Most mosquito and midge species use hearing during acoustic mating behaviors. For frog-biting spe... more Most mosquito and midge species use hearing during acoustic mating behaviors. For frog-biting species, however, hearing plays an important role beyond mating as females rely on anuran calls to obtain blood meals. Despite the extensive work examining hearing in mosquito species that use sound in mating contexts, our understanding of how mosquitoes hear frog calls is limited. Here, we directly investigate the mechanisms underlying detection of frog calls by a mosquito species specialized on eavesdropping on anuran mating signals: Uranotaenia lowii. Behavioral, biomechanical, and neurophysiological analyses revealed that the antenna of this frog-biting species can detect frog calls by relying on neural and mechanical responses comparable to those of non-frog-biting species. Our findings show that in Ur. lowii, contrary to most species, males do not use sound for mating, but females use hearing to locate their anuran host. We also show that the response of the antenna of this frog-bitin...
Science Activities: Classroom Projects and Curriculum Ideas, Oct 2, 2019
Understanding the nature of science has long been a focus of science education reform efforts, in... more Understanding the nature of science has long been a focus of science education reform efforts, including the Next Generation of Science Standards. Students’ views about the process of how scientifi...
Publicly available data from VertNet and USGS for Rhinella marina and Osteopilus septentrionalis ... more Publicly available data from VertNet and USGS for Rhinella marina and Osteopilus septentrionalis used for spatial analysis to track their invasion in Florida
We investigated two non-mutually exclusive hypotheses: 1) beacon effect and 2) eavesdropper avoid... more We investigated two non-mutually exclusive hypotheses: 1) beacon effect and 2) eavesdropper avoidance. We found that synchronized signalling both increasing attraction of females to the chorus and reducing eavesdropper attacks.
ABSTRACTEavesdropping predators, parasites and parasitoids exploit signals emitted by their prey ... more ABSTRACTEavesdropping predators, parasites and parasitoids exploit signals emitted by their prey and hosts for detection, assessment, localization and attack, and in the process impose strong selective pressures on the communication systems of the organisms they exploit. Signallers have evolved numerous anti‐eavesdropper strategies to mitigate the trade‐off between the costs imposed from signal exploitation and the need for conspecific communication. Eavesdropper strategies fall along a continuum from opportunistic to highly specialized, and the tightness of the eavesdropper–signaller relationship results in differential pressures on communication systems. A wide variety of anti‐eavesdropper strategies mitigate the trade‐off between eavesdropper exploitation and conspecific communication. Antagonistic selection from eavesdroppers can result in diverse outcomes including modulation of signalling displays, signal structure, and evolutionary loss or gain of a signal from a population. These strategies often result in reduced signal conspicuousness and in decreased signal ornamentation. Eavesdropping enemies, however, can also promote signal ornamentation. While less common, this alternative outcome offers a unique opportunity to dissect the factors that may lead to different evolutionary pathways. In addition, contrary to traditional assumptions, no sensory modality is completely ‘safe’ as eavesdroppers are ubiquitous and have a broad array of sensory filters that allow opportunity for signal exploitation. We discuss how anthropogenic change affects interactions between eavesdropping enemies and their victims as it rapidly modifies signalling environments and community composition. Drawing on diverse research from a range of taxa and sensory modalities, we synthesize current knowledge on anti‐eavesdropper strategies, discuss challenges in this field and highlight fruitful new directions for future research. Ultimately, this review offers a conceptual framework to understand the diverse strategies used by signallers to communicate under the pressure imposed by their eavesdropping enemies.
The role of sex on behavioral responses to mating signals: Studies of phonotaxis and evoked calli... more The role of sex on behavioral responses to mating signals: Studies of phonotaxis and evoked calling in male and female tungara frogs. Ximena Eugenia Bernal Dissertation Abstracts International 68:0707, 2007. Signal detection ...
Most mosquito and midge species use hearing during acoustic mating behaviors. For frog-biting spe... more Most mosquito and midge species use hearing during acoustic mating behaviors. For frog-biting species, however, hearing plays an important role beyond mating as females rely on anuran calls to obtain blood meals. Despite the extensive work examining hearing in mosquito species that use sound in mating contexts, our understanding of how mosquitoes hear frog calls is limited. Here, we directly investigate the mechanisms underlying detection of frog calls by a mosquito species specialized on eavesdropping on anuran mating signals: Uranotaenia lowii. Behavioral, biomechanical, and neurophysiological analyses revealed that the antenna of this frog-biting species can detect frog calls by relying on neural and mechanical responses comparable to those of non-frog-biting species. Our findings show that in Ur. lowii, contrary to most species, males do not use sound for mating, but females use hearing to locate their anuran host. We also show that the response of the antenna of this frog-bitin...
Science Activities: Classroom Projects and Curriculum Ideas, Oct 2, 2019
Understanding the nature of science has long been a focus of science education reform efforts, in... more Understanding the nature of science has long been a focus of science education reform efforts, including the Next Generation of Science Standards. Students’ views about the process of how scientifi...
Publicly available data from VertNet and USGS for Rhinella marina and Osteopilus septentrionalis ... more Publicly available data from VertNet and USGS for Rhinella marina and Osteopilus septentrionalis used for spatial analysis to track their invasion in Florida
We investigated two non-mutually exclusive hypotheses: 1) beacon effect and 2) eavesdropper avoid... more We investigated two non-mutually exclusive hypotheses: 1) beacon effect and 2) eavesdropper avoidance. We found that synchronized signalling both increasing attraction of females to the chorus and reducing eavesdropper attacks.
ABSTRACTEavesdropping predators, parasites and parasitoids exploit signals emitted by their prey ... more ABSTRACTEavesdropping predators, parasites and parasitoids exploit signals emitted by their prey and hosts for detection, assessment, localization and attack, and in the process impose strong selective pressures on the communication systems of the organisms they exploit. Signallers have evolved numerous anti‐eavesdropper strategies to mitigate the trade‐off between the costs imposed from signal exploitation and the need for conspecific communication. Eavesdropper strategies fall along a continuum from opportunistic to highly specialized, and the tightness of the eavesdropper–signaller relationship results in differential pressures on communication systems. A wide variety of anti‐eavesdropper strategies mitigate the trade‐off between eavesdropper exploitation and conspecific communication. Antagonistic selection from eavesdroppers can result in diverse outcomes including modulation of signalling displays, signal structure, and evolutionary loss or gain of a signal from a population. These strategies often result in reduced signal conspicuousness and in decreased signal ornamentation. Eavesdropping enemies, however, can also promote signal ornamentation. While less common, this alternative outcome offers a unique opportunity to dissect the factors that may lead to different evolutionary pathways. In addition, contrary to traditional assumptions, no sensory modality is completely ‘safe’ as eavesdroppers are ubiquitous and have a broad array of sensory filters that allow opportunity for signal exploitation. We discuss how anthropogenic change affects interactions between eavesdropping enemies and their victims as it rapidly modifies signalling environments and community composition. Drawing on diverse research from a range of taxa and sensory modalities, we synthesize current knowledge on anti‐eavesdropper strategies, discuss challenges in this field and highlight fruitful new directions for future research. Ultimately, this review offers a conceptual framework to understand the diverse strategies used by signallers to communicate under the pressure imposed by their eavesdropping enemies.
The role of sex on behavioral responses to mating signals: Studies of phonotaxis and evoked calli... more The role of sex on behavioral responses to mating signals: Studies of phonotaxis and evoked calling in male and female tungara frogs. Ximena Eugenia Bernal Dissertation Abstracts International 68:0707, 2007. Signal detection ...
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