Dissertation Research: Olfactory Modulation of Thermoregulation and Flight in Moths

在动物中，成功的繁殖涉及到合适伴侣的识别和定位，这是一项基本活动，最常见的是通过视觉，嗅觉和声音等感官输入来调节。 该建议解决了嗅觉如何影响昆虫（特别是蛾）飞行的行为决定和随后的飞行表现的问题。 将进行生理测量，以确定雄性响应不同气味输入而开始飞行的温度。 随后在风洞中进行的行为研究将检查这些决定的后果，即男性逆风飞行和定位气味源的能力。从这些研究中，研究人员将获得新的见解，了解不同因素（外部信号，生理状态）在雄蛾进行飞行行为和跟踪呼叫雌蛾释放的气味羽流的“决策”过程中的权重。 就更广泛的影响而言，这项研究使用了一种重要的农业害虫，从拟议的实验中获得的见解可能会导致控制这些昆虫的新方法或改进方法。 此外，犹他州大学为K-12学生和本科生开发的新课堂练习已经在开发中。 选定的本科生也将直接参与进行拟议的实验，从而使他们接触到科学研究。

In animals, successful reproduction involves the identification and location of a suitable partner, an essential activity that is most commonly modulated by sensory inputs such as vision, smell and sound. This proposal addresses the question of how the sense of smell influences behavioral decisions to take flight and subsequent flight performance in insects, specifically moths. Physiological measurements will be made to determine the temperature at which males initiate flight in response to varying odor inputs. Subsequent behavioral studies performed in a wind tunnel will examine the consequences of these decisions in terms of male ability to fly upwind and locate an odor source. From these studies, researchers will gain novel insights into the weighting of different factors (external signals, physiological state) in the "decision-making" process used by male moths to engage in flight behavior and follow odor plumes released by calling females. In terms of broader impacts, this research uses a significant agricultural pest and insights gained from the proposed experiments may lead to novel or improved methods for the control of these insects. In addition, new classroom exercises for K-12 students as well as undergraduate students at the University of Utah are already being developed. Select undergraduate students will also be directly involved in conducting the proposed experiments, thereby exposing them to scientific research.