Abstract
Conventional approaches to measuring animal vibrational signals on plant stems use a single transducer to measure the amplitude of vibrations. Such an approach, however, will often underestimate the amplitude of bending waves traveling along the stem. This occurs because vibration transducers are maximally sensitive along a single axis, which may not correspond to the major axis of stem motion. Furthermore, stem motion may be more complex than that of a bending wave propagating along a single axis, and such motion cannot be described using a single transducer. Here, we describe a method for characterizing stem motion in two dimensions by processing the signals from two orthogonally positioned transducers. Viewed relative to a cross-sectional plane, a point on the stem surface moves in an ellipse at any one frequency, with the ellipse’s major axis corresponding to the maximum amplitude of vibration. The method outlined here measures the ellipse’s major and minor axes, and its angle of rotation relative to one of the transducers. We illustrate this method with measurements of stem motion during insect vibrational communication. It is likely the two-dimensional nature of stem motion is relevant to insect vibration perception, making this method a promising avenue for studies of plant-borne transmission.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bachschmid N, Pennacchi P, Vania A (2004) Diagnostic significance of orbit shape analysis and its application to improve machine fault detection. J Braz Soc of Mech Sci Eng 26:200–208
Barth FG, Geethabali (1982) Spider vibration receptors: threshold curves of individual slits in the metatarsal lyriform organ. J Comp Phys 148:175–185
Barth FG, (1998) The vibrational sense of spiders. In: Hoy RR, Popper AN, Fay RR (eds) Comparative hearing: insects. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 228–278
Brownell PH, Farley RD (1979) Orientation to vibrations in sand by the nocturnal scorpion Paruroctonus mesaensis: mechanisms of target localization. J Comp Phys 131:31–38
Casas J, Magal C (2006) Mutual eavesdropping through vibrations in a host-parasitoid interaction: from plant biomechanics to behavioural ecology. In: Drosopoulos S, Claridge MF (eds) Insect sounds and communication: physiology, behaviour, ecology and evolution. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 263–271
Cocroft RB, Rodríguez RL (2005) The behavioral ecology of insect vibrational communication. Bioscience 55:323–334
Cocroft RB, McNett GD (2006) Vibratory communication in treehoppers (Hemiptera: Membracidae). In: Drosopoulos S, Claridge MF (eds) Insect sounds and communication: physiology, behaviour, ecology and evolution. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 305–317
Cocroft RB, Tieu TD, Hoy RR, Miles RN (2000) Directionality in the mechanical response to substrate vibration in a treehopper (Hemiptera: Membracidae: Umbonia crassicornis). J Comp Phys 186:695–705
Cokl A, Virant-Doberlet M (2003) Communication with substrate-borne signals in small plant-dwelling insects. Annual Rev Entomol 48:29–50
Cremer L, Heckl M, Ungar EE (1973) Structure-borne sound. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York
Kalmring K (1985) Vibrational communication in insects (reception and integration of vibratory information). In: Kalmring K, Elsner N (eds) Acoustic and vibrational communication in insects. Paul Parey, Berlin, pp 127–134
Lee C-W, Han Y-S, Lee Y-S (1997) Use of directional spectra of vibration signals for diagnosis of misalignment in rotating machinery. In: Fifth international congress on sound and vibration. Adelaide, South Australia
Markl H (1983) Vibrational communication. In: Markl H, Huber F (eds) Neuroethology and behavioral physiology. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 332–353
McVean A, Field LH (1996) Communication by substratum vibration in the New Zealand tree weta, Hemideina femorata (Stenopelmatidae: Orthoptera). J Zool Soc Lond 239:101–122
Michelsen A, Fink F, Gogala M, Traue D (1982) Plants as transmission channels for insect vibrational songs. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 11:269–281
Rohrseitz K, Kilpinen O (1997) Vibration transmission characteristics of the legs of freely standing honeybees. Zoology 100:80–84
Virant-Doberlet M, Cokl A (2004) Vibrational communication in insects. Neotropical Entomol 33:121–134
Virant-Doberlet M, Cokl A, Zorovic M (2006) Use of substrate vibrations for orientation: from behaviour to physiology. In: Drosopoulos S, Claridge MF (eds) Insect sounds and communication: physiology, behaviour, ecology and evolution. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 81–97
Yack JE (2004) The structure and function of auditory chordotonal organs in insects. Microsc Res Tech 63:315–337
Acknowledgments
We thank Paul De Luca, Rafael Rodríguez, and Johannes Schul for useful comments on earlier versions of the manuscript, and Raina Cepel for Labview programming. Funding was provided by a Life Sciences Fellowship (GDM), a National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (IOB 0508642 to GDM and RBC) and a National Science Foundation IBN 0318326 to RBC.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McNett, G.D., Miles, R.N., Homentcovschi, D. et al. A method for two-dimensional characterization of animal vibrational signals transmitted along plant stems. J Comp Physiol A 192, 1245–1251 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-006-0153-2
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-006-0153-2