| Title: | Olfaction in a viscous environment: the 'color' of sexual smells in Temora longicornis |
| Author(s): | Hinow P; Strickler JR; Yen J; |
| Address: | "Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, 53201, USA. hinow@uwm.edu. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, 53201, USA. Marine Science Institute, University of Texas, Port Aransas, TX, 78373, USA. School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA" |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s00114-017-1465-5 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1432-1904 (Electronic) 0028-1042 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "We investigate chemical aspects of mating in the marine copepod Temora longicornis (Copepoda, Calanoidea). Our emphasis is the female pheromone signaling in form of well-defined trails for males to follow, observed in Doall et al. (Phil Trans R Soc Lond B 353:681-689, 1998). The viscous environment and the properties of the odorants play important roles as the spread of the pheromone trail limits the time during which it is useful for tracing. A key observation from our earlier work is the ability of a searching male to detect the direction of the female and to correct its swimming direction if necessary. We propose a simple mathematical model for the spread of a pheromone from a moving source and carry out numerical simulations of two possible detection mechanisms. We find that a searching agent that is capable to detect a ratio outperforms a searcher that depends on the gradient of a single compound. This suggests that copepod sex pheromones consist of blends of chemical compounds, and that a ratio detection mechanism similar to that in airborne insects is at work" |
| Keywords: | "Animals Color Copepoda/*physiology Female Male Models, Biological Sensation/physiology Sex Attractants/chemistry/*metabolism Sexual Behavior, Animal/*physiology Swimming Viscosity Water/chemistry Animal behavior Mathematical modeling Olfaction;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineHinow, Peter Strickler, J Rudi Yen, Jeannette eng Germany 2017/05/13 Naturwissenschaften. 2017 Jun; 104(5-6):46. doi: 10.1007/s00114-017-1465-5. Epub 2017 May 11" |
