Influences of electric fields on insects
Influences of electric fields on insects
The investigations presented in this thesis have contributed to understanding how insects respond to friction charged surfaces and static electric fields, why these responses occur, and their impacts on insect fitness. Using the cockroach Periplaneta americana and the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as models, the results show that insects avoid friction charged surfaces and static electric fields, and avoidance is dependent on field strength.
Computer field modelling software and high-speed video illustrated that electric fields exert forces on cockroach sensory appendages, notably the antennae, causing passive antennal movement. A combination of behavioural bioassays and electrophysiology studies identified exteroceptors on the bas of the antennae, specifically on the scalpel hair plate, as the primary means by which cockroaches detect state electric fields and evoke avoidance. The antennae as a whole, and mechanoreceptors located on other appendages, may be responsible for detecting static electric fields of higher magnitudes. Static electric fields also evoked behavioural changes in free-moving cockroaches, specifically klino- and orthokinesis, and a preference for regions containing no static electric fields was exhibited. By investigating these behavioural responses and examining life-history traits, it was concluded that long-term static electric field exposure may not impact the fitness of cockroaches or Drosophila. It remains possible, however, that field strengths higher than those used in this study may detrimentally affect insects. The findings presented here have furthered current understanding of the influence of electric fields on insects and provide the basis for further work to be carried out within pure and applied research remits.
University of Southampton
Hunt, Edmund Peter
55d7b709-e0eb-4a5c-a80f-adfa541a15f4
2007
Hunt, Edmund Peter
55d7b709-e0eb-4a5c-a80f-adfa541a15f4
Hunt, Edmund Peter
(2007)
Influences of electric fields on insects.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
The investigations presented in this thesis have contributed to understanding how insects respond to friction charged surfaces and static electric fields, why these responses occur, and their impacts on insect fitness. Using the cockroach Periplaneta americana and the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as models, the results show that insects avoid friction charged surfaces and static electric fields, and avoidance is dependent on field strength.
Computer field modelling software and high-speed video illustrated that electric fields exert forces on cockroach sensory appendages, notably the antennae, causing passive antennal movement. A combination of behavioural bioassays and electrophysiology studies identified exteroceptors on the bas of the antennae, specifically on the scalpel hair plate, as the primary means by which cockroaches detect state electric fields and evoke avoidance. The antennae as a whole, and mechanoreceptors located on other appendages, may be responsible for detecting static electric fields of higher magnitudes. Static electric fields also evoked behavioural changes in free-moving cockroaches, specifically klino- and orthokinesis, and a preference for regions containing no static electric fields was exhibited. By investigating these behavioural responses and examining life-history traits, it was concluded that long-term static electric field exposure may not impact the fitness of cockroaches or Drosophila. It remains possible, however, that field strengths higher than those used in this study may detrimentally affect insects. The findings presented here have furthered current understanding of the influence of electric fields on insects and provide the basis for further work to be carried out within pure and applied research remits.
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Published date: 2007
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Local EPrints ID: 466123
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/466123
PURE UUID: efadc61a-93b4-4c19-b1a0-33b1655d49b8
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Date deposited: 05 Jul 2022 04:24
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 20:31
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Author:
Edmund Peter Hunt
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