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Eavesdropping behavior and sound localization: Lessons from a small auditory specialist

窃听行为和声音定位：小型听觉专家的经验教训

基本信息

批准号：
2054636
负责人：
Ximena Bernal
金额：
$ 63.14万
依托单位：
Purdue University
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2021
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2021-07-01 至 2024-06-30
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2054636&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
Eavesdropping behavior sound localization Lessons

项目摘要

Being able to localize sound sources is critical for animals to respond to stimuli in their environment. Indeed, identifying the location from where sound originates is often relevant for successfully finding mates, acquiring food and escaping predators. Determining where a sound is produced, however, is no simple task or fully understood. For animals that hear with their antennae, for instance, it is unclear how they can identify the location of a sound. In addition, due to physical and biological reasons, the challenge of localizing a sound source is particularly difficult for small organisms. Given that many organisms that use their antennae to hear are small, it is thus particularly puzzling how they can achieve accurate sound localization. By investigating mosquitos that eavesdrop on the calls of frogs to attack them, the researchers will examine the behavior and underlying neurophysiological mechanisms of small animals that hear with their antennae. This work will reveal the sensory strategies associated with highly sensitive, small ears that allow mosquitos to exploit the communication system of frogs. These findings will increase our understanding of how small animals can pinpoint where a sound is produced which has implications for developing small, artificial hearing sensors. In addition, as part of this project, a team of diverse, young scientists will be trained in cutting-edge techniques in acoustics, animal behavior and neurophysiology. A variety of outreach activities for the community in general will be performed to generate interest and enthusiasm about animal behavior and, more generally, the nature of science.In this proposal, the researchers will address the challenge of sound localization by small organisms using flagellar ears by investigating a frog-biting mosquito (Uranotaenia lowii). In this species, females are interspecific eavesdroppers specialized on using frog calls to obtain blood meals to support egg production. This species provides a highly tractable system in which multiple levels of analysis (ethological, acoustical, biomechanical, and neurophysiological) can be integrated to comprehensively investigate sound localization in the context of eavesdropping behavior. Three essential aspects of sound localization will be examined. First, the phonotaxis behavior of frog-biting mosquitoes to natural variation in the calls they exploit will be investigated. The localization accuracy and behavioral rules followed by mosquitoes approaching frog calls will be determined. In part 2, the ability of mosquitoes to localize sound will be related to the biomechanical response of the antennae. The movement of the antenna individually, and as a paired system, in response to sounds broadcast at different azimuth will be examined. Finally, in part 3, the neurophysiological mechanism allowing encoding information about sound source location will be determined. The results of parts 2 and 3 will provide proximate explanations of behaviors observed in the wild and carefully characterized in part 1. Ultimately, this work will determine critical adaptations for sound localization providing insights about the sensory ecology of eavesdropping in frog-biting mosquitoes. Overall, this research will increase our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the use of flagellar ears providing insights about how sound localization challenges are overcame by tiny organisms.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

能够定位声源对于动物对环境中的刺激做出反应至关重要。事实上，确定声音来源的位置通常与成功找到配偶，获得食物和逃避捕食者有关。然而，确定声音是在哪里产生的并不是一项简单的任务，也不是完全理解的。例如，对于用触角听声音的动物来说，目前还不清楚它们如何识别声音的位置。此外，由于物理和生物原因，定位声源的挑战对于小型生物体来说特别困难。考虑到许多使用触角进行听觉的生物体都很小，因此它们如何实现精确的声音定位特别令人困惑。通过调查蚊子窃听青蛙的叫声来攻击它们，研究人员将研究小动物的行为和潜在的神经生理学机制，这些小动物用它们的触角来听。这项工作将揭示与高度敏感的小耳朵相关的感官策略，这些耳朵允许蚊子利用青蛙的通信系统。这些发现将增加我们对小动物如何精确定位声音产生位置的理解，这对开发小型人工听觉传感器具有重要意义。此外，作为该项目的一部分，一个多元化的年轻科学家团队将接受声学，动物行为和神经生理学方面的尖端技术培训。为了激发人们对动物行为以及科学本质的兴趣和热情，将开展各种面向社区的外展活动。在这项提案中，研究人员将通过调查一种咬青蛙的蚊子（Uranotaenia lowii）来解决小生物使用鞭毛耳朵进行声音定位的挑战。在这个物种中，雌性是种间窃听者，专门利用青蛙的叫声来获得血液来支持产卵。该物种提供了一个高度易处理的系统，其中可以集成多个层次的分析（行为学，声学，生物力学和神经生理学），以全面调查窃听行为背景下的声音定位。声音定位的三个基本方面将被检查。首先，将研究蛙叮咬蚊子对它们利用的叫声的自然变化的趋声行为。将确定蚊子接近青蛙叫声的定位精度和行为规律。在第二部分中，蚊子定位声音的能力将与触角的生物力学反应有关。将研究天线单独和作为成对系统响应于在不同方位角广播的声音的运动。最后，在第三部分中，将确定允许编码关于声源位置的信息的神经生理机制。第2部分和第3部分的结果将为在野外观察到的行为提供近似的解释，并在第1部分中仔细描述。最终，这项工作将确定声音定位的关键适应性，为叮咬青蛙的蚊子的窃听感官生态学提供见解。总的来说，这项研究将增加我们对鞭毛耳使用机制的理解，提供关于微小生物如何克服声音定位挑战的见解。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。