Hay meadow vibroscape and interactions within insect vibrational community
Rok Šturm,
Behare Rexhepi,
Juan José López Díez,
Andrej Blejec,
Jernej Polajnar,
Jérôme Sueur,
Meta Virant-Doberlet
Affiliations
Rok Šturm
Department of Organisms and Ecosystems Research, National Institute of Biology, Večna pot 111, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Večna pot 111, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Behare Rexhepi
Department of Organisms and Ecosystems Research, National Institute of Biology, Večna pot 111, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Večna pot 111, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Juan José López Díez
Department of Organisms and Ecosystems Research, National Institute of Biology, Večna pot 111, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Večna pot 111, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Andrej Blejec
Department of Organisms and Ecosystems Research, National Institute of Biology, Večna pot 111, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Jernej Polajnar
Department of Organisms and Ecosystems Research, National Institute of Biology, Večna pot 111, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Jérôme Sueur
Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, 57 Rue Cuvier, CP 50, 75005 Paris, France
Meta Virant-Doberlet
Department of Organisms and Ecosystems Research, National Institute of Biology, Večna pot 111, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Corresponding author
Summary: Our experiences shape our knowledge and understanding of the world around us. The natural vibrational environment (vibroscape) is hidden to human senses but is nevertheless perceived and exploited by the majority of animals. Here, we show that the vibroscape recorded on plants in a temperate hay meadow is a dynamic low-frequency world, rich in species-specific vibrational signals. The overall vibroscape composition changed throughout the season and also depended on the plant species, as well as on the spatial position of individual plants within the meadow. Within the studied community, vibrationally signaling species sharing this communication channel avoided interference primarily by partitioning vibrational space on a fine temporal scale. The vibroscape is a reliable source of information in the environment and expands our understanding of ecological and evolutionary processes.
