats continued pursuit of the moths. This likely further hinders the bats' ability to track prey. These results have implications for the evolution of sonar jamming in tiger moths, and we suggest evolutionary pathways by which sonar jamming may have evolved from other tiger moth defense mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron J Corcoran
- Wake Forest University, Department of Biology, Winston-Salem, NC 27106, USA.
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Conner WE, Corcoran AJ. Sound strategies: the 65-million-year-old battle between bats and insects. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY 2011; 57:21-39. [PMID: 21888517 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-121510-133537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
The intimate details regarding the coevolution of bats and moths have been elucidated over the past 50 years. The bat-moth story began with the evolution of bat sonar, an exquisite ultrasonic system for tracking prey through the night sky. Moths countered with ears tuned to the high frequencies of bat echolocation and with evasive action through directed turns, loops, spirals, drops, and power dives. Some bat species responded by moving the frequency and intensity of their echolocation cries away from the peak sensitivity of moth ears, and the arms race was on. Tiger moths countered by producing anti-bat sounds. Do the sounds advertise moth toxicity, similar to the bright coloration of butterflies; do they startle the bat, giving the moth a momentary advantage in their aerobatic battle; or do they jam the sonar of the bat? The answer is yes. They do all and more in different situations and in different species. Any insect that flies at night must deal with bat predation. Beetles, mantids, true crickets, mole crickets, katydids, green lacewings, and locusts have anti-bat strategies, and we have just scratched the surface. In an exciting new twist, researchers are taking the technologies developed in the laboratory back into the field, where they are poised to appreciate the full richness of this remarkable predator-prey interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- William E Conner
- Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27106, USA.
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Schuchmann M, Siemers BM. Behavioral evidence for community-wide species discrimination from echolocation calls in bats. Am Nat 2010; 176:72-82. [PMID: 20459322 DOI: 10.1086/652993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Recognizing species identity is crucial for many aspects of animal life and is often mediated by acoustic signals. Although most animals are able to distinguish acoustic signals of their own species from other sympatrically occurring species, it is yet unknown whether animals can distinguish among acoustic signals of different closely related sympatric species. In this context, echolocating bats are a particularly interesting model system: their echolocation system evolved primarily for spatial orientation and foraging, but recent studies indicate that echolocation also has an important communicative function. Yet, the role of echolocation calls for species discrimination and thus potentially for interspecific communication has not been investigated. Using a behavioral discrimination assay, we found that two species of wild horseshoe bats could discriminate calls of their own species from those of three sympatric congeneric species. We further show that the bats were able to discriminate between echolocation calls of different congeneric species from the local community. In both cases, discrimination ability was high despite strong overlap of species' call frequency bands. This study provides the first experimental evidence for species discrimination based on echolocation calls. On a more general level, it shows for the first time that animals can distinguish among acoustic signals of different closely related and ecologically similar species from their local community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maike Schuchmann
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Sensory Ecology Group, Eberhard-Gwinner-Strasse, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
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Knight K. BATS SPOT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOOD AND BAD TASTING MOTH MIMICS. J Exp Biol 2009. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.034405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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