Moth Mating: Modeling Female Pheromone Calling and Male Navigational Strategies to Optimize Reproductive Success
Male and female moths communicate in complex ways to search for and to select a mate. In a process termed calling, females emit small quantities of pheromones, generating plumes that spread in the environment. Males detect the plume through their antennae and navigate toward the female. The reproduc...
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doaj-9c3ccb2630734bce8da7b4d9d10114ce2020-11-25T03:56:54ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172020-09-01106543654310.3390/app10186543Moth Mating: Modeling Female Pheromone Calling and Male Navigational Strategies to Optimize Reproductive SuccessTracy L. Stepien0Cole Zmurchok1James B. Hengenius2Rocío Marilyn Caja Rivera3Maria R. D’Orsogna4Alan E. Lindsay5Department of Mathematics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USADepartment of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USADepartment of Mathematics, California State University, Northridge, CA 91330, USADepartment of Applied & Computational Mathematics & Statistics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USAMale and female moths communicate in complex ways to search for and to select a mate. In a process termed calling, females emit small quantities of pheromones, generating plumes that spread in the environment. Males detect the plume through their antennae and navigate toward the female. The reproductive process is marked by female choice and male–male competition, since multiple males aim to reach the female but only the first can mate with her. This provides an opportunity for female selection on male traits such as chemosensitivity to pheromone molecules and mobility. We develop a mathematical framework to investigate the overall mating likelihood, the mean first arrival time, and the quality of the first male to reach the female for four experimentally observed female calling strategies unfolding over a typical one-week mating period. We present both analytical solutions of a simplified model as well as results from agent-based numerical simulations. Our findings suggest that, by adjusting call times and the amount of released pheromone, females can optimize the mating process. In particular, shorter calling times and lower pheromone titers at onset of the mating period that gradually increase over time allow females to aim for higher-quality males while still ensuring that mating occurs by the end of the mating period.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/18/6543moth mating<i>Lepidoptera</i>agent-based modeldiffusionpheromonecalling strategies |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Tracy L. Stepien Cole Zmurchok James B. Hengenius Rocío Marilyn Caja Rivera Maria R. D’Orsogna Alan E. Lindsay |
spellingShingle |
Tracy L. Stepien Cole Zmurchok James B. Hengenius Rocío Marilyn Caja Rivera Maria R. D’Orsogna Alan E. Lindsay Moth Mating: Modeling Female Pheromone Calling and Male Navigational Strategies to Optimize Reproductive Success Applied Sciences moth mating <i>Lepidoptera</i> agent-based model diffusion pheromone calling strategies |
author_facet |
Tracy L. Stepien Cole Zmurchok James B. Hengenius Rocío Marilyn Caja Rivera Maria R. D’Orsogna Alan E. Lindsay |
author_sort |
Tracy L. Stepien |
title |
Moth Mating: Modeling Female Pheromone Calling and Male Navigational Strategies to Optimize Reproductive Success |
title_short |
Moth Mating: Modeling Female Pheromone Calling and Male Navigational Strategies to Optimize Reproductive Success |
title_full |
Moth Mating: Modeling Female Pheromone Calling and Male Navigational Strategies to Optimize Reproductive Success |
title_fullStr |
Moth Mating: Modeling Female Pheromone Calling and Male Navigational Strategies to Optimize Reproductive Success |
title_full_unstemmed |
Moth Mating: Modeling Female Pheromone Calling and Male Navigational Strategies to Optimize Reproductive Success |
title_sort |
moth mating: modeling female pheromone calling and male navigational strategies to optimize reproductive success |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Applied Sciences |
issn |
2076-3417 |
publishDate |
2020-09-01 |
description |
Male and female moths communicate in complex ways to search for and to select a mate. In a process termed calling, females emit small quantities of pheromones, generating plumes that spread in the environment. Males detect the plume through their antennae and navigate toward the female. The reproductive process is marked by female choice and male–male competition, since multiple males aim to reach the female but only the first can mate with her. This provides an opportunity for female selection on male traits such as chemosensitivity to pheromone molecules and mobility. We develop a mathematical framework to investigate the overall mating likelihood, the mean first arrival time, and the quality of the first male to reach the female for four experimentally observed female calling strategies unfolding over a typical one-week mating period. We present both analytical solutions of a simplified model as well as results from agent-based numerical simulations. Our findings suggest that, by adjusting call times and the amount of released pheromone, females can optimize the mating process. In particular, shorter calling times and lower pheromone titers at onset of the mating period that gradually increase over time allow females to aim for higher-quality males while still ensuring that mating occurs by the end of the mating period. |
topic |
moth mating <i>Lepidoptera</i> agent-based model diffusion pheromone calling strategies |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/18/6543 |
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