Insects modify mating behavior in anticipation of storms

Reduced courtship prior to high wind, rain may aid insects' survival

2013-10-03

(Press-News.org) Insects modify calling and courting mating behavior in response to changes in air pressure, according to results published October 2 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Ana Cristina Pellegrino and José Maurício Bento, University of São Paulo, and colleagues from other institutions. The bugs' ability to predict adverse weather conditions may help them modify their mating behavior during high winds and rain, reducing risk of injury or even death.

Researchers studied mating behavior changes in the curcurbit beetle, the true armyworm moth, and the potato aphid under falling, stable, and increasing air pressure conditions. When researchers measured the male beetles' response to female sex pheromones under the different conditions, they found a significant decrease in pheromone response when air pressure fell compared to stable or increasing pressure. Furthermore, 63% of males started copulating faster in the presence of females during dropping atmospheric pressure, a condition associated with high rains and winds. By contrast, under stable or rising air pressure conditions, all males showed full courtship behavior.

Additionally, the amount that female armyworm moths and potato aphids showed mate-attracting behavior was also measured under the three atmospheric conditions. The female armyworms' calling was reduced during decreasing air pressure, but the potato aphid showed reduced calling during both decreasing and increasing air pressure, two conditions that can occur with high winds. In both cases, reduced calling went hand-in-hand with reduced mating behavior. Bento explains, "The results presented show that three very different insect species all modify aspects of their sexual behaviour in response to changing barometric pressure. However, there is a great deal of interspecific variability in their responses that can be related to differences in size, flight ability and the diel periodicity of mating."

### (adapted from material provided by University of São Paulo)

Citation: Pellegrino AC, Peñaflor MFGV, Nardi C, Bezner-Kerr W, Guglielmo CG, et al. (2013) Weather Forecasting by Insects: Modified Sexual Behaviour in Response to Atmospheric Pressure Changes. PLoS ONE 8(10): e75004. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0075004

Financial Disclosure: Funders: INCT Semioquímicos na Agricultura, FAPESP, CNPq, NSERC and CFI. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interest Statement: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

PLEASE LINK TO THE SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT (URL goes live after the embargo ends): http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0075004

Disclaimer: This press release refers to upcoming articles in PLOS ONE. The releases have been provided by the article authors and/or journal staff. Any opinions expressed in these are the personal views of the contributors, and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of PLOS. PLOS expressly disclaims any and all warranties and liability in connection with the information found in the release and article and your use of such information.

About PLOS ONE: PLOS ONE is the first journal of primary research from all areas of science to employ a combination of peer review and post-publication rating and commenting, to maximize the impact of every report it publishes. PLOS ONE is published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS), the open-access publisher whose goal is to make the world's scientific and medical literature a public resource.

All works published in PLOS ONE are Open Access. Everything is immediately available—to read, download, redistribute, include in databases and otherwise use—without cost to anyone, anywhere, subject only to the condition that the original authors and source are properly attributed. For more information about PLOS ONE relevant to journalists, bloggers and press officers, including details of our press release process and our embargo policy, see the everyONE blog at http://everyone.plos.org/media.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Depression may increase your risk of Parkinson's disease

2013-10-03

MINNEAPOLIS -- People who are depressed may have triple the risk of developing Parkinson's disease, according to a study published in the October 2, 2013, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. "Depression is linked in other studies to illnesses such as cancer and stroke," said study author Albert C. Yang, MD, PhD, with Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan. "Our study suggests that depression may also be an independent risk factor for Parkinson's disease." Researchers analyzed the medical records of 4,634 ...

Scientists find insect DEET receptors, develop safe alternatives to DEET

2013-10-03

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Insects are repelled by N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide, also known as DEET. But exactly which olfactory receptors insects use to sense DEET has eluded scientists for long. Now researchers at the University of California, Riverside have identified these DEET-detecting olfactory receptors that cause the repellency — a major breakthrough in the field of olfaction. Further, the team of researchers has identified three safe compounds that mimic DEET and could one day be used to prevent the transmission of deadly vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, ...

International study shows efficacy of new gastric cancer drug

2013-10-03

Barcelona, 03 October 2013. This international trial, published in The Lancet, is one of the largest phase III trials in second-line treatment of gastric cancer. Standard care for advanced gastric cancer, known as first-line treatment, is based on chemotherapy, but it only offers a median survival of 8 to 10 months. The trial investigated the use of ramucirumab, an antibody developed to treat solid tumours that targets Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 (VEGFR-2), a key receptor in the angiogenesis process. It showed that ramucirumab effectively inhibits a ...

Newly identified biomarkers help predict outcome in deadly lung disease

2013-10-03

New Haven, Conn. – A Yale-led study has identified a gene expression profile that can predict outcomes and lead to better treatment for one of the most lethal lung diseases, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The study appears in Science Translational Medicine. IPF causes progressive scarring of the lungs, leading to cough, shortness of breath, and potentially death. In most cases, the cause cannot be identified, and there is no cure other than a lung transplant. While some patients experience a progressive course that leads to death within one to two years, others ...

Long-term cognitive impairment too common after critical illness

2013-10-03

Patients treated in intensive care units across the globe are entering their medical care with no evidence of cognitive impairment but oftentimes leaving with deficits similar to those seen in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) or mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) that persists for at least a year, according to a Vanderbilt study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study, led by members of Vanderbilt's ICU Delirium and Cognitive Impairment Group, found that 74 percent of the 821 patients studied, all adults with respiratory failure, cardiogenic ...

High-dose statins reduce gum inflammation in heart disease patients

2013-10-03

WASHINGTON (Oct. 2, 2013) — Statins, commonly prescribed medications for lowering cholesterol, also reduced inflammation associated with gum disease in a new study published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The study suggests that steps taken to reduce gum disease may also reduce inflammation in the arteries and vice versa. "Periodontal disease is characterized by chronic gum inflammation and affects approximately 50 percent of the U.S. adult population," said Ahmed Tawkol, MD, co-director of the Cardiac Imaging Trials Program at Massachusetts ...

McMaster lab develops new tuberculosis vaccine

2013-10-03

Hamilton, ON (Oct. 2, 2013) -- A tuberculosis vaccine developed at McMaster University offers new hopes for the global fight against tuberculosis. "We are the first to have developed such a vaccine for tuberculosis," said Dr. Fiona Smaill, professor and chair of the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster. She led the phase one clinical study published today in the journal Science Translational Medicine. The vaccine, based on a genetically modified cold virus, was developed in the lab of Zhou Xing, professor ...

In spectrum of ACL injury treatment, new study reveals cost savings for those who need surgery

2013-10-03

Rosemont, Ill – In late summer and early fall when youth and college sports begin, it's a similar refrain: a star on the varsity basketball team tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and is out for the season after surgery. A college football game stopped as a defensive safety hobbles off the field with an ACL injury. Annually in the U.S., more than 200,000 ACL injuries are reported, often by active young adult and adolescent athletes, though they can occur at any age. Depending on the severity of the injury, treatment may include rehabilitation or surgery and rehabilitation, ...

Specialized intestinal cells cause some cases of Crohn's disease

2013-10-03

Scientists have discovered that Crohn's disease, the inflammatory bowel disorder, can originate from specialised intestinal cell type called Paneth cells. As such, they propose that small intestinal Crohn's disease might be a specific disorder of this cell type, providing a possible new target for treatments. The study, by researchers from the University of Cambridge and Harvard University, was published today in the journal Nature. "If we are able to break down Crohn's disease into subsets by understanding the underlying mechanisms, which we have done here, we hope to ...

Red wine chemical remains effective against cancer after the body converts it

2013-10-03

A chemical found in red wine remains effective at fighting cancer even after the body's metabolism has converted it into other compounds. This is an important finding in a new paper published in the journal Science Translational Medicine by Cancer Research UK-funded researchers at the University of Leicester's Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine. The paper reveals that resveratrol – a compound extracted from the skins of red grapes – is not rendered ineffective once it is metabolised by the body. This is an important development, as resveratrol is ...

Insects modify mating behavior in anticipation of storms

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: