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Analysis of Odor-Tracking Performance of Silk Moth Using a Sensory-Motor Intervention System
Shunsuke Shigaki1, Noriyasu Ando2, Takeshi Sakurai3
1Principles of Informatics Research Division, National Institute of Informatics, 2-1-2 Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda 101-8430, Tokyo, Japan.
Integrative and Comparative Biology
|June 6, 2023
Summary
Male silk moths use sensory-motor integration for locating females via pheromones. Delays in motor responses did not impact localization success, but sensory delays did, suggesting moths compensate for motor, not sensory, delays.
Area of Science:
- Animal behavior
- Neuroscience
- Sensory-motor integration
Background:
- Animals adapt behavior to environmental cues through sensory-motor integration, crucial for survival and tasks like locating mates.
- Pheromone-guided localization in insects exemplifies complex sensory-motor integration, vital for reproduction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of sensory and motor time delays on the odor plume tracking performance of male silk moths (Bombyx mori).
- To analyze the silk moth's sensory-motor integration strategy and its tolerance to temporal delays in sensory input and motor output.
Main Methods:
- Developed a mobile behavior measurement system to control odor presentation and movement feedback timing.
- Introduced time delays in sensory (odor detection) and motor (movement) responses to assess their effects on localization.
- Analyzed localization success rates and movement patterns (linearity, rotation) under different delay conditions.
Main Results:
- Localization success rate remained high with motor delays but decreased significantly with increasing sensory delays.
- Motor delays resulted in more linear movement, while sensory delays led to increased rotational movements.
- Silk moths compensate for motor delays via odor sensory feedback but not for sensory delays.
Conclusions:
- Sensory-motor integration in silk moths is robust to motor delays but vulnerable to sensory delays.
- The observed behavioral adjustments, including increased rotational movements under sensory delay, suggest a strategy to acquire environmental information.
- This study highlights the critical role of timely sensory information processing in successful pheromone-guided navigation.
