The Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change

is a research museum of the Leibniz Association

Why are some nocturnal rainforest crickets so insensitive to the echolocation calls of insectivorous bats?

Date: 
Mon, 11/05/2018 - 5:15pm
Meeting point: 
Poppelsdorfer Schloss
Location: 
Lecture hall
Event type: 
Lecture
Event series: 
Colloquium on evolution and biodiversity
Target group: 
Studierende
Lecturer: 
Prof. Dr. Heiner Römer, Institute of Zoology, Karl- Franzens-University Graz

For almost any nocturnal insect on the wing one of the most important group of predators are insectivorous bats, through their ability to detect their prey by echolocation.

These insects have ears to detect the ultrasonic calls of bats, and initiate evasive behaviours such as dives or flight away from the direction of echolocation calls. In the sensory arms race between predator and prey the most important parameter appears to be the detection distance of predator or prey, giving significant advantage for a catch or escape with a larger detection distance.

In my talk I report behavioural and neuronal data of rainforest cricket species which seem to ignore the rule and have surprisingly high thresholds in their response to bat calls. I will show that under the high background noise of the nocturnal rainforest this is nevertheless adaptive.
 

Contact person

Head of Section
+49 228 9122-241
+49 228 9122-295
h.waegele [at] leibniz-zfmk.de

Biologisches Kolloquium

Prof. Dr. A. Blanke
Institut für Evolutionsbiologie und Ökologie
An der Immenburg 1, 53121 Bonn

 

Prof. Dr. A. Suh
Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversitätswandels, Museum Koenig Bonn
Adenauerallee 160, 53113 Bonn

 

Ort: Großer Hörsaal, Poppelsdorfer Schloß oder online via ZOOM

Zeit: montags, 17.15 Uhr

 

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