Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/27578
Title: Egg Dispersal in the Phasmatodea: Convergence in Chemical Signaling Strategies Between Plants and Animals?
Contributor(s): Stanton, Anthony O (author); Dias, Daniel A (author); O'Hanlon, James C  (author)orcid 
Publication Date: 2015-08
Early Online Version: 2015-08-06
DOI: 10.1007/s10886-015-0604-8
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/27578
Abstract: Numerous tree species' seeds contain an 'elaiosome' that acts as a food reward for ants and thus induces dispersal of the seeds. Many stick and leaf insect species appear to have evolved a convergent adaptation for dispersal whereby the egg 'capitulum' serves to induce ants to pick up and carry their eggs. Here, we investigated whether the capitulum facilitates egg dispersal by ants in the Australian stick insect Eurycnema goliath. The total fatty acid composition of E. goliath egg capsules and egg capitula were characterized to identify potential signaling compounds. Removing capitula from E. goliath eggs significantly reduced the likelihood of eggs being carried into the nests of Rhytidoponera metallica ants. Furthermore, attaching capitula to inert objects (polystyrene balls) resulted in these objects being carried into nests by R. metallica. Several fatty acids were present on the egg capsule surface in only trace amounts, whereas they made up over 10% of the dry weight of egg capitula. The fatty acid composition of egg capitula consisted mostly of palmitic acid (C16:0), linoleic acid (C18: 2n6c), oleic acid (C18:1n9c), linolenic acid (C18:3n3), and stearic acid (C18:0). Previously reported research has found that a diglyceride lipid species of oleic acid induces carrying behavior in R. metallica when added to inert artificial stimuli. Therefore, we propose that the dispersal mechanism of E. goliath eggs has converged upon the same chemical signaling pathway used by plants to exploit ant behavior.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Journal of Chemical Ecology, 41(8), p. 689-695
Publisher: Springer New York LLC
Place of Publication: United States of America
ISSN: 1573-1561
0098-0331
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 060899 Zoology not elsewhere classified
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: 310999 Zoology not elsewhere classified
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 960806 Forest and Woodlands Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: 180606 Terrestrial biodiversity
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article
School of Environmental and Rural Science

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