Extending the vibroscape to agroecosystems: investigating the influence of abiotic factors and monitoring insect vibrational signaling

Imane Akassou; Livia Zapponi; Vincenzo Verrastro; Marco Ciolli; Valerio Mazzoni

doi:10.7717/peerj.14143

Extending the vibroscape to agroecosystems: investigating the influence of abiotic factors and monitoring insect vibrational signaling

PeerJ. 2022 Nov 17:10:e14143. doi: 10.7717/peerj.14143. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Imane Akassou^{1

2}, Livia Zapponi², Vincenzo Verrastro³, Marco Ciolli^{1

4}, Valerio Mazzoni²

Affiliations

¹ DICAM Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Trento, Italy.
² Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all'Adige, Trento, Italy.
³ CIHEAM-IAMB-International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies, Bari, Italy.
⁴ C3A Centre Agriculture Food Environment, University of Trento, Trento, Italy.

Abstract

Environmental conditions are crucial factors that influence communication systems and affect animal behavior. Research in the field of biotremology has improved our understanding of insect behavior, ecology, and evolution. However, the interactions between vibrational signaling and environmental factors are less studied, mainly because of technical issues faced in field trials. We therefore developed and tested an approach to investigate the effect of abiotic factors on insect vibrational signaling and explored its implementation as a monitoring tool for insect vibrational signals, using a vineyard as an agroecosystem model. Our results showed a significant decrease in insect signaling activity during unsuitable conditions of high temperature and wind velocity. We determined for the first time, the daily signaling pattern of the two insect pests, Scaphoideus titanus and Halyomorpha halys, in natural conditions. Biotremology techniques could be profitably used to monitor not only the presence of target pest species but also the biodiversity associated with vibrational signaling insects. In particular, the method implemented in this study could be used as a tool to compare the quality of cultivated areas under different management systems.

Keywords: Abiotic factors; Vibrational signals; Vibroscape; Vineyard.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Behavior, Animal
Ecology
Heteroptera*
Insecta*
Vibration

Grants and funding

This research was supported by CURE-XF, an EU-funded project, coordinated by CIHEAM Bari (H2020-Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions-Research and Innovation Staff Exchange. Reference number: 634353). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.