Pheromones (Behavioural) Flashcards
1
Q
What was the species from which the first pheromone receptor was sequenced?
A
Achlya (water mold)
2
Q
Who coined the term pheromone?
A
Peter Karlson and Martin Lusher
3
Q
Who was the scientist who isolated bombykol?
A
Adolf Butenandt
4
Q
Where are the female scent sacs located on a silkworm moth?
A
On her posterior abdomen
5
Q
What behaviour is exhibited by male silkworm moths following a pheromone trail?
A
Wing flutterring
6
Q
What kind of pheromone does a female silkworm moth release to produce wing fluttering behaviour in male moths?
A
Attractant
7
Q
Why do males exhibit fluttering behaviour in response to bombykol?
A
To keep the bombykol flowing across sensory receptors on their antennae – to get it to pass through all the branches
8
Q
Pheromones are exclusive to these kinds of organisms
A
None! Not sure about archaea, but in bacteria, plants, and animals
9
Q
Describe the behaviour of the bacterium Streptomyces faecilis when they come into contact with nutrients
A
S. faecilis is present on the biofilm of teeth, thye are clumped together even in the absence of nutrients due to the presence of an aggregation pheromone. When your teeth encounter nutrients (after a meal), the bacteria start producing a mating pheromone and they start mating.
10
Q
What pheromones are released by the water mold Allomyces?
A
Sirenin and Parisin
11
Q
How do male Allomyces locate a female in response to an attractant pheromone?
A
They use temporal sampling: move then sample, like playing a game of hot and cold
Have sensory receptors on anterior and posterior ends to do this sampling
12
Q
What is the purpose of male Allomyces parisin?
A
Break down sirenin so that temporal sampling can continue – do not want receptors to become saturated
13
Q
Describe alarm pheromone behaviour in the sea anemones Anthopleura
A
Shaggy seamouse eats a little bit of their tentacles, sea anemones release Anthropleurine (alarm pheromone).
Seamouse can’t break down anthropleurine, release it back into the environment continuously
Any nearby sea anemones will be alerted to the presence of the predator and will retract their tentacles
14
Q
Describe what will happen to a Navanax slime trail if it encounters danger
A
Navanax slime trails are normally clear, but when they encounter danger they secrete an avoidance alarm pheromone which turns the trail yellow. If another Navanax following the original trail detects the alarm pheromone, it will veer off the trail to avoid the danger
Sunlight erases the alarm pheromone trails, because it would not be useful for the signal to persist
15
Q
Describe the pheromone behaviour of Lumbricus terrestris earthworms
A
Release an alarm pheromone which some predators (ex. quails) find repulsive – indicates to the predator that the earthworm might be infected
Some predators (ex. garter snakes) can eavesdrop on this pheromone, and can hunt the earthworms. It is thought that maybe that the snakes have a robust immune system and aren’t as susceptible to bacterial infections, and therefore tolerate the “sick” earthworm
16
Q
What distinctive behaviour does the male soybean cyst nematode perform in response to female attractant pheromone? What is the significance of this behaviour?
A
Curling
Significance unknown
17
Q
What happens to male soybean cyst nematodes when you increase the concentration of female attractant pheromone?
A
They become paralyzed
18
Q
Who was responsible for determining that the attractant pheromone of soybean cyst nematodes was concentration dependent?
A
Robin Huetlel
19
Q
In arctic barnacles, where is the source of the settling pheromone?
A
The chitin exoskeleton of adult barnacles: substance leeches out
20
Q
An example of a hatching pheromone in which the embryo signals to the mother is…
A
Estuarine crabs
21
Q
What induces the eggs of the Estuarine crab to signal the hatching pheromone to the mother?
A
Egg mass starts to break down
22
Q
A female dog tick will only release the mounting pheromone if…
A
She has had a blood meal – source of the pheromone is in the host blood
23
Q
What three categories of pheromones are released in the dog tick pheromone hierarchy?
A
Attractant
Mounting
Copulating
24
Q
What are some key characteristics of the dog tick attractant pheromone?
A
Not species specific, volatile
25
What are some key characteristics of the dog tick mounting pheromone?
Not volatile, comes from host (cholesterol oleate)
26
What are some key characteristics of the dog tick copulating pheromone?
Gain species specificity by altering concentrations. Can release multiple fatty acids in different concentrations: alter the plume to gain specificity
27
Describe aggregation behaviour of Fowl ticks (kenya)
In an experiment in which they were trying to make a trap, thought the ticks used guanine as the aggregation pheromone. Turns out when humidity was low (dry), they would aggregate but when humidity was high (wet), they would disperse. This behaviour minimizes water loss
28
Why is the grain mite alarm pheromone also antifungal?
Grain mites compete with fungi for food substrate, helps them out-compete
29
Describe the situations in which grain mites might react to their pheromone beta-acaridian differently
When feeding: will mate in a frenzy
When at rest (not feeding or mating): will act as an aggregation pheromone
30
Which kind of organism has a mutualistic relationship with fungi?
Atta/leafcutter ants: chew up the leaves once they have been cut from the tree in such a way that the tree does not release a toxin, and then feed pulp to the fungus, which the ants can then feed on
31
What is an allelochemical?
Any chemical used for communication (hormones, pheromones, etc)
32
What is a kairomone?
Signals which are "eavesdropped" -- benefit the receiver
33
What is an allomone?
Chemicals which are used for deceit (e.g. mimicry)
34
What is a synomone?
A chemical which benefits the receiver and the sender
35
Beetles touching ants to get them to release their food is an example of a...
Allomone
36
Describe the proposed evolution of pheromones
1. Hormones broken down in excretion, but nobody is able to detect them
2. Spying: Development of a receptor to pheromone. Fitness advantage to males which can detect pheromonal signals of females - know when they are ready to mate BUT: female might not be receptive
3. Communication: Female signals when she is ready to mate: both parties subconsciously aware: fitness advantage to both if both parties are receptive to advances of others
37
Why did male Danaus (butterflies) only produce danaidone when fed certain diets?
Need a specific compound to produce danaidone
38
Describe where pine beetles like to mate and lay eggs
Mate and lay eggs in holes that they have bored into trees by eating their way through the tree
39
The sex of pine beetle which arrives at a tree first depends on...
Whether or not they use polygamy or monogamy
40
When pine beetles are monogamous, which sex arrives at a new tree first?
Females first
41
When pine beetles are polygamous, which sex arrives at a new tree first?
Males first
42
If a colony of bees exceeds 60,000 members, what happens?
Colony reproduces: queen will reproduce and create a new colony
43
Bees have an (annual/perennial) nest
Perennial
44
What 3 kinds of bees are in a colony?
Queen, workers, drones
45
Since all eggs in a colony are laid by the queen, how is a new queen differentiated from a new worker?
Depends on food being fed to the larva: worker bees feed the larvae
46
Queen bees are (haploid/diploid)
Diploid
47
Worker bees are (haploid/diploid)
Diploid
48
Drone bees are (haploid/diploid)
Haploid
49
Which of the bee types are the smallest?
Workers
50
Which bees are male?
Drones
51
Drones are able to locate queen bees 2 ways:
Via pheromones or visually, because they have huge eyes
52
If drones are unsuccessful in mating, what happens to them?
Come back to the colony after mating flight and are tolerated until food supplies get low, then they are stung to death or ceremonially kicked out
53
What are the roles of the queen? (2)
Lays eggs
Runs colony operation with pheromones
54
What are the roles of the drone bees? (2)
Mate with the queen
Keep the colony happy
55
What are the roles of the worker bees? (3)
Perform in-hive tasks like wax work
Guard hive
Forage for food
56
When a new queen is being born, what happens?
Worker bees help the queen burrow out of her little cell
57
Where is the brood located within the hive?
Directly in the middle for maximum protection
58
How do drone bees "keep other bees happy"?
Release a pheromone which keeps the workers from kicking the drones out
59
How does a worker bee move through its tasks as it ages (directionally)
Early life tasks happen near the centre of the nest, later tasks occur towards the periphery
60
What are some early-life worker bee tasks? (1-10 days, 2)
Cleaning, feeding larvae
61
What are some mid-life worker bee tasks? (15-20 days, 2)
Wax work, building cells
62
What are some later life worker bee tasks? (21-35 days, 3)
Foraging, guarding, collecting material goods
63
The bees you see out and about are (mature/immature)
Mature
64
What is propolis? What is its role in the hive?
Sticky substance coating the hive
Bees like to be in tight spaces, also prevents predators from getting into the hive
65
True or false: pheromones from the queen only direct hive activities
False: worker bees, brood, and drones emit pheromones also
66
All bee task behaviour is (learned/innate)
Innate
67
Where is the bee Nasonov gland located?
Anteroposteriorly on the abdomen
68
Where is the bee Koschevnikov gland located?
Posteriorly on the abdomen
69
Where is queen mandibular pheromone secreted from?
The mandibular gland
70
When bees find a profitable food or water source, they emit pheromones from this gland
Nasonov gland
71
What is the main secretion of the Koschevnikov gland?
Alarm pheromones: alert and rally
72
How do Nasonov pheromones vary between colonies?
Slight nuances so that bees can recognize pheromones from their home colony, want to be able to navigate to "home"
73
Some queen pheromones can prevent... (2)
Worker ovary development
New queen rearing
74
How is the temperature of a beehive maintained?
Workers can surround the queen and shimmy, muscle contraction = heat
Workers can also position themselves to fan the queen + increase airflow in the nest to cool it down
75
What is retinue behaviour in bees?
When worker bees collect food, touch and clean and feed the queen
76
How do workers initiate rearing a new queen?
As a queen ages, her pheromone secretions become less potent, workers may stop getting signals and will start rearing a new queen
This effect may also occur if the colony gets so big that the queen's pheromones aren't reaching all the workers
77
When bees are swarming, the queen is releasing a pheromone which sends this message...
Signals for workers to stay near her
78
Why are swarming bees not at risk of stinging humans?
Before they leave the hive they gorge themselves on honey and they are so bloated they can't bend to sting
79
Describe how blister beetles use an Allomone against drone bees
Blister beetles emit pheromones similar to queen attractant pheromones, which they can adjust to cater to different hives. They also position themselves at different preferred flight heights for different kinds of bees. Drone bees pick up on this signal and blister beetles latch on to the bee to be taken back to the nest, where they can continue to parasitize the colony.
80
Which pheromones (2) induce retinue behaviour in worker bees?
QMP and QRP (queen retinue pheromone)
81
When worker bees are emitting an alarm pheromone, what observable behaviour do they perform?
Wing fanning: distribute pheromone to hive-mates
82
What is the worker bee forager pheromone?
Slows the maturation of nurse bees if there are already a lot of foragers so there are not too many individuals performing the same task
83
What is the base molecule of the bee forager pheromone?
Ethyl oleate
84
Secretions from the bee Nasonov gland are...
Citral
85
Describe the drone bee attraction pheromone
Attracts other drone bees to the queen during her mating flight - gives queen bee maximal options for mating
86
If a diploid drone is born, what happens to him?
He is cannibalized
87
What kinds of pheromones are secreted by the brood of a bee colony? (2)
Care pheromones (ensure their own care by worker bees)
Recognition pheromones (nurse bees have to be able to tell worker larvae from drones and pupae)
88
Which kinds of bees are helped out of their cells when they are hatching?
Drones and queens
89
Why is it important for a queen to mark her eggs?
Workers need to ensure all eggs have been laid by the queen, if a worker lays an egg, likely it will be removed from the nest by the other workers
90
Describe undertaking of bees
Dead unhatched bees will be removed from the colony so that microbial growth will be avoided. The bodies secrete oleic acid so nurse bees know to remove the eggs
91
Describe anarchistic bees
Bees which are able to mimic the egg marking pheromone of the queen bee so that she can lay her own eggs
92
How do bees defend themselves from wasps?
Upon detection of an alarm pheromone, bees will collect stinky plant material which is aversive to wasps and place it around the entrances to the nests. Will also place their feces around the entrance to nest because wasps also dislike the odor of bee feces
93
Describe the defense mode of Japanese honey bees in response to a wasp invader
A wasp will enter the nest and kill a honey bee. The bee will release an alarm pheromone and the other workers will swarm around the wasp and vibrate to cook the wasp alive, but the bees can just barely withstand the heat. Reaches temperature of 115 degrees
94
What kind of receptors are on bee antennae? (2)
Mechanoreceptors and chemoreceptors
95
How many segments are required on an bee's antennae for the antennae to be fully functional?
Minimum 3 segments
96
What are the differences between wasps and bees?
1. Diet (bees = pollen + nectar, wasps = carnivorous or omnivorous)
2. Mandibles (bees = probiscis, wasps = chew)
3. Hairs (bees = branched, wasps = straight)
4. Nests (bees = perennial, wasps = annual)
5. Nest architecture (bees = wax comb vertical, wasps = paper cone horizontal)
97
Why are bees hairs branched?
To collect pollen
98
Describe the difference in stingers of bees and wasps?
Bees = larger barbs
Wasps = smoother barbs
99
How do bumble bees trick plants into flowering?
They cut the leaves of the plant so it thinks it is under attack. This induces the plant to flower to pass on its genes before it dies
100
Who invented modern beekeping?
Lorenzo Lanstroth: designed an artificial hive setup which allows us to collect honey without destroying the hive
101
The biggest threats to bee colonies are...
Mites and bears
102
What is shreckstoff?
The name of the alarm pheromone used by european minnows
103
Who in class is associated with the discovery of the alarm pheromone Shreckstoff?
Karl von Frisch
104
Where does Shreckstoff come from in european minnows (source of pheromone)?
From alarm-system cells: when skin is ruptured the cells release their contents into the water creating the alarm pheromone
105
The european minnow alarm pheromone is (stable/unstable) in water
Unstable
106
Which 4 kinds of chemicals used in pheromones will be stable in water?
1. Amino acids (particularly hydrophilic ones)
2. Gonadal steroids
3. Bile acids
4. Prostaglandins
107
Describe the attractant plume of sea lamprey
Larvae produce petromyzonol sulfate (PZS) and allocholic acid (ACA) which comes from the gallbladder and is released in the feces. This attracts adults to a breeding ground: this is a migratory pheromone
When at the breeding ground, males producing sperm (spermeating) emit 2-keto-PZS which attracts ovulating females. It is emit through the males' gills: adult sea lampreys don't have a gallbladder
Pheromone detection by adults happens through the gills
108
Describe the mating behaviour of goldfish, starting at maturation of female eggs
All pheromones in the goldfish start out as hormones and are released as pheromones
Female produces a steroidal sex hormone which causes the maturation of her eggs. When this is released it causes an increase in milt (gametes/sperm) in males
When a females starts releasing prostaglandins (when she ovulates) which function as a male attractant, this causes a behavioural reaction in males: he will start bumping into her a bunch and nuzzling her, this courtship behaviour convinces her to release her eggs so they can be externally fertilized
109
Describe the tadpole Bufo bufo alarm pheromone response
When an alarm pheromone is released, tadpoles grow bigger, faster so that they are harder to be preyed upon
110
The magnificent tree frog attractant pheromone (name) is made of (type of molecule)
Splendipherin, made of amino acids
111
Where does a female red-sided garter snake release her attractant pheromones from?
The back of her neck in the "hinge" region
112
Why does a female garter snake have a large concentration of vitelogenin retelogenin (a pheromone-like molecule) if this is not a pheromone? How could a high concentration of this molecule be useful?
It may be a carrier for the true pheromone - a high concentration of this means you might be able to produce a large amount of eggs the next season
113
How does a shemale terminate its shemale activities?
Producing squalene (the male attraction pheromone)
114
When a female garter snake is impregnated, how does she stop being mobbed?
Emits a "fuck off" pheromone
115
What salivary pheromones do wild boars produce to increase female receptivity to mating?
Androstenone and androstenol
116
Who was the scientist responsible for studying pheromone activity in black-tailed deer?
Muller Schwazer
117
Since mammals (and animals in general) are limited in signaling molecules by organic chemistry, what are 3 modes by proteins can be used by animals to gain specificity?
1. Use as a carrier molecule
2. Recognition by receptor when bound to a protein
3. Use as an on/off switch for a pheromonal response, used to bind to an break down female pheromones
118
What is the Coolidge effect?
If a male is exposed to the same females repeatedly, his interest in mating with them will decline
119
If a juvenile female mouse is exposed to the urine of an adult female mouse, what happens?
Juvenile's puberty is postponed due to the presence of other mating females - population growth control
120
If a juvenile female mouse is exposed to the urine of an adult male mouse, what happens?
Juvenile's puberty is accelerated to be able to mate with present males
121
If an adult female mouse is exposed to the urine of a familiar male mouse, what happens?
Her oestrus is slowed down, no need to mate
122
If an inseminated female mouse is exposed to the urine of an unfamiliar male mouse, what happens?
Bruce effect: pregnancy is terminated
123
Since the pheromones in mouse urine are hydrophobic and in an aqueous environment, they need...
A lipocalin molecule carrier
124
Changes in the presence of pheromones of viable mates in mice alters their light-avoidance behaviour how?
Mice need to mate and exhibit riskier behaviour - will go into the light more to find mates
125
Describe the pheromone hierarchy of golden hamsters
Females release a volatile attractant (dimethyl disulfide) to attract males, they are solitary and have large territories, so volatility necessary
Once present, males will sniff females' genital regions. A mounting pheromone is present in female's vaginal discharge called aphrodisin, without this molecule the male will not mount the female and mate with her
126
Describe aphrodisin
A large protein molecule with low volatility
127
Describe learning behaviour in rabbit pups
When a female gives birth she only is in her nest to feed her young once a day for about 5 minutes, in that time the pups need to latch efficiently
Mom releases a pheromone on her underside so babies learn to react and latch
If you replace the pheromone with something else, the pups will be able to learn to recognize that smell as the mom
128
Describe how tamarins and marmosets use territory marking pheromones
Use scent marks to divide territories and to communicate their health quality, and their individual identity
129
A breeding female primate (like marmosets and tamarins) may emit pheromones which...
Suppress ovulation in other females
130
If female primates which are not the breeding, dominant females are around, what is their role in the social group?
Help care for young, carry young around
131
In an experiment in which MALE axillary pheromone were applied to various female participants, what happened to the menstrual cycles of the participants?
Menstrual cycles balanced: at the beginning, female cycle lengths were all over the place, but towards the end of the experiment, the cycles were all roughly the same length
132
In an experiment in which FEMALE axillary pheromone were applied to various female participants, what happened to the menstrual cycles of the participants?
Only the follicular phase of the cycles were affected: women tended to synchronize in the follicular phase but the other phases of their cycles stayed the same
133
Describe how axillary odor affects mate choice in female humans
One study found that women had a preference for odors which conveyed a healthy array of MHC/HLA alleles
Another study determined that there may be more detail to this: females do want a healthy array of HLA alleles, but may have a preference for ones which she also shares, and has inherited paternally
134
Who was the first person to identify a pheromone receptor in humans back in 2000?
Peter Mombaertz
135
A visual proxy for fitness in humans (not pheromones) is...
Degree of developmental instability: facial symmetry
136
What is evidence that humans may be able to determine age from smells?
Cross-cultural recognition of an "old person smell", newborn smell, etc.
137
In a study where researchers attempted to mask scents from men and women, 2 scents were successful at masking body odor from female sniffers, and 19 were successful in masking odor from male sniffers. This may indicate that...
Scent is more important to women than it is to men: choosier about a mate
138
What is the only example of a releaser pheromone in humans?
Babies will crawl towards a mom's nipple
139
Define a releaser
A pheromone which brings on an immediate behavioural reaction
140
Define a primer
A pheromone which causes a longterm, physiological response
141
Define a modulator
A pheromone which influences emotional state, does not cause an immediate response
142
Define a signaler
A pheromone which provides information, no immediate behavioural response (e.g. identification of conspecifics)
