Institute of Biological Control, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan.
J Chem Ecol. 2022 Jan;48(1):89-98. doi: 10.1007/s10886-021-01331-5. Epub 2021 Nov 15.
Prey can detect the presence of predators by predator-released cues and then flexibly alter their phenotypical traits to mitigate the risk, thus non-consumptive effects emerge. Non-consumptive effects have been widely studied in many ecosystems, however, the mechanisms underlying these effects are poorly understood, leaving questions as to the nature of the risk cues and how prey detect the predator. Here, we used a Y-tube olfactometer to examine whether small brown planthoppers, Laodelphax striatellus (Fallén), could detect the presence of rove beetles (Paederus fuscipes Curtis) via odor from rove beetle abdominal gland secretion. We further identified the chemicals of abdominal gland secretion by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Chemicals identified were exposed to a planthopper to test their effects on planthopper behavior. Female or male planthoppers could distinguish the predation risk odors of rove beetle or rove beetle abdominal gland secretion from odor without predation risks. Through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, sixteen of the most abundant chemicals were found in female and male abdominal gland secretion. Five of them (n-undecane, n-pentadecane, n-hexadecane, n-eicosane, and n-heneicosane) individually or collectively reduced the activity level of planthoppers. These findings enhance our understanding of the role of abdominal gland secretion in mediating non-consumptive predator effects, with significant implications for pest management, and the evolution of chemical signals.
猎物可以通过捕食者释放的线索来检测捕食者的存在，然后灵活地改变它们的表型特征来减轻风险，从而产生非消耗性效应。非消耗性效应已在许多生态系统中得到广泛研究，然而，这些效应的机制仍知之甚少，这使得关于风险线索的本质以及猎物如何检测到捕食者的问题悬而未决。在这里，我们使用 Y 型嗅觉仪来研究小褐飞虱（Laodelphax striatellus）是否可以通过罗纹步甲（Paederus fuscipes Curtis）腹部腺分泌的气味来检测罗纹步甲的存在。我们进一步通过气相色谱-质谱联用仪鉴定了腹部腺分泌的化学物质。将鉴定出的化学物质暴露于飞虱，以测试它们对飞虱行为的影响。雌性或雄性飞虱可以区分罗纹步甲或罗纹步甲腹部腺分泌的捕食风险气味与无捕食风险的气味。通过气相色谱-质谱联用仪，在雌性和雄性腹部腺分泌中发现了十六种最丰富的化学物质。其中五种化学物质（正十一烷、正十五烷、正十六烷、正二十烷和正二十一烷）单独或集体降低了飞虱的活动水平。这些发现增强了我们对腹部腺分泌在介导非消耗性捕食者效应中的作用的理解，对害虫管理和化学信号的进化具有重要意义。
