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Dalbosco Dell'Aglio D, Rivas-Sánchez DF, Wright DS, Merrill RM, Montgomery SH. The Sensory Ecology of Speciation. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 2024; 16:a041428. [PMID: 38052495 PMCID: PMC10759811 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a041428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
In this work, we explore the potential influence of sensory ecology on speciation, including but not limited to the concept of sensory drive, which concerns the coevolution of signals and sensory systems with the local environment. The sensory environment can influence individual fitness in a variety of ways, thereby affecting the evolution of both pre- and postmating reproductive isolation. Previous work focused on sensory drive has undoubtedly advanced the field, but we argue that it may have also narrowed our understanding of the broader influence of the sensory ecology on speciation. Moreover, the clearest examples of sensory drive are largely limited to aquatic organisms, which may skew the influence of contributing factors. We review the evidence for sensory drive across environmental conditions, and in this context discuss the importance of more generalized effects of sensory ecology on adaptive behavioral divergence. Finally, we consider the potential of rapid environmental change to influence reproductive barriers related to sensory ecologies. Our synthesis shows the importance of sensory conditions for local adaptation and divergence in a range of behavioral contexts and extends our understanding of the interplay between sensory ecology and speciation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denise Dalbosco Dell'Aglio
- School of Biological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, United Kingdom
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Gamboa 0843-03092, Panama
| | - David F Rivas-Sánchez
- School of Biological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel Shane Wright
- Faculty of Biology, Division of Evolutionary Biology, LMU Munich, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Richard M Merrill
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Gamboa 0843-03092, Panama
- Faculty of Biology, Division of Evolutionary Biology, LMU Munich, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Stephen H Montgomery
- School of Biological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, United Kingdom
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Gamboa 0843-03092, Panama
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2
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Scali S, Sacchi R, Gozzo E, Chiesa S, Coladonato AJ, Zuffi MAL, Mangiacotti M. The size of a smell: assessment of rival’s relative size from femoral secretions in the common wall lizards, Podarcis muralis (Laurenti, 1768). Behav Ecol 2023. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arac128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Animal communication depends on signals conveying information to a receiver who must perceive and decode them. Signals involved in territoriality are usually complex stimuli that should be correctly interpreted to avoid unnecessary conflicts. Lacertids use both visual and chemical stimuli in modulating their aggressive response against conspecifics and the rival’s size is one of the most important information, affecting the success probability in combat. To assess the actual ability of decoding information about a rival’s size based on its chemical stimulus alone, 60 males of Podarcis muralis were tested for three consecutive days in an arena bearing a mirror (to simulate an equal-sized intruder), and the chemical cues (femoral secretions) from an unknown individual of different size. Significant differences were observed in tongue-flicks number, which grew as the size difference between the focal lizard and the secretion donor decreased. This can be interpreted as the need for the lizard to better evaluate the potential competitor’s characteristics. The size difference also affected the number of bites against the mirror. They increased when the size of the focal lizard was larger than the donor triggering the aggressive response with a higher probability of winning the contest. This confirms that the focal lizard had correctly decoded the information about the opponent’s size by chemical stimulus. Although previous studies have shown that some components of the chemical signals are potentially informative about the signaler’s size, this is the first demonstration that male P. muralis is actually able to decode and use such information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Scali
- Museo di Storia Naturale di Milano , Corso Venezia 55, I-20121 Milano , Italy
| | - Roberto Sacchi
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e dell’Ambiente, Università di Pavia , Viale Torquato Taramelli 24, I-27100, Pavia , Italy
| | - Elisabetta Gozzo
- Museo di Storia Naturale di Milano , Corso Venezia 55, I-20121 Milano , Italy
| | - Stefano Chiesa
- Museo di Storia Naturale di Milano , Corso Venezia 55, I-20121 Milano , Italy
| | - Alan J Coladonato
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e dell’Ambiente, Università di Pavia , Viale Torquato Taramelli 24, I-27100, Pavia , Italy
| | - Marco A L Zuffi
- Museo di Storia Naturale dell’Università di Pisa , Via Roma 79 , I-56011 Calci, PI , Italy
| | - Marco Mangiacotti
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e dell’Ambiente, Università di Pavia , Viale Torquato Taramelli 24, I-27100, Pavia , Italy
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Mizuno A, Soma M. Star finches Neochmia ruficauda have a visual preference for white dot patterns: a possible case of trypophilia. Anim Cogn 2022; 25:1271-1279. [PMID: 35294684 PMCID: PMC9617841 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01609-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Many animals have polka dot patterns on their body surface, some of which are known to have signalling functions; however, their evolutionary origins remain unclear. Dot patterns can trigger a fear response (trypophobia) in humans and are known to function as aposematic signals in non-human animals, suggesting that dots may deserve attention for biological reasons. Interestingly in many birds, plumage dot patterns serve for social/sexual signalling. To understand their evolution, we have focused on the sensory bias hypothesis, which predicts the role of pre-existing sensory preference driven by natural selection in shaping signal design. Our previous phylogenetic comparative study supported the hypothesis and showed that diet-driven visual preference promoted the evolution of plumage patterns, as there was an evolutionary correlation between termite-eating (white roundish gregarious prey) and the presence of plumage dot patterns in species of the family Estrildidae. This suggests that these species possess an intrinsic preference for dots. To test this, we compared the responses of an Estrildid species with dot plumage pattern (star finch Neochmia ruficauda) towards simultaneously presented monochrome-printed white dot vs white stripe patterns under both food-deprived and -supplied conditions. Overall, star finches preferred dots to stripes. They showed foraging-like behaviours almost only toward dots when hungry and gazed at dots frequently even when food was available, suggesting both hunger-related and hunger-neutral dot preferences. These results are rather surprising, given how strongly the subjects were attracted to abstract dot patterns without organic structure, but provided good support for the sensory bias hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayumi Mizuno
- Biosystems Science Course, The Graduate School of Life Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Masayo Soma
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Kita 10 Nishi 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0810, Japan.
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4
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Prior NH, Bentz EJ, Ophir AG. Reciprocal processes of sensory perception and social bonding: an integrated social-sensory framework of social behavior. GENES, BRAIN, AND BEHAVIOR 2022; 21:e12781. [PMID: 34905293 PMCID: PMC9744507 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2021] [Revised: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Organisms filter the complexity of natural stimuli through their individual sensory and perceptual systems. Such perceptual filtering is particularly important for social stimuli. A shared "social umwelt" allows individuals to respond appropriately to the expected diversity of cues and signals during social interactions. In this way, the behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms of sociality and social bonding cannot be disentangled from perceptual mechanisms and sensory processing. While a degree of embeddedness between social and sensory processes is clear, our dominant theoretical frameworks favor treating the social and sensory processes as distinct. An integrated social-sensory framework has the potential to greatly expand our understanding of the mechanisms underlying individual variation in social bonding and sociality more broadly. Here we leverage what is known about sensory processing and pair bonding in two common study systems with significant species differences in their umwelt (rodent chemosensation and avian acoustic communication). We primarily highlight that (1) communication is essential for pair bond formation and maintenance, (2) the neural circuits underlying perception, communication and social bonding are integrated, and (3) candidate neuromodulatory mechanisms that regulate pair bonding also impact communication and perception. Finally, we propose approaches and frameworks that more fully integrate sensory processing, communication, and social bonding across levels of analysis: behavioral, neurobiological, and genomic. This perspective raises two key questions: (1) how is social bonding shaped by differences in sensory processing?, and (2) to what extent is sensory processing and the saliency of signals shaped by social interactions and emerging relationships?
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Affiliation(s)
- Nora H. Prior
- Department of PsychologyCornell UniversityIthacaNew YorkUSA
| | - Ehren J. Bentz
- Department of PsychologyCornell UniversityIthacaNew YorkUSA
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Finnell LM, Koski MH. A test of Sensory Drive in plant-pollinator interactions: heterogeneity in the signalling environment shapes pollinator preference for a floral visual signal. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 232:1436-1448. [PMID: 34287921 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Sensory Drive predicts that habitat-dependent signal transmission and perception explain the diversification of communication signals. Whether Sensory Drive shapes floral evolution remains untested in nature. Pollinators of Argentina anserina prefer small ultraviolet (UV)-absorbing floral guides at low elevation but larger guides at high. However, mechanisms underlying differential preference are unclear. High elevation populations experience elevated UV irradiance and frequently flower against bare substrates rather than foliage, potentially impacting signal transmission and perception. At high and low elevation extremes, we experimentally tested the effects of UV light (ambient vs reduced) and floral backgrounds (foliage vs bare) on pollinator choice for UV guide size. We examined how different signalling environments shaped pollinator-perceived flower colour using visual system models. At high elevation, pollinators preferred locally common large UV guides under ambient UV, but lacked preference under reduced UV. Flies preferred large guides only against bare substrate, the common high elevation background. Ambient UV amplified contrast of large UV guides with floral backgrounds, and flowers contrasted more with bare ground than foliage. Results support that local signalling conditions contribute to pollinator preference for a floral visual signal, a key tenet of Sensory Drive. Components of Sensory Drive could shape floral signal evolution in other plants spanning heterogeneous signalling environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay M Finnell
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA
| | - Matthew H Koski
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA
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Molecular signatures of sexual communication in the phlebotomine sand flies. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020; 14:e0008967. [PMID: 33370303 PMCID: PMC7793272 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2020] [Revised: 01/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Phlebotomine sand flies employ an elaborate system of pheromone communication wherein males produce pheromones that attract other males to leks (thus acting as an aggregation pheromone) and females to the lekking males (sex pheromone). In addition, the type of pheromone produced varies among populations. Despite the numerous studies on sand fly chemical communication, little is known of their chemosensory genome. Chemoreceptors interact with chemicals in an organism’s environment to elicit essential behaviors such as the identification of suitable mates and food sources. Thus, they play important roles during adaptation and speciation. Major chemoreceptor gene families, odorant receptors (ORs), gustatory receptors (GRs) and ionotropic receptors (IRs) together detect and discriminate the chemical landscape. Here, we annotated the chemoreceptor repertoire in the genomes of Lutzomyia longipalpis and Phlebotomus papatasi, major phlebotomine vectors in the New World and Old World, respectively. Comparison with other sequenced Diptera revealed a large and unique expansion where over 80% of the ~140 ORs belong to a single, taxonomically restricted clade. We next conducted a comprehensive analysis of the chemoreceptors in 63 L. longipalpis individuals from four different locations in Brazil representing allopatric and sympatric populations and three sex-aggregation pheromone types (chemotypes). Population structure based on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and gene copy number in the chemoreceptors corresponded with their putative chemotypes, and corroborate previous studies that identified multiple populations. Our work provides genomic insights into the underlying behavioral evolution of sexual communication in the L. longipalpis species complex in Brazil, and highlights the importance of accounting for the ongoing speciation in central and South American Lutzomyia that could have important implications for vectorial capacity. Phlebotomine sand flies are the primary vectors of Leishmania parasites, the causative agents of cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis. Due to the lack of vaccines, control of leishmaniasis relies upon reducing human exposure to sand flies. Sand flies produce sex-aggregation pheromones that elicit robust olfactory behaviors, and the molecular targets for pheromone detection remain unknown. We identified chemoreceptors in the genomes of L. longipalpis and P. papatasi, and used these gene models to explore chemoreceptor evolution in 63 L. longipalpis individuals representing different pheromone types. These analyses identified genomic loci underlying chemosensory behavior in sand flies. This paves the way for understanding the sand fly species diversity at the molecular level, and functional characterization of these candidate genes will isolate and identify chemostimuli that can directly be tested as potential attractants for odor-baited traps.
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Liu T, Zhang K, Dai W, Jin L, Sun K, Feng J. Evolutionary insights into
Rhinolophus episcopus
(Chiroptera, Rhinolophidae) in China: Isolation by distance, environment, or sensory system? J ZOOL SYST EVOL RES 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/jzs.12394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tong Liu
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization Northeast Normal University Changchun China
| | - Kangkang Zhang
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization Northeast Normal University Changchun China
| | - Wentao Dai
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization Northeast Normal University Changchun China
| | - Longru Jin
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization Northeast Normal University Changchun China
| | - Keping Sun
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization Northeast Normal University Changchun China
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology Ministry of Education Changchun China
| | - Jiang Feng
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization Northeast Normal University Changchun China
- College of Life Science Jilin Agricultural University Changchun China
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8
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Symes LB, Martinson SJ, Kernan CE, Ter Hofstede HM. Sheep in wolves' clothing: prey rely on proactive defences when predator and non-predator cues are similar. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20201212. [PMID: 32842929 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Predation produces intense selection and a diversity of defences. Reactive defences are triggered by predator cues, whereas proactive defences are always in effect. We assess whether prey rely on proactive defences when predator cues do not correlate well with predation risk. Many bats use echolocation to hunt insects, and many insects have evolved to hear bats. However, in species-rich environments like Neotropical forests, bats have extremely diverse foraging strategies, and the presence of echolocation corresponds only weakly to the presence of predators. We assess whether katydids that live in habitats with many non-dangerous bat species stop calling when exposed to echolocation. For 11 species of katydids, we quantified behavioural and neural responses to predator cues, and katydid signalling activity over 24 h periods. Despite having the sensory capacity to detect predators, many Neotropical forest katydids continued calling in the presence of predator cues, displaying proactive defences instead (short, infrequent calls totalling less than 2 cumulative seconds of sound per 24 h). Neotropical katydid signalling illustrates a fascinating case where trophic interactions are probably mediated by a third group: bats with alternative foraging strategies (e.g. frugivory). Although these co-occurring bats are not trophically connected, their mere presence disrupts the correlation between cue and predation risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurel B Symes
- Center for Conservation Bioacoustics, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, 78 College Street, Hanover, NH 03755, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Panama City, Republic of Panama
| | - Sharon J Martinson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, 78 College Street, Hanover, NH 03755, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Panama City, Republic of Panama
| | - Ciara E Kernan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, 78 College Street, Hanover, NH 03755, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Panama City, Republic of Panama
| | - Hannah M Ter Hofstede
- Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, 78 College Street, Hanover, NH 03755, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Panama City, Republic of Panama
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9
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Koski MH. The role of sensory drive in floral evolution. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2020; 227:1012-1024. [PMID: 32112572 DOI: 10.1111/nph.16510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Sensory drive theory posits that the evolution of communication signals is shaped by the sensory systems of receivers and the habitat conditions under which signals are received. It has inspired an enormous body of research, advancing our understanding of signal evolution and speciation in animals. In plants, the extreme diversification of floral signals has fascinated biologists for over a century. While processes involved in sensory drive probably play out in plant-pollinator communication, the theory has not been formally synthesized in this context. However, it has untapped potential to explain mechanisms underlying variation in pollinator preferences across populations, and how environmental conditions impact floral signal transmission and perception. Here I develop a framework of sensory drive for plant-pollinator interactions, identifying similarities and differences from its original conception. I then summarize studies that shed light on how the primary processes of sensory drive - habitat transmission, perceptual tuning, and signal matching - apply to the evolution of floral color and scent. Throughout, I propose research avenues and approaches to assess how sensory drive shapes floral diversity. This framework will be important for explaining patterns of extant floral diversity and examining how altered signaling conditions under global change will impact the evolutionary trajectory of floral traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew H Koski
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29631, USA
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10
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Renoult JP, Mendelson TC. Processing bias: extending sensory drive to include efficacy and efficiency in information processing. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20190165. [PMID: 30940061 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.0165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Communication signals often comprise an array of colours, lines, spots, notes or odours that are arranged in complex patterns, melodies or blends. Receiver perception is assumed to influence preference and thus the evolution of signal design, but evolutionary biologists still struggle to understand how perception, preference and signal design are mechanistically linked. In parallel, the field of empirical aesthetics aims to understand why people like some designs more than others. The model of processing bias discussed here is rooted in empirical aesthetics, which posits that preferences are influenced by the emotional system as it monitors the dynamics of information processing and that attractive signals have effective designs that maximize information transmission, efficient designs that allow information processing at low metabolic cost, or both. We refer to the causal link between preference and the emotionally rewarding experience of effective and efficient information processing as the processing bias, and we apply it to the evolutionary model of sensory drive. A sensory drive model that incorporates processing bias hypothesizes a causal chain of relationships between the environment, perception, pleasure, preference and ultimately the evolution of signal design, both simple and complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien P Renoult
- 1 Centre of Evolutionary and Functional Ecology (CEFE UMR5175), CNRS-University of Montpellier-University Paul-Valery Montpellier-EPHE) , 1919 route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier , France
| | - Tamra C Mendelson
- 2 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland Baltimore County , 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 , USA
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