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Beetle-robot hybrid interaction: sex, lateralization and mating experience modulate behavioural responses to robotic cues in the larger grain borer Prostephanus truncatus (Horn).
Biological Cybernetics ( IF 1.9 ) Pub Date : 2020-07-31 , DOI: 10.1007/s00422-020-00839-5
Donato Romano 1, 2 , Giovanni Benelli 3 , Nickolas G Kavallieratos 4 , Christos G Athanassiou 5, 6 , Angelo Canale 3 , Cesare Stefanini 1, 2
Affiliation  

Ethorobotics, a new fascinating field of biorobotics, proposes the use of robotic replicas as an advanced method for investigating animal behaviour. This novel research approach can also encourage the development of advanced bioinspired robots. In the present study, we investigated the pushing behaviour, a particular display occurring in several beetle species, such as the larger grain borer, Prostephanus truncatus, during both male–female and male–male contexts. We developed a robotic apparatus actuating female and male-mimicking dummies to study if sex, mating experience and asymmetries of robotic cues can modulate the escalation of pushing behaviour. Results showed that the time needed by P. truncatus to react to female-smelling biomimetic dummies was chiefly affected by their mating experience and the dummy odour. This was likely due to reduce waste of costly sperm in mated males during the subsequent sexual interactions. The pushing behaviour was performed longer and with a higher number of acts when virgin females were approached from their right side. More and longer pushing acts were noted when virgin males were approached from their left side. Dedicated neural circuits would likely act in opposite direction in females and males producing population-level lateralized sensory-motor displays, which may be evolved to promote male approaches from the left side of females, thus improving short-distance sex recognition. Overall, this study provides new insights on the behavioural ecology of stored-product beetles, as well as on self-organization and decentralized decision making that can be exploited to develop bioinspired algorithms for task optimization, involving real-world scenarios.



中文翻译:

甲虫-机器人混合互动:性别、侧化和交配经验调节对较大谷物螟 Prostephanus truncatus (Horn) 中机器人线索的行为反应。

Ethorobotics 是生物机器人学的一个新领域,它建议使用机器人复制品作为研究动物行为的先进方法。这种新颖的研究方法还可以鼓励先进的仿生机器人的开发。在本研究中,我们调查了在雄性-雌性和雄性-雄性环境中发生在几种甲虫物种中的特殊表现,例如较大的螟虫Prostephanus truncatus。我们开发了一种机器人装置,可以驱动女性和男性模仿假人,以研究性别、交配经验和机器人线索的不对称性是否可以调节推动行为的升级。结果表明,P. truncatus所需的时间对雌性仿生假人的反应主要受它们的交配经验和假人气味的影响。这可能是由于在随后的性互动中减少了交配雄性精子的浪费。当从右侧接近处女女性时,推动行为的时间更长,动作次数也更多。当从左侧接近处女雄性时,会注意到越来越长的推动行为。专用神经回路可能会在雌性和雄性中以相反的方向作用,产生群体水平的侧向感觉运动显示,这可能会进化为促进男性从女性左侧接近,从而提高短距离性别识别。总体而言,这项研究提供了关于贮藏甲虫的行为生态学的新见解,

更新日期:2020-07-31
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