A larval aggregation pheromone as foraging cue for insectivorous birds

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Díaz-Siefer ◽  
Jaime Tapia-Gatica ◽  
Jaime Martínez-Harms ◽  
Jan Bergmann ◽  
Juan L. Celis-Diez
Keyword(s):  
Aggregation Pheromone ◽  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Insectivorous Birds ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Central Chile ◽  
Sexual Pheromones ◽  
Adult Trees ◽  
Herbivore Induced Plant Volatiles ◽  
Larval Pheromone

Although birds have traditionally been considered anosmic, increasing evidence indicates that olfaction plays an important role in the foraging behaviours of insectivorous birds. Recent studies have shown that birds can exploit herbivore-induced plant volatiles and sexual pheromones of adult insects to locate their prey. Many insectivorous birds prey on immature insects, providing relevant ecosystem services as pest regulators in natural and agricultural ecosystems. We asked whether birds could rely on chemical cues emitted by the immature stages of insects to prey on them. To address this question, we performed field experiments to evaluate if insectivorous birds can detect the aggregation pheromone produced by the larvae of the carpenter worm, Chilecomadia valdiviana . Groups of five artificial larvae were placed in branches of 72 adult trees in a remnant fragment of a sclerophyllous forest in central Chile. Each grouping of larvae contained a rubber septum loaded with either larval pheromone as treatment or solvent alone as control. We found that the number of larvae damaged by bird pecks was significantly higher in groups with dispensers containing the larval extract than in control groups. Our results show that birds can rely on immature insect-derived chemical cues used for larvae aggregation to prey on them.

Are wild insectivorous birds attracted to methyl-jasmonate-treated Pyrenean oak trees?

Behaviour ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 155 (13-15) ◽  
pp. 945-967 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Saavedra ◽  
Luisa Amo
Keyword(s):  
Jasmonic Acid ◽  
Methyl Jasmonate ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Predation Rate ◽  
Signalling Pathway ◽  
Insectivorous Birds ◽  
Oak Trees ◽  
Prey Location ◽  
Oak Tree ◽  
Herbivore Induced Plant Volatiles

Abstract Plants emit herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) when they are attacked by herbivorous arthropods to attract natural enemies of the herbivores. Previous studies have suggested that insectivorous birds can detect the HIPVs for prey location. The production of HIPVs is partly mediated by the jasmonic acid signalling pathway. Methyl jasmonate is one compound involved in the jasmonic acid signalling pathway. Therefore, spraying of methyl jasmonate (MeJa) solution on plants can induce the emission of volatiles similar to the HIPVs induced by herbivory. We performed two field experiments to test whether insectivorous adult birds are attracted to Pyrenean oak trees (Quercus pyrenaica) treated with MeJa solutions. We used artificial larvae to measure bird predation rate. There were no differences in the predation rates of plasticine larvae between control and MeJa treatments, suggesting that insectivorous birds were not attracted to trees treated with MeJa. We also tested whether blue tit nestlings without previous experience in foraging respond to the scent of Pyrenean oak tree leaves treated with MeJa, to test whether the attraction to MeJa-treated trees is innate. A similar number of nestlings performed begging responses when exposed to the scent of leaves of MeJa-treated trees compared to the scent of leaves of control untreated trees. Furthermore, the duration of the first begging was similar in response to the volatiles emitted by MeJa-treated trees and untreated trees. Despite previous evidence suggesting that insectivorous birds are attracted to HIPVs, our results show that neither insectivorous adult birds nor inexperienced nestlings were attracted to trees treated with MeJa. Further studies are needed to disentangle whether the differences in the emission of volatiles between herbivore-infested trees and MeJa-treated trees can explain this lack of attraction to MeJa-treated Pyrenean oak trees.

1-Octen-3-ol is repellent to Ips pini (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) in the midwestern United States

2009 ◽  
Vol 141 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Therese M. Poland ◽  
Deepa S. Pureswaran ◽  
Tina M. Ciaramitaro ◽  
John H. Borden
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Aggregation Pheromone ◽  
Bark Beetles ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Ips Pini ◽  
Midwestern United States ◽  
Pine Engraver ◽  
Aggregation Behaviour

AbstractIn field experiments at three sites in Michigan and Ohio we tested the activity of 1-octen-3-ol in combination with ipsdienol, the aggregation pheromone of the pine engraver, Ips pini (Say). When 1-octen-3-ol was added to funnel traps baited with ipsdienol, significantly fewer beetles of either sex were captured than in traps baited with ipsdienol alone. This result suggests that the compound is potentially repellent and interrupts the response of beetles to their aggregation pheromone, and is consistent with previous reports of its inhibition of aggregation behaviour in other bark beetles.

Chemical cues modulating electrophysiological and behavioural responses in the parasitic wasp Cotesia sesamiae

2015 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 281-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Tamiru ◽  
T.J.A. Bruce ◽  
C.M. Woodcock ◽  
M.A. Birkett ◽  
C.A.O. Midega ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Parasitic Wasp ◽  
Test Dose ◽  
Olfactometer Bioassay ◽  
Biological Control Agents ◽  
Cotesia Sesamiae ◽  
Crop Pests ◽  
Behavioural Responses ◽  
Electrophysiological Activity ◽  
Herbivore Induced Plant Volatiles

A better understanding of the chemical cues employed by parasitoids to locate their herbivore hosts will contribute towards effective exploitation of parasitoids as biological control agents against damaging crop pests. The current study was conducted to establish key bioactive compounds mediating behavioural response in the parasitic wasp Cotesia sesamiae (Cameron, 1906) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) by employing electrophysiological techniques and behavioural studies. Electroantennogram (EAG) recording with synthetic equivalents of herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) using C. sesamiae confirmed that 13 compounds elicited electrophysiological activity. In an olfactometer bioassay, only (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene, (E)-β-farnesene, and (E,E)-4,8,-trimethyl-1,3,7-tridecatetraene elicited behavioural responses from the parasitoid when tested individually at a natural dose, while (R)-linalool and (E)-caryophyllene were attractive at the highest test dose. Other EAG-active HIPVs were not attractive either at lower or higher concentrations, suggesting their role as blend components rather than functioning as attractants by themselves. In contrast, nine-component synthetic HIPV blends formulated in the same ratio and concentration as in a natural sample was as attractive as the original headspace sample. By providing further insights into maize–stemborer–parasitoid tritrophic interactions, results from this study will help in selecting crop cultivars emitting appropriate HIPVs to attract natural enemies and perhaps repel damaging crop pests.

scholarly journals Landscape drivers and effectiveness of pest control by insectivorous birds in a landscape-dominant woody crop

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Martínez-Núñez ◽  
Pedro J. Rey ◽  
Antonio J. Manzaneda ◽  
Daniel García ◽  
Rubén Tarifa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pest Control ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Landscape Heterogeneity ◽  
List Type ◽  
Insectivorous Birds ◽  
Landscape Complexity ◽  
Pest Damage ◽  
Woody Crop ◽  
Plasticine Models

AbstractAvian-mediated pest control is a significant ecosystem service with important economic implications. However, there is an overall paucity of experimental information about how landscape simplification affect its current level. Information on pest control by birds is missing in some permanent agroecosystems of worldwide importance, like olive orchards, that dominate vast areas in the Mediterranean region.We assess the effectiveness of insectivorous birds for controlling the two main pest insects in olive orchards and explore the effects of landscape complexity and distance to semi-natural patches on avian insectivore abundance and pest control. For this, we combine bird surveys with field experiments (branch exclusions and pest plasticine models) at the regional scale.Landscape heterogeneity increased the abundance and richness of insectivorous birds, which were also more abundant and diverse in semi-natural patches, compared to the farm olive matrix. Experiments evidenced that pest control by birds (measured as attack rates to plasticine models and pest damage) in the studied olive orchards is negligible, while pests were overall abundant and pest damage was high on most farms. This raises alarms about the status of avian pest control in this agroecosystem.Although landscape heterogeneity increased the abundance/richness of insectivorous birds, and favored some forest species, insectivorous bird abundance seems diluted in relation to prey availability in all landscapes. Thus, pest control by birds seems currently unsuccessful in olive orchards. Our results might be evidencing the loss of an ecosystem service due to a generalized massive decline of common and forest insectivorous birds.Key messageOlive orchards dominate extensive areas causing important landscape simplification.Insectivorous birds are more abundant in semi-natural patches within olive farms.Field experiments show a low impact of birds on olive pests and damage.Avian-mediated pest biocontrol seems diluted by limited suitable habitat for birds.Agri-environmental measures should focus on increasing landscape complexity.

scholarly journals Great Tits Learn Odors and Colors Equally Well, and Show No Predisposition for Herbivore-Induced Plant Volatiles

2022 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Rubene ◽  
Utku Urhan ◽  
Velemir Ninkovic ◽  
Anders Brodin
Keyword(s):  
Plant Volatiles ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Insectivorous Birds ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
Induced Plant Volatiles ◽  
Learning Speed ◽  
Herbivore Induced Plant Volatiles ◽  
Good Learning

Ability to efficiently localize productive foraging habitat is crucial for nesting success of insectivorous birds. Some bird species can use olfaction to identify caterpillar-infested trees by detection of herbivore induced plant volatiles (HIPVs), but these cues probably need to be learned. So far, we know very little about the process of olfactory learning in birds, whether insectivorous species have a predisposition for detecting and learning HIPVs, due to the high ecological significance of these odors, and how olfaction is integrated with vision in making foraging decisions. In a standardized setup, we tested whether 35 wild-caught great tits (Parus major) show any preference for widely abundant HIPVs compared to neutral (non-induced) plant odors, how fast they learn to associate olfactory, visual and multimodal foraging cues with food, and whether the olfactory preferences and learning speed were influenced by bird sex or habitat (urban or rural). We also tested how fast birds switch to a new cue of the same modality. Great tits showed no initial preference for HIPVs compared to neutral odors, and they learned all olfactory cues at a similar pace, except for methyl salicylate (MeSA), which they learned more slowly. We also found no differences in learning speeds between visual, olfactory and multimodal foraging cues, but birds learned the second cue they were offered faster than the first one. Bird sex or habitat had no effect on learning speed or olfactory preference, but urban birds tended to learn visual cues more slowly. We conclude that insectivorous birds utilize olfactory and visual cues with similar efficiency in foraging, and that they probably don‘t have any special predisposition toward the tested HIPVs. These results confirm that great tits are flexible foragers with good learning abilities.

The Hidden Face of Justice: Fairness, Discrimination and Distribution in Transitional Justice Processes

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Camilo Cárdenas ◽  
Andrés Casas-Casas ◽  
Nathalie Méndez Méndez
Keyword(s):  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Social Preferences ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Behavioral Evidence ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThis article contributes to the literature on the impact of transitional justice measures using behavioral evidence from experiments. We argue that there is a distributional dilemma at the heart of transitional justice programs, given that the State must allocate goods and services both to victims and excombatants. Individual and social preferences over these processes matter, given that they are likely to scale up to undermine or increase public support for transitional justice programs. We offer evidence from the Colombian case, to show what we call the hidden face of justice effect, which occurs when in the transition from war to peace distributional dilemmas arise and generate a social sanction function that creates negative incentives that can affect the achievement of reintegration of ex-combatants and jeopardizes the maintenance of peace. In order to explore the microfoundations that underlie the differences between allocations to victims and ex-combatants, we use data from field experiments and find that ex-combatants expect lower transfers from public officers and citizens and indeed receive lower transfers, if compared to the victims and the control groups included in the study, despite the fact that third-party observers have the power to punish senders when making offers seen by the third-party as unfair.

scholarly journals Identification and field verification of an aggregation pheromone from the white-spotted flower chafer, Protaetia brevitarsis Lewis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaofang Zhang ◽  
Liuyang Wang ◽  
Chunqin Liu ◽  
Yongqiang Liu ◽  
Xiangdong Mei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Aggregation Pheromone ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Plant Residues ◽  
Polyethylene Vial ◽  
Dose Response Relationship ◽  
Headspace Volatiles ◽  
Field Verification ◽  
Potential Resource ◽  
Manual Extraction

AbstractThe white-spotted flower chafer (WSFC), Protaetia brevitarsis Lewis, is native to East Asia. Although their larvae are considered a potential resource insect for degrading plant residues, producing protein fodder, and processing to traditional medicine, adult WSFCs inflict damage to dozens of fruit and economic crops. The control of the WSFC still relies heavily on pesticides and the inefficient manual extraction of adults. Here, we report the identification and evaluation of the aggregation pheromone of WSFCs. From the headspace volatiles emitted from WSFC adults, anisole, 4-methylanisole, 2-heptanone and 2-nonanone were identified as WSFC-specific components. However, only anisole and 4-methylanisole elicited positive dose–response relationship in electroantennography tests, and only 4-methylanisole significantly attracted WSFCs of both sexes in olfactometer bioassays and field experiments. These results concluded that 4-methylanisole is the aggregation pheromone of WSFCs. Furthermore, we developed polyethylene vials as long-term dispensers of 4-methylanisole to attract and kill WSFCs. The polyethylene vial lures could effectively attracted WSFCs for more than four weeks. Pheromone-based lures can be developed as an environmentally friendly protocol for monitoring and controlling WSFC adults.

A test of the Janzen-Connell model with two common tree species in Amazonian forest

1997 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 641-658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renato Cintra
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Seedling Survival ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Seed Survival ◽  
Adult Trees ◽  
Conspecific Adult ◽  
Species Type ◽  
Survival Patterns ◽  
Number Of Individuals

ABSTRACTField experiments and survival analysis were used to test whether the Janzen-Connell model operated for two common Amazonian tree species in Peru: the midstorey palm, Astrocaryum murumuru, and the canopy-emergent legume, Dipteryx micrantha. Seed and seedling survival patterns of these species partially supported the model, depending on tree species, type of predator, spatial scale and the particular year. At a small scale of a 2.5-ha plot, Astrocaryum seed predation by insects and mammals was density-dependent. At a larger scale of 100 ha, Dipteryx seed survival increased with distance from conspecific adults, but for Astrocaryum seeds there was no distance dependence. At the scale of 200–400 ha Dipteryx seed survival was negatively related to the number of individuals present in groups of conspecific adult trees. In 1992 a higher proportion of Astrocaryum seedlings survived far from, compared with close to, conspecific adult trees, whilst in 1993 more Dipteryx seedlings survived beneath conspecific adult trees than farther away.

Frugivory and seed dispersal in Cymbopetalum baillonii (Annonaceae) at Los Tuxtlas, Mexico

1988 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosamond Coates-Estrada ◽  
Alejandro Estrada
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Narrow Range ◽  
Fruit Production ◽  
Foraging Activity ◽  
Los Tuxtlas ◽  
Parent Tree ◽  
Adult Trees ◽  
Dispersal Agents ◽  
Fruit Dehiscence

ABSTRACTFruit production, frugivore foraging activity and seed dispersal was studied at 10 Cymbopetalum baillonii (Annonaceae) trees during an entire fruiting season. Fruits dehisced during the first six months of the year offer to potential dispersal agents a package of 8–24 arillate seeds. Insects and fungi, however, killed up to 14% of the seeds potentially available for dispersal before fruit dehiscence. Visitation by 24 species of birds and one mammal to the trees closely followed the availability of arillate seeds. The foraging activity of Peromyscus and Heteromys rodents accounted for ≥ 80% mortality of the seeds deposited under the crown of the parent tree. Among those seedlings that became established under the crown mortality was ≥ 90% after 12 months. Seeds dispersed under conspecific fruiting trees experienced intense predation by vertebrates. Field experiments showed that seeds and seedlings planted ≥ 30 m away from adult trees survived significantly longer than those planted under the crown and at distances ≤ 30 m. An unequivocal advantage to dispersal away from the tree and under allospecific trees was evident from the data. A very narrow range of frugivores (N = 8 species) accounted for the quality component of dispersal services to the trees. The tree with the lowest animal visitation and fruit crop was the most efficient in the dispersal of its seeds.

scholarly journals Irrigation with Activated Water Promotes Root Growth and Improves Water Use of Winter Wheat

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 2459
Author(s):  
Guoqing Zhao ◽  
Beibei Zhou ◽  
Yan Mu ◽  
Yanhui Wang ◽  
Yuqi Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Winter Wheat ◽  
Root System ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Brackish Water ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Oxidation Treatment ◽  
Grain Yields ◽  
Hydroponic Cultivation

Magnetic or oxidation treatment of irrigation water can promote the transport of water and nutrients by the root system, improve the efficiency of water and fertilizer use and potentially increase yields. Hydroponic and field experiments were conducted to explore how irrigation with magnetized and/or oxidized water affects grain yield and water-use efficiency (WUE) in winter wheat with an emphasis on physiological changes in the root system. Hydroponic cultivation of winter wheat with pure groundwater and brackish water included the following treatments: control group (CK−G, CK−B); magnetization (GM, BM); oxidation (GO, BO); and the combination of magnetization and oxidation (G(M+O), B(M+O), G(O+M), B(O+M)). Field experiments only tested irrigation with various types of groundwater, including the control group (IG), magnetization treatment (IGM), oxidation treatment (IGO), and the combination of the two treatment methods (IG(M+O), IG(O+M)). Hydroponic cultivation revealed that the magnetic treatment and oxidation of both groundwater and brackish water can significantly improve the root vigor of winter wheat, i.e., improvements of 100.5–253.7% and 100.4–213.9% were seen in the groundwater and brackish treatment groups, respectively, relative to the control group. The root length density (RLD) of wheat increased by 67.6% (GM), 79.4% (GO), 7.5% (BM), and 40.0% (BO) relative to the respective control groups (CK−G and CK−B). Moreover, the root weight density (RWD) for BO and B(O+M) treatments improved significantly (66.7% and 55.4%, respectively) relative to CK−B. The maximal increases in root surface area density (RSD) were observed in treatments GO and B(O+M), which showed values 125% and 100%, respectively, higher than what was measured for the control groups. The root/shoot ratios of the GO and G(O+M) treatments improved significantly (by 75.3% and 62.0%, respectively) relative to CK−G. The results of field experiments showed that wheat in the IGO and IG(O+M) plots absorbed more water from the soil than wheat in the of IG plots (increases of 13.9% and 16.9%, respectively). Furthermore, the IGO and IG(O+M) treatments produced significantly higher grain yields and WUE than the IG plots, with IGO producing the maximum yield (11.7 × 103 kg ha−1) and IG(O+M) the highest observed WUE (30.3 kg ha−1 mm−1). Hence, the research provides clear evidence that the irrigation of winter wheat with magnetized and/or oxidized water can increase grain yields and WUE.

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