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Mohebbi N, Schulz A, Spencer TL, Pos K, Mandel A, Casas J, Hu DL. The scaling of olfaction: Moths have relatively more olfactory surface area than mammals. Integr Comp Biol 2022; 62:81-89. [PMID: 35325136 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icac006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Body size affects nearly every aspect of locomotion and sensing, but little is known how body size influences olfaction. One reason for this missing link is that olfaction differs fundamentally from vision and hearing in that molecules are advected by fluid before depositing on olfactory sensors. This critical role of fluid flow in olfaction leads to complexities and trade-offs. For example, a greater density of hairs and sensory neurons may lead to greater collection, but can also lead to reduced flow through hairs and additional weight and drag due to a larger olfactory organ. In this study, we report the surface area and sensory neuron density in olfactory organs of 95 species of moths and mammals. We find that approximately 12-14 percent of an olfactory system's surface area is devoted to chemosensors. Furthermore, total olfactory surface area and olfactory sensing surface area scale with body mass to the 0.49 and 0.38 powers respectively, indicating that moths have a higher proportion of olfactory surface area than mammals. The density of olfactory neurons appears to be near the limit, at 10,000 to 100,000 neurons per square mm across both insects and mammals. This study demonstrates the need for future work detailing how scaling of olfaction and other senses vary across taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Mohebbi
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Andrew Schulz
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Thomas L Spencer
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Kelsie Pos
- School of Biological Sciences, George Washington, University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Andrew Mandel
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Jerome Casas
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte, UMR 7261, CNRS, Université de Tours, Tours, France
| | - David L Hu
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.,School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
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Gidmark NJ, Pos K, Matheson B, Ponce E, Westneat MW. Functional Morphology and Biomechanics of Feeding in Fishes. Feeding in Vertebrates 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-13739-7_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
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