The biophysics of aerial electroreception in arthropods

节肢动物空中电接收的生物物理学

• 批准号: BB/T003235/1
• 负责人: Daniel Robert
• 金额: $ 86.17万
• 依托单位: University of Bristol
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FT003235%2F1
• 关键词: biophysics; aerial; electroreception; arthropods

We recently discovered that bumblebees can detect and learn about the electric fields that arise when they approach a flower. A weak electric field indeed builds up as bumblebees, like other flying insects, tend to be positively charged, and flowers tend to have an excess of negative charges - electrons. Using experiments that teach bee to recognize flowers with sugar rewards, it was possible to show that bee can memorise which flower contains sugar rewards on the sole basis of the flower's electric field. New evidence shows that spiders can also use electric fields; this time to fly! We could indeed show in the lab and in the field, that spiders perform ballooning flights by casting in the air several strands of their finest silk. As the spider stands on its tiptoes on top a tall grass or leaf, their silk sail experiences an uplifting force from the electrostatics in the atmosphere. Interestingly, we could show that ballooning takes also place in the total absence of wind, solving a question that Charles Darwin asked himself as he observed thousands of tiny spiders alighting the riggings of his ship, the Beagle.Bumblebees are quite furry, a coat deemed useful to staying warm and collecting pollen. We wondered whether fine hairs can react to electric forces. We first imagined that bees may experience something similar to the hair-raising sensation we used to have when approaching an old television set. For bees and spiders, we measured the tiny hair movements as they are exposed to electric fields like those found in nature, using a fine beam of laser light. We thus discovered that bees and spiders have dedicated sensors -fine hairs- to detect weak electric fields. But do other insects detect electric fields, and why? We have chosen to study an important group of insects - beetles because they play crucial roles in global ecology and allow us to investigate other reasons why small insect may use electric fields. We have chosen ladybird larvae and dock beetles because they have distinct rows of fine hairs on their backs, the function of which is currently unknown. We hypothesise that negatively charged leaf dwelling insects use these hairs to electrically detect positively charged approaching flying predators and parasitoids, such as wasps and flies. In the field, we have observed that ladybird and dock beetle larvae react to the presence of an electric charge approaching them. We note that ladybird larvae have well-organized rows of hair tufts, the function of which is unknown. Here, we seek to establish whether the detection of electric field also pertains to predator or prey detection, functions that go beyond that of pollination and that is relevant to many insect species that play important roles in ecosystems and agriculture.Weak electric fields are pervasive in the natural environment, but apparently, are not sensed by humans. Our work also aims at increasing our awareness, shaping a better understanding of the electric environment, our electric ecology. Our research project therefore serves to developing new ways to measure and understand the existence of this potentially important component of the sensory ecology of humans, animals and plants. We will be collecting data and producing visual media that will make visible this thus far elusive part of the natural world. We will employ our novel electrical measurement and visualisation techniques, learning from the way small insects detect weak electric fields. Using 3D printing techniques, we will model, design and construct insect-like hair structures made of electrically chargeable plastics. This bio-inspired approach will contribute to the long-term impacts of this research. As such, our research will also provide scientific information enabling more general questions about the possible impacts of man-made electric fields on humans, the environment and the organisms supporting important ecological networks and services.

我们最近发现，熊蜂可以检测并了解它们接近花朵时产生的电场。与其他飞行昆虫一样，大黄蜂往往带有正电荷，而花朵则往往带有过量的负电荷（电子），因此确实会形成微弱的电场。通过教蜜蜂识别带有糖奖励的花朵的实验，可以证明蜜蜂可以仅根据花朵的电场记住哪朵花含有糖奖励。新证据表明蜘蛛也可以利用电场；这次要飞！我们确实可以在实验室和现场展示，蜘蛛通过在空中抛出几股最细的丝来进行气球飞行。当蜘蛛踮起脚尖站在高高的草或树叶上时，它们的丝帆会受到大气中静电的提升力。有趣的是，我们可以证明热气球在完全无风的情况下也会发生，解决了查尔斯·达尔文在观察数以千计的小蜘蛛落在他的小猎犬号船的索具上时问自己的一个问题。大黄蜂毛茸茸的，一种被认为有助于保暖和收集花粉的外套。我们想知道细小的毛发是否会对电力产生反应。我们首先想象蜜蜂可能会经历类似于我们过去在接近旧电视机时所经历的令人毛骨悚然的感觉。对于蜜蜂和蜘蛛，我们使用细激光束测量了它们暴露在自然界中存在的电场中时的微小毛发运动。因此，我们发现蜜蜂和蜘蛛有专用的传感器——细毛——来检测微弱的电场。但其他昆虫是否能检测到电场，为什么？我们选择研究一组重要的昆虫——甲虫，因为它们在全球生态中发挥着至关重要的作用，并使我们能够研究小昆虫可能使用电场的其他原因。我们选择了瓢虫幼虫和码头甲虫，因为它们的背上有明显的一排细毛，但其功能目前尚不清楚。我们假设带负电的叶栖昆虫利用这些毛发来检测带正电的接近飞行捕食者和寄生生物，例如黄蜂和苍蝇。在野外，我们观察到瓢虫和码头甲虫幼虫对接近它们的电荷做出反应。我们注意到瓢虫幼虫有排列整齐的毛簇，其功能尚不清楚。在这里，我们试图确定电场的检测是否也与捕食者或猎物检测有关，其功能超出了授粉的范围，并且与在生态系统和农业中发挥重要作用的许多昆虫物种相关。弱电场在自然环境中普遍存在，但显然人类无法感知。我们的工作还旨在提高我们的意识，更好地了解电力环境和电力生态。因此，我们的研究项目致力于开发新的方法来测量和理解人类、动物和植物感官生态中这一潜在重要组成部分的存在。我们将收集数据并制作视觉媒体，使迄今为止难以捉摸的自然世界部分变得可见。我们将采用新颖的电气测量和可视化技术，学习小昆虫检测微弱电场的方式。使用 3D 打印技术，我们将建模、设计和构建由可充电塑料制成的类似昆虫的毛发结构。这种仿生方法将有助于这项研究的长期影响。因此，我们的研究还将提供科学信息，以解决有关人造电场对人类、环境和支持重要生态网络和服务的生物体可能产生的影响的更普遍的问题。

项目成果

Bumblebee electric charge stimulates floral volatile emissions in Petunia integrifolia but not in Antirrhinum majus.

• DOI: 10.1007/s00114-021-01740-2
• 发表时间: 2021-09-14
• 期刊: Die Naturwissenschaften
• 作者: Montgomery C;Vuts J;Woodcock CM;Withall DM;Birkett MA;Pickett JA;Robert D
• 通讯作者: Robert D

Nomenclature from An analysis of time-varying dynamics in electrically sensitive arthropod hairs to understand real-world electrical sensing

命名法来自对电敏感节肢动物毛发时变动力学的分析，以了解现实世界的电传感

• DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.23726054
• 发表时间: 2023
• 作者: Palmer R

Challenges in coupling atmospheric electricity with biological systems.

• DOI: 10.1007/s00484-020-01960-7
• 发表时间: 2021-01
• 期刊: International journal of biometeorology
• 影响因子: 3.2
• 作者: Hunting ER;Matthews J;de Arróyabe Hernáez PF;England SJ;Kourtidis K;Koh K;Nicoll K;Harrison RG;Manser K;Price C;Dragovic S;Cifra M;Odzimek A;Robert D
• 通讯作者: Robert D

Observed electric charge of insect swarms and their contribution to atmospheric electricity.

• DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105241
• 发表时间: 2022-11-18
• 期刊: ISCIENCE
• 影响因子: 5.8
• 作者: Hunting, Ellard R.;O'Reilly, Liam J.;Harrison, R. Giles;Manser, Konstantine;England, Sam J.;Harris, Beth H.;Robert, Daniel
• 通讯作者: Robert, Daniel

Single Hair Analysis from The mechanics and interactions of electrically sensitive mechanoreceptive hair arrays of arthropods

节肢动物电敏机械感受毛发阵列的力学和相互作用的单根毛发分析

• DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.19307222
• 发表时间: 2022
• 作者: Palmer R