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DTSTAMP:20240329T113104Z
UID:https://www.bi.mpg.de/events/26346/2855
DTSTART:20210121T130000Z
DTEND:20210121T140000Z
CLASS:PUBLIC
CREATED:20201027T125624Z
DESCRIPTION:Crickets use sound to find each other space over which potentia
l mates can sense each other is determined by the loudness of song and the
sensitivity of the auditory system. According to the textbooks\, this spa
ce is enhanced purely ‘passively’ through morphology and mechanical re
sonance. Song producting wings and females ears resonate at the same frequ
ency enhancing the size of their acoustic space. But some crickets didn’
t read the textbook. In this talk\, I will present my research on Oecan
thus henryi which is one such species. O. henryi is a tree cric
ket\, and males of this species use an active behavioural strategy to make
themselves louder. They manufacture an acoustic baffle\, a tool that make
s them louder. In fact\, using a series of models and experiments\, we sho
wed that not only do they manufacture a tool\, but they manufacture an opt
imal tool. Not to be outdone\, we found that O. henryi females\, ha
ve an active physiological amplification system in their ears. Using caref
ul neurobiology we show that the amplifier doesn’t actually make them mo
re sensitive than other crickets\, as previously speculated. Rather\, it a
llows them to change the frequency that they are sensitive to. What is eve
n more remarkable is that this amplification is acheived through the activ
ity of only a handful of motors protein. Both findings underline the pover
ty of our descriptions of invertebrate behaviour and biophysics\, and poin
t to a wealth of innovations yet to be discovered even among these ‘simp
le’ organisms.\nVortragende(r): Dr. Natasha Mhatre
LAST-MODIFIED:20201123T124059Z
LOCATION:Seewiesen\, Raum: Online
ORGANIZER:Dr. Holger Goerlitz
SUMMARY:Talk Natasha Mhatre\, Seewiesen: Natasha Mhatre\, Western Univer
sity\, London\, Ontario\, CA: An insect that uses a tool to sing and a
n amplifier to hear
URL:https://www.bi.mpg.de/events/26346/2855
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