Predator-Prey Interactions: A Multilevel Analysis of the Bat-Moth Arms Race

食虫蝙蝠和它们的猎物之间的相互作用可以被认为是一场进化军备竞赛。蝙蝠进化出复杂的高频声纳，以此来定位飞虫，在太空中追踪它们，并最终吃掉它们。许多夜间活动的昆虫，包括飞蛾，都进化出了声纳探测装置——耳朵——来对抗蝙蝠，耳朵能让昆虫对接近蝙蝠的回声定位叫声发出警报。飞蛾会以盘旋、盘旋和俯冲的形式进行躲避，捕食者和猎物之间会上演令人印象深刻的特技“狗斗”。虎蛾（鳞翅目：虎蛾科）给这场争斗增添了新的变数。虎蛾用一对胸廓结构——鼓膜——发出一系列强烈的超声波咔嗒声来回应蝙蝠。三十多年来，研究人员一直试图确定为什么虎蛾会回应蝙蝠。目前有三种关于声音工作的近似机制的理论。首先，飞蛾发出的声音可能会惊吓蝙蝠，使它们在空战中获得短暂的优势。其次，蝙蝠可能会发出模仿飞蛾回声的声音，但时间不合适，从而干扰蝙蝠复杂的超声波回声定位系统。第三种可能是虎蛾发出一种声音警告，表明它们不是美味的食物，就像昆虫用鲜艳的颜色警告视觉捕食者它们是有毒的一样。这些假设不是相互排斥的，它们可能同时起作用。拟议中的实验将把这三种理论提升到下一个层次——从关于机制的近似问题水平到关于行为进化的终极问题水平。使用两种新颖的方法-学习方法和系统发育方法-将确定鼓鼓的选择优势。在实验室的实验中，蝙蝠与有或没有化学防御或声音的昆虫进行对抗，这将揭示学习如何影响蝙蝠与飞蛾的声音相互作用。然后将使用进化的方法来探索鼓鼓的起源时间、地点和方式，以及为什么它们自起源以来一直保持了数百万年。这些问题的答案不仅将解释蝙蝠虎蛾进化的迷人细节，还将说明一个关键的行为创新是如何使一个大约11,000个物种的进化分支在相对捕食的自由空间中暂时逃离捕食和辐射的。这些实验的结果将通过一个致力于“蝙蝠和虫子”互动的新网站与小学生分享。这些信息也将被添加到与佛罗里达州普莱西德湖附近的阿奇博尔德生物站合作开发的令人兴奋的新生态和环境课程中。

Abstract The interactions of insectivorous bats and their prey can be thought of as an evolutionary arms race. Bats began the race with the evolution of sophisticated, high frequency sonar with which they echolocate flying insects, track them through space, and ultimately eat them. Many nocturnal insects including moths countered with the evolution of sonar detection devices - ears - that alert insects to the echolocation cries of approaching bats. Moths take evasive action in the form of loops, spirals, and power dives and an impressive aerobatic "dog fight" between predator and prey ensues. Tiger moths (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) have added a new twist to the fray. Tiger moths answer bats with a series of intense ultrasonic clicks produced by paired thoracic structures called tymbals. For over thirty years researchers have attempted to determine why tiger moths answer bats. There are currently three theories about the proximate mechanisms by which the sounds work. First, it is possible that moths produce sounds that startle bats, giving them a momentary advantage in aerial combat. Second, bats may jam the sophisticated ultrasonic echolocation system of bats by sending out sounds that mimic moth echoes but with inappropriate timing. The third possibility is that tiger moths send out an acoustic warning that they are not palatable food items, much as insects use bright colors to warn visual predators that they are noxious. These hypotheses are not considered mutually exclusive and they may all work simultaneously. The proposed experiments will take the three theories to the next level - from the level of proximate questions about mechanism to the level of ultimate questions about the evolution of behavior. Using two novel approaches - a learning approach and a phylogenetic approach - the selective advantages of tymbals will be determined. Laboratory experiments in which bats are pitted against insects with and without chemical defenses or sound will reveal how learning has shaped bat-moth acoustic interactions. Cladistic methods will then be used to explore when, where, and how tymbals originated and why they have been maintained for millions of years since their origin. The answers to these question will not only explain the fascinating details of bat-tiger moth evolution, they will also illustrate how a keystone behavioral innovation has allowed a temporary escape from predation and the radiation of a clade of ~11,000 species in relatively predatory free space. The results of these experiments will be shared with grade school children through a new website dedicated to the interactions of "Bats and Bugs". The information will also be added to an exciting new ecological and environmental curriculum being developed in cooperation with the Archbold Biological Station near Lake Placid, Florida.