at Google ScholarTitle data
Conrad, Taina ; Roberts, Louise ; Steiger, Sandra ; Ringlein, Marie:
Vibrations from the crypt : Investigating the possibility of vibrational communication in burying beetles.
In: Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata.
Vol. 172
(2024)
Issue 12
.
- pp. 1154-1165.
ISSN 1570-7458
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/eea.13519
Abstract in another language
Communication is fundamental in the animal kingdom, essential to interactions
such as mating, defense, and parental care. Vibrational communication has often
been overlooked in the past, but in recent decades, it has become clear that insects
use substrate vibrations as a communication signal. In burying beetles of the genus
Nicrophorus, which are known for their biparental brood care, both parents stridulate.
Spending a considerable period of their lives underground, it is very likely the beetles
utilize vibrations as part of their communication system. As playback experiments
are challenging with this species, this study looked at the physical propagation of
the signal of Nicrophorus vespilloides Herbst (Coleoptera: Siliphidae) through three
soil types, as well as behavior, to see whether vibrational communication is possible.
The aims were to determine: (1) whether the soils used in the laboratory compare to
soil from the field, (2) whether the distance of propagation is enough for the range
the beetles cover during brood care, (3) whether the two sexes show a difference in
stridulation likelihood, (4) whether propagation of defensive signals differs from brood
care signals, and (5) whether we can determine a behavior during stridulations that
shows a clear and useable reaction to the signal. We manipulated beetles to induce
stridulation and then used laser Doppler vibrometers to record the signals using three
substrates and various distances, alongside behavioral observations. We showed that
the three substrates tested, peat, coconut coir, and forest soil, displayed differences
in terms of vibrational propagation, and that burying beetle stridulation signals can
be transmitted up to about 25 cm in the soil. We also showed that the location where
the animals stridulate exerts a significant influence on the total duration and number
of stridulations. Overall, vibrational communication is in principle conceivable in this
species, as the signals are transmitted far enough in the natural substrate to allow
complex communication, opening possibilities for vibrational communication during
this biparental brood care.
Further data
| Item Type: | Article in a journal |
|---|---|
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Keywords: | amplitude; biotremology; brood care; Coleoptera; frequency; Nicrophorus vespilloides; Siliphidae; soil types; stridulation; vibrational communication |
| Institutions of the University: | Faculties > Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences > Department of Biology > Chair Animal Ecology II - Evolutionary Animal Ecology Faculties > Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences > Department of Biology > Chair Animal Ecology II - Evolutionary Animal Ecology > Chair Animal Ecology II - Evolutionary Animal Ecology - Univ.-Prof. Dr. Sandra Steiger |
| Result of work at the UBT: | Yes |
| DDC Subjects: | 500 Science > 590 Animals (Zoology) |
| Date Deposited: | 07 Nov 2024 08:29 |
| Last Modified: | 07 Nov 2024 08:29 |
| URI: | https://eref.uni-bayreuth.de/id/eprint/90956 |