Social and environmental olfactory signals mediate insect behavioral ecology and evolution

摘要: Odors are essential in mediating insect reproductive behavior. Environmental odors help insects locate suitable feeding or egg-laying sites and avoid suboptimal hosts dangerous habitats. Sex pheromones, on the other hand, responsible for mate finding elicit courtship mating. Although pheromones stereotypical behaviors their own, they embedded a background of environmental nature. Using cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis, common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, I studied effect blending environmentally relevant with behavior. For we first developed an attractive volatile blend. We next used this blend to determine physiological DMNT, strong behavioral antagonist, leafworm olfactory system. then blended individual volatiles blends incomplete complete pheromone. The combination pheromone elicits attraction. Deviations from optimum, either by changing composition strongly reduces male S. littoralis I fly study food (vinegar) habitat (yeast) attraction towards pheromones. Starvation affects vinegar produced sexually dimorphic way. describe novel female odorant receptor involved its perception. Finally, show that yeast interact different manner suggesting although is good cue, even presence it not appropriate cue. My findings suggest host function as single unit mediates behavior, rather than components. As such cues mediate under both natural sexual selection simultaneously, which has implications speciation evolution.