https://www.int-res.com/articles/meps/207/m207p225.pdf

Marine chemical ecology

Chemical cues constitute much of the language of life in the sea. Our understanding of biotic interactions and their effects on marine ecosystems will advance more rapidly if this language is studied and understood. Here, I review how chemical cues regulate critical aspects of the behavior of marine organisms from bacteria to phytoplankton to benthic invertebrates and water column fishes. These chemically mediated interactions strongly affect population structure, community organization, and ecosystem function. Chemical cues determine foraging strategies, feeding choices, commensal associations, selection of mates and habitats, competitive interactions, and transfer of energy and nutrients within and among ecosystems. In numerous cases, the indirect effects of chemical signals on behavior have as much or more effect on community structure and function as the direct effects of consumers and pathogens. Chemical cues are critical for understanding marine systems, but their omnipresence and impact are inadequ...

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Marine chemical ecology: chemical signals and cues structure marine populations, communities, and ecosystems.

Pheromones and other kinds of chemical communication underlie the behavior of all animals Building on the strengths of the first edition, widely recognized as the leading text in the subject, this is a comprehensive overview of how pheromones work Extensively revised and expanded to cover advances made over the last ten years, the book offers a thorough exploration of the evolutionary and behavioral contexts of chemical communication along with a detailed introduction to the molecular and neural basis of signal perception through olfaction At a time of ever increasing specialization, Wyatt offers a unique synthesis, integrating examples across the animal kingdom A final chapter critically considers human pheromones and the importance of olfaction to human biology Its breadth of coverage and readability make the book an unrivaled resource for students and researchers in a range of fields from chemistry, genetics, genomics, molecular biology and neuroscience to ecology, evolution and behavior

Pheromones and Animal Behavior: Chemical Signals and Signatures

This manuscript reviews the chemical ecology of two of the major aquatic animal models, fish and crustaceans, in the study of chemoreception. By necessity, it is restricted in scope, with most emphasis placed on teleost fish and decapod crustaceans. First, we describe the nature of the chemical world perceived by fish and crustaceans, giving examples of the abilities of these animals to analyze complex natural odors. Fish and crustaceans share the same environments and have evolved some similar chemosensory features: the ability to detect and discern mixtures of small metabolites in highly variable backgrounds and to use this information to identify food, mates, predators, and habitat. Next, we give examples of the molecular nature of some of these natural products, including a description of methodologies used to identify them. Both fish and crustaceans use their olfactory and gustatory systems to detect amino acids, amines, and nucleotides, among many other compounds, while fish olfactory systems also detect mixtures of sex steroids and prostaglandins with high specificity and sensitivity. Third, we discuss the importance of plasticity in chemical sensing by fish and crustaceans. Finally, we conclude with a description of how natural chemical stimuli are processed by chemosensory systems. In both fishes and crustaceans, the olfactory system is especially adept at mixture discrimination, while gustation is well suited to facilitate precise localization and ingestion of food. The behaviors of both fish and crustaceans can be defined by the chemical worlds in which they live and the abilities of their nervous systems to detect and identify specific features in their domains. An understanding of these worlds and the sensory systems that provide the animals with information about them provides insight into the chemical ecology of these species.

/pdf/neural-processing-perception-and-behavioral-responses-to-1gayuda5l5.pdf

Neural Processing, Perception, and Behavioral Responses to Natural Chemical Stimuli by Fish and Crustaceans

Publisher Summary This chapter compares collective decisions in hives and in ant nests by relating the properties of recruiting signals to the foraging strategies displayed by these two insect societies. It describes the main positive and negative feedbacks that help foragers self-regulate their activities according to environmental constraints and opportunities. Even though honeybees and ants share a similar recruitment scenario, the nature of their recruiting signals, as well as the ways information about food patches is conveyed to nestmates, differ greatly. In honeybees, tactile signals rule many aspects of recruitment, whereas chemical communication is the backbone of collective foraging in ants. The chapter emphasizes the intimate link that relates the mode of locomotion of one species to the media chosen to communicate information about food resources. In particular, it demonstrates that the distinct properties of chemical and tactile signals match the environmental constraints faced either by ant individuals on the ground or by honeybees in the air. By referring to other group-living arthropods, the chapter addresses generic issues about information processing, its dissemination among conspecifics and the emergence of cooperative behavior.

Collective Decision-Making and Foraging Patterns in Ants and Honeybees

Caribbean spiny lobsters display a diversity of social behaviors, one of the most prevalent of which is gregarious diurnal sheltering. Previous research has demon- strated that shelter selection is chemically mediated, but the source of release and the identity of the aggregation signal are unknown. In this study, we investigated the source and specificity of the aggregation signal in Caribbean spiny lobsters, Panulirus argus. We developed a relatively rapid test of shelter choice in a 5000-l laboratory flume that simulated flow conditions in the spiny lobster's natural environment, and used it to examine the shelter preference of the animals in response to a variety of odorants. We found that both males and females associated preferentially with shelters emanating conspecific urine of either sex, but not with shelters emanating seawater, food odors, or the scent of a predatory octopus. These results demonstrate specificity in the cues mediating sheltering behavior and show that urine is at least one source of the aggregation signal.

Scott P. Nickles

Papers

Source and Specificity of Chemical Cues Mediating Shelter Preference of Caribbean Spiny Lobsters (Panulirus argus)