Characteristics of tiger moth (Erebidae: Arctiinae) anti-bat sounds can be predicted from tymbal morphology
Abstract Background Acoustic signals are used by many animals to transmit information. Variation in the acoustic characteristics of these signals often covaries with morphology and can relay information about an individual’s fitness, sex, species, and/or other characteristics important for both mati...
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doaj-106a03cca6a64169908a37e1824eb48e2020-12-13T12:12:45ZengBMCFrontiers in Zoology1742-99942019-12-0116111110.1186/s12983-019-0345-6Characteristics of tiger moth (Erebidae: Arctiinae) anti-bat sounds can be predicted from tymbal morphologyNicolas J. Dowdy0William E. Conner1Department of Biology, Wake Forest UniversityDepartment of Biology, Wake Forest UniversityAbstract Background Acoustic signals are used by many animals to transmit information. Variation in the acoustic characteristics of these signals often covaries with morphology and can relay information about an individual’s fitness, sex, species, and/or other characteristics important for both mating and defense. Tiger moths (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae) use modified cuticular plates called “tymbal organs” to produce ultrasonic clicks which can aposematically signal their toxicity, mimic the signals of other species, or, in some cases, disrupt bat echolocation. The morphology of the tymbal organs and the sounds they produce vary greatly between species, but it is unclear how the variation in morphology gives rise to the variation in acoustic characteristics. This is the first study to determine how the morphological features of tymbals can predict the acoustic characteristics of the signals they produce. Results We show that the number of striations on the tymbal surface (historically known as “microtymbals”) and, to a lesser extent, the ratio of the projected surface area of the tymbal to that of the thorax have a strong, positive correlation with the number of clicks a moth produces per unit time. We also found that some clades have significantly different regression coefficients, and thus the relationship between microtymbals and click rate is also dependent on the shared ancestry of different species. Conclusions Our predictive model allows the click rates of moths to be estimated using preserved material (e.g., from museums) in cases where live specimens are unavailable. This has the potential to greatly accelerate our understanding of the distribution of sound production and acoustic anti-bat strategies employed by tiger moths. Such knowledge will generate new insights into the evolutionary history of tiger moth anti-predator defenses on a global scale.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-019-0345-6BioacousticsLepidopteraAnti-predator defensePredictive modelingCollections-based research |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Nicolas J. Dowdy William E. Conner |
spellingShingle |
Nicolas J. Dowdy William E. Conner Characteristics of tiger moth (Erebidae: Arctiinae) anti-bat sounds can be predicted from tymbal morphology Frontiers in Zoology Bioacoustics Lepidoptera Anti-predator defense Predictive modeling Collections-based research |
author_facet |
Nicolas J. Dowdy William E. Conner |
author_sort |
Nicolas J. Dowdy |
title |
Characteristics of tiger moth (Erebidae: Arctiinae) anti-bat sounds can be predicted from tymbal morphology |
title_short |
Characteristics of tiger moth (Erebidae: Arctiinae) anti-bat sounds can be predicted from tymbal morphology |
title_full |
Characteristics of tiger moth (Erebidae: Arctiinae) anti-bat sounds can be predicted from tymbal morphology |
title_fullStr |
Characteristics of tiger moth (Erebidae: Arctiinae) anti-bat sounds can be predicted from tymbal morphology |
title_full_unstemmed |
Characteristics of tiger moth (Erebidae: Arctiinae) anti-bat sounds can be predicted from tymbal morphology |
title_sort |
characteristics of tiger moth (erebidae: arctiinae) anti-bat sounds can be predicted from tymbal morphology |
publisher |
BMC |
series |
Frontiers in Zoology |
issn |
1742-9994 |
publishDate |
2019-12-01 |
description |
Abstract Background Acoustic signals are used by many animals to transmit information. Variation in the acoustic characteristics of these signals often covaries with morphology and can relay information about an individual’s fitness, sex, species, and/or other characteristics important for both mating and defense. Tiger moths (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae) use modified cuticular plates called “tymbal organs” to produce ultrasonic clicks which can aposematically signal their toxicity, mimic the signals of other species, or, in some cases, disrupt bat echolocation. The morphology of the tymbal organs and the sounds they produce vary greatly between species, but it is unclear how the variation in morphology gives rise to the variation in acoustic characteristics. This is the first study to determine how the morphological features of tymbals can predict the acoustic characteristics of the signals they produce. Results We show that the number of striations on the tymbal surface (historically known as “microtymbals”) and, to a lesser extent, the ratio of the projected surface area of the tymbal to that of the thorax have a strong, positive correlation with the number of clicks a moth produces per unit time. We also found that some clades have significantly different regression coefficients, and thus the relationship between microtymbals and click rate is also dependent on the shared ancestry of different species. Conclusions Our predictive model allows the click rates of moths to be estimated using preserved material (e.g., from museums) in cases where live specimens are unavailable. This has the potential to greatly accelerate our understanding of the distribution of sound production and acoustic anti-bat strategies employed by tiger moths. Such knowledge will generate new insights into the evolutionary history of tiger moth anti-predator defenses on a global scale. |
topic |
Bioacoustics Lepidoptera Anti-predator defense Predictive modeling Collections-based research |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-019-0345-6 |
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