Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
PLoS Biol. 2019 Mar 12;17(3):e3000155. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000155. eCollection 2019 Mar.
Vibrations through substrates are an important source of information for diverse organisms, from nematodes to elephants. The fundamental challenge for small animals using vibrational communication is to move their limited mass fast enough to provide sufficient kinetic energy for effective information transfer through the substrate whilst optimising energy efficiency over repeated cycles. Here, we describe a vibratory organ found across a commercially important group of plant-feeding insects, the planthoppers (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha). This elastic recoil snapping organ generates substrate-borne broadband vibrations using fast, cyclical abdominal motion that transfers kinetic energy to the substrate through the legs. Elastic potential energy is stored and released twice using two different latched energy-storage mechanisms, each utilising a different form of elastic recoil to increase the speed of motion. Comparison to the acoustic tymbal organ of cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadomorpha) reveals functional convergence in their use of elastic mechanisms to increase the efficacy of mechanical communication.
通过基质的振动是从线虫到大象等多种生物的重要信息来源。对于使用振动进行通讯的小动物来说，基本的挑战是使其有限的质量移动得足够快，以便通过基质提供足够的动能，从而有效地传递信息，同时在重复的循环中优化能量效率。在这里，我们描述了一种在商业上重要的植物食性昆虫——叶蝉（半翅目：沫蝉科）中发现的振动器官。这个弹性回弹的拍打器官通过快速的周期性腹部运动产生基质传播的宽带振动，通过腿部将动能传递到基质。弹性势能通过两种不同的闩锁储能机制存储和释放两次，每个机制都利用不同形式的弹性回弹来提高运动速度。与蝉（半翅目：蝉科）的声学鼓膜器官的比较显示，它们在利用弹性机制来提高机械通讯效率方面存在功能上的趋同。
