| Position around a tree: consequences for pheromone detection. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 17252213 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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The air flow pattern expected around a cylindrical object such as a tree in slow wind, is predicted from fluid mechanics to have areas of faster flow (upwind) and slower recirculating flow with eddies (downwind). An organism located on the surface of a tree would experience different flow depending on its circumferential position. If that organism was searching for a chemical signal, such as a pheromone plume, it might maximize its probability of chemodetection by placing itself in areas of greatest flow speed (the upwind surface of the cylinder, i.e., in front of the separation points). We tested whether wood cockroaches in the genus Parcoblatta exhibit such upwind positioning; they live in forests, and males actively fly from tree to tree, while searching for females releasing sex pheromone. In contrast to an expectation of upwind preference, male cockroaches were evenly distributed around trees relative to upwind (measured with a novel "feather boa" flow visualization technique), even though the wind direction was relatively steady. We investigated whether sex pheromone could be detected at any location around a cylindrical surface in a laboratory flow chamber by using Bombyx mori wing fanning as a bioassay. Although upwind moths arrayed on the surface detected pheromone more rapidly, pheromone detection occurred at least a third of the time at any position, which could explain the even distribution of Parcoblatta males around trees. |
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Authors:
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Ginger L Miller; Catherine Loudon; Sarah Freed |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Journal of chemical ecology Volume: 33 ISSN: 0098-0331 ISO Abbreviation: J. Chem. Ecol. Publication Date: 2007 Mar |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2007-07-12 Completed Date: 2007-07-31 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 7505563 Medline TA: J Chem Ecol Country: United States |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 541-54 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045-7534, USA. |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Animals Cockroaches / physiology* Female Male Sex Attractants / analysis* Trees* |
| Chemical | |
Reg. No./Substance:
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0/Sex Attractants |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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