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Gone With the Wind : The Structure and Function of the Dung Beetle Wind Compass

Author

Summary, in English

Prevailing winds carry seafarers across oceans and guide insects on their journeys. The South African, ball-rolling dung beetle Kheper lamarcki depends on a range of compass cues, including the azimuthal position of the sun and the directed airflow of wind to steer its plotted course. In this thesis, I set out to further our understanding for how these insects benefit from the directional component of the wind, and how this information is combined with the directional information from their solar compass. In Paper I, I verify that the antennae are the sensors that support wind-guided straight-line orientation in the beetles. I further demonstrate that even though a single antenna can support wind-guided straight-line orientation, the wind compass benefits from the pair. In Paper II I proceed to characterise the detailed morphology of the wind sensor itself – the antennal Johnston’s organ. I find that the beetle’s Johnston’s organ shares the characteristic morphology found among other wind-orientating insects. In Paper III, me and my colleagues turn our attention to how dung beetles integrate the directional information given by multiple cues and found that the integration strategy at play is a weighted vector summation, in which the relative influence of each cue on the combined directional signal is given by its relative weight. In Paper IV, we expand on this study and propose that the parameter that determines the weight given to each cue is likely its contrast. Taken together, the work presented in this thesis highlights how the dynamic and adaptable insect compass system can guide the animal on its journey, despite the challenges it may face.

Department/s

Publishing year

2025-04-22

Language

English

Full text

  • - 56 MB

Links

Document type

Dissertation

Publisher

MediaTryck Lund

Topic

  • Natural Sciences

Keywords

  • Wind-guided straight-line orientation
  • Antennae
  • Johnston's organ
  • Cue integration
  • Navigation
  • Dung beetle

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISBN: 978-91-8104-517-8
  • ISBN: 978-91-8104-518-5

Defence date

23 May 2025

Defence time

13:00

Defence place

Blå Hallen, Sölvegatan 37, 223 62 Lund

Opponent

  • Rachel Wilson (Professor)