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Phototaxis and polarotaxis hand in hand: night dispersal flight of aquatic insects distracted synergistically by light intensity and reflection polarization

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Abstract

Based on an earlier observation in the field, we hypothesized that light intensity and horizontally polarized reflected light may strongly influence the flight behaviour of night-active aquatic insects. We assumed that phototaxis and polarotaxis together have a more harmful effect on the dispersal flight of these insects than they would have separately. We tested this hypothesis in a multiple-choice field experiment using horizontal test surfaces laid on the ground. We offered simultaneously the following visual stimuli for aerial aquatic insects: (1) lamplit matte black canvas inducing phototaxis alone, (2) unlit shiny black plastic sheet eliciting polarotaxis alone, (3) lamplit shiny black plastic sheet inducing simultaneously phototaxis and polarotaxis, and (4) unlit matte black canvas as a visually unattractive control. The unlit matte black canvas trapped only a negligible number (13) of water insects. The sum (16,432) of the total numbers of water beetles and bugs captured on the lamplit matte black canvas (7,922) and the unlit shiny black plastic sheet (8,510) was much smaller than the total catch (29,682) caught on the lamplit shiny black plastic sheet. This provides experimental evidence for the synergistic interaction of phototaxis (elicited by the unpolarized direct lamplight) and polarotaxis (induced by the strongly and horizontally polarized plastic-reflected light) in the investigated aquatic insects. Thus, horizontally polarizing artificial lamplit surfaces can function as an effective ecological trap due to this synergism of optical cues, especially in the urban environment.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Judit Csaba, Judit Horváth, Bence Kovács, Erika Mihaliczku, Barbara Palombi, Renáta Tóth, Zsuzsanna Urbán and Vivien Viski (University of Debrecen, Hungary) for their extensive help during our field experiment. Gábor Horváth is grateful to the German Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for the 3-month research fellowship 3.3-UNG/1073032 STP from 1 June to 31 August 2013 in the University of Regensburg.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Tisza River Research, MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Bem tér 18/c, Debrecen, 4026, Hungary

    Pál Boda

  2. Environmental Optics Laboratory, Department of Biological Physics, Physical Institute, Eötvös University, Pázmány sétány 1, Budapest, 1117, Hungary

    Gábor Horváth & Miklós Blahó

  3. Group for Methodology of Biology Teaching, Biological Institute, Eötvös University, Pázmány sétány 1, Budapest, 1117, Hungary

    György Kriska

  4. Danube Research Institute, MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Alkotmány út 2-4, Vácrátót, 2163, Hungary

    György Kriska

  5. Department of Hydrobiology, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Pécs, Ifjúság útja 6, Pécs, 7624, Hungary

    Zoltán Csabai

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  1. Pál Boda
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Correspondence to Pál Boda.

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Communicated by: Sven Thatje

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Boda, P., Horváth, G., Kriska, G. et al. Phototaxis and polarotaxis hand in hand: night dispersal flight of aquatic insects distracted synergistically by light intensity and reflection polarization. Naturwissenschaften 101, 385–395 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-014-1166-2

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