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Allomone
An allomone (from Ancient Greek ' "other" and pheromone) is a type of semiochemical produced and released by an individual of one species that affects the behaviour of a member of another species to the benefit of the originator but not the receiver. Production of allomones is a common form of defense against predators, particularly by plant species against insect herbivores. In addition to defense, allomones are also used by organisms to obtain their prey or to hinder any surrounding competitors. Many insects have developed ways to defend against these plant defenses (in an evolutionary arms race). One method of adapting to allomones is to develop a positive reaction to them; the allomone then becomes a kairomone. Others alter the allomones to form pheromones or other hormones, and yet others adopt them into their own defensive strategies, for example by regurgitating them when attacked by an insectivorous insect. A third class of allelochemical (chemical used in interspecifi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Semiochemical
A semiochemical, from the Greek wiktionary:σημεῖον, σημεῖον (''semeion''), meaning "signal", is a chemical substance or mixture released by an organism that affects the behaviors of other individuals. Semiochemical communication can be divided into two broad classes: communication between individuals of the same species (intraspecific) or communication between different species (Interspecies communication, interspecific). It is usually used in the field of chemical ecology to encompass pheromones, allomones, kairomones, attractants and Animal repellent, repellents. Many insects, including Parasitoid#Parasitoidal insects, parasitic insects, use semiochemicals. Pheromones are intraspecific signals that aid in finding mates, food and habitat resources, warning of enemies, and avoiding competition. Interspecific signals known as allomones and kairomones have similar functions. In nature Pheromone A pheromone (from Greek ''phero'' "to bear" + ''hormone'' from Gree ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Synomone
A semiochemical, from the Greek σημεῖον (''semeion''), meaning "signal", is a chemical substance or mixture released by an organism that affects the behaviors of other individuals. Semiochemical communication can be divided into two broad classes: communication between individuals of the same species (intraspecific) or communication between different species (interspecific). It is usually used in the field of chemical ecology to encompass pheromones, allomones, kairomones, attractants and repellents. Many insects, including parasitic insects, use semiochemicals. Pheromones are intraspecific signals that aid in finding mates, food and habitat resources, warning of enemies, and avoiding competition. Interspecific signals known as allomones and kairomones have similar functions. In nature Pheromone A pheromone (from Greek ''phero'' "to bear" + ''hormone'' from Greek – "impetus") is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lomamyia Latipennis
''Lomamyia latipennis'' is a species of insect in the family Berothidae. The larvae feed on termites which they subdue with an aggressive allomone. The first instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ... approaches termites and waves the tip of its abdomen near the termites' head. The termite becomes immobile after 1 to 3 minutes, and completely paralyzed very soon after this, although it may live for up to 3 hours. The berothid then feeds on the paralyzed prey. The later instars feed in a similar manner and are able to paralyze multiple termites at the same time. Contact between the termite and the berothid is not necessary for subduing, and other insects present are not affected by the allomone. Adult berothid lacewings are not predatory and feed on nectar like most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bark Beetle
A bark beetle is the common name for the subfamily of beetles Scolytinae. Previously, this was considered a distinct family (Scolytidae), but is now understood to be a specialized clade of the "true weevil" family (Curculionidae). Although the term "bark beetle" refers to the fact that many species feed in the inner bark (phloem) layer of trees, the subfamily also has many species with other lifestyles, including some that bore into wood, feed in fruit and seeds, or tunnel into herbaceous plants. Well-known species are members of the type genus '' Scolytus'', namely the European elm bark beetle ''S. multistriatus'' and the large elm bark beetle ''S. scolytus'', which like the American elm bark beetle ''Hylurgopinus rufipes'', transmit Dutch elm disease fungi (''Ophiostoma''). The mountain pine beetle ''Dendroctonus ponderosae'', southern pine beetle '' Dendroctonus frontalis'', and their near relatives are major pests of conifer forests in North America. A similarly aggressiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chemical Mimicry
Chemical mimicry (also referred to as molecular mimicry) is a type of biological mimicry, involving the use of chemicals to dupe an operator. A chemical mimic dupes an operator (e.g. a predator) by showing an adaptive chemical resemblance to an object of its environment and as a consequence receives selective advantage. In all cases of chemical mimicry it has been found that the mimicking species is the only species to benefit from the reaction with either costs or no effect on the duped species. This is by adapting to produce chemicals (ex: allomones, pheromones, odours, etc.) that will cause a desirable behavioural reaction in the species being deceived and a selective advantage to the mimic. Chemical mimicry exists within many of the different forms of mimicry such as aggressive, protective, Batesian, and Müllerian mimicry and can involve a number of different senses. Mimicking semiochemicals, which cannot be seen, make up some of the most widely used forms of chemical mimicry ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plant Defenses Against Herbivory
Plant defense against herbivory or host-plant resistance (HPR) describes a range of adaptations evolved by plants which improve their survival and reproduction by reducing the impact of herbivores. Plants can sense being touched, and they can use several strategies to defend against damage caused by herbivores. Many plants produce secondary metabolites, known as allelochemicals, that influence the behavior, growth, or survival of herbivores. These chemical defenses can act as repellents or toxins to herbivores or reduce plant digestibility. Another defensive strategy of plants is changing their attractiveness. To prevent overconsumption by large herbivores, plants alter their appearance by changing their size or quality, overall decreasing their consumption rate. Other defensive strategies used by plants include escaping or avoiding herbivores at any time and/or in any place, for example, by growing in a location where plants are not easily found or accessed by herbivores o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kairomone
A kairomone (a coinage using the Greek καιρός ''opportune moment'', paralleling pheromone"kairomone, n.". OED Online. September 2012. Oxford University Press. http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/241005?redirectedFrom=kairomone (accessed 3 October 2012).) is a semiochemical, emitted by an organism, which mediates interspecific interactions in a way that benefits an individual of another species which receives it and harms the emitter. This "eavesdropping" is often disadvantageous to the producer (though other benefits of producing the substance may outweigh this cost, hence its persistence over evolutionary time). The kairomone improves the fitness of the recipient and in this respect differs from an allomone (which is the opposite: it benefits the producer and harms the receiver) and a synomone (which benefits both parties). The term is mostly used in the field of entomology (the study of insects). Two main ecological cues are provided by kairomones; they generally either ind ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Desmodium
''Desmodium'' is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae, sometimes called tick-trefoil, tick clover, hitch hikers or beggar lice. There are dozens of species and the delimitation of the genus has shifted much over time. These are mostly inconspicuous plants; few have bright or large flowers. Though some can become sizeable plants, most are herbs or small shrubs. Their fruit are loments, meaning each seed is dispersed individually enclosed in its segment. This makes them tenacious plants and some species are considered weeds in places. They have a variety of uses. Uses Several ''Desmodium'' species contain potent secondary metabolites that are released into the soil and aerially. Allelopathic compounds are used in agriculture in push-pull technology: ''Desmodium heterocarpon'', ''Desmodium intortum'', and ''Desmodium uncinatum'' are inter-cropped in maize and sorghum fields to repel ''Chilo partellus'', a stem-boring grass moth, and suppress witchweeds, including As ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dasyscolia Ciliata
''Dasyscolia ciliata'' is a species of scoliid wasp found throughout the Mediterranean. It is the only species in the genus ''Dasycolia''. It is the only known pollinator of the European ''Ophrys speculum''. The male wasp is tricked into pollinating the ''Ophrys'' orchid (via pseudocopulation) by mimicking the female wasp in appearance and scent. References External links * Dasyscolia ciliata – Encyclopedia of Life Scoliidae Orchid pollinators Insects described in 1787 Monotypic Hymenoptera genera {{Apocrita-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chemical Ecology
A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., without breaking chemical bonds. Chemical substances can be simple substances (substances consisting of a single chemical element), chemical compounds, or alloys. Chemical substances are often called 'pure' to set them apart from mixtures. A common example of a chemical substance is pure water; it has the same properties and the same ratio of hydrogen to oxygen whether it is isolated from a river or made in a laboratory. Other chemical substances commonly encountered in pure form are diamond (carbon), gold, table salt ( sodium chloride) and refined sugar ( sucrose). However, in practice, no substance is entirely pure, and chemical purity is specified according to the intended use of the chemical. Chemical substances exist as solids ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Behavioral Ecology
Behavioral ecology, also spelled behavioural ecology, is the study of the evolutionary basis for ethology, animal behavior due to ecology, ecological pressures. Behavioral ecology emerged from ethology after Niko Tinbergen outlined Tinbergen's four questions, four questions to address when studying animal behaviors: What are the proximate causes, ontogeny, Adaption, survival value, and phylogeny of a behavior? If an organism has a trait that provides a selective advantage (i.e., has adaptive significance) in its environment, then natural selection favors it. Adaptive significance refers to the expression of a trait that affects fitness, measured by an individual's reproductive success. Adaptive traits are those that produce more copies of the individual's genes in future generations. Maladaptive traits are those that leave fewer. For example, if a bird that can call more loudly attracts more mates, then a loud call is an adaptive trait for that species because a louder bird mates ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allelopathy
Allelopathy is a biological phenomenon by which an organism produces one or more biochemicals that influence the germination, growth, survival, and reproduction of other organisms. These biochemicals are known as allelochemicals and can have beneficial (positive allelopathy) or detrimental (negative allelopathy) effects on the target organisms and the community. Allelopathy is often used narrowly to describe chemically-mediated competition between plants; however, it is sometimes defined more broadly as chemically-mediated competition between any type of organisms. Allelochemicals are a subset of secondary metabolites, which are not directly required for metabolism (i.e. growth, development and reproduction) of the allelopathic organism. Allelopathic interactions are an important factor in determining species distribution and abundance within plant communities, and are also thought to be important in the success of many invasive plants. For specific examples, see black walnut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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