Analysis of aerodynamic and electrostatic sensing in mechanoreceptor arthropod hairs

Palmer, Ryan; Chenchiah, Isaac V.; Robert, Daniel

doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2021.110871

Cited by 8 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…As shown in [ 22 ], when both the aerodynamic and electrostatic hair responses are considered, variation in hair length may lead to increased sensitivity and specificity within either modality. When arrays of hairs are considered, the benefits of different hair lengths become more apparent in both the collective capacity to detect certain stimuli (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A mechanosensory hair is typically modelled as an inverted linear pendulum, with the hair acting as a rigid rod [ 6 , 9 , 11 , 22 ]. Hair motion is influenced by several of its features, such as length, shape and the properties of the viscoelastic socket membrane [ 38 , 39 ], which lead to the oscillator parameters S (kg m 2 s −2 ) (the restoring/spring constant), R (kg m 2 s −1 ) (the torsional resistance/damping constant) and I (kg m 2 ) (the moment of inertia) [ 11 ].…”

Section: Electrostatic Sensing With N Hairsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All scripts used in this study are openly accessible through . The data are provided in the electronic supplementary material [ 43 ].…”

Section: Data Accessibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This leads to questions about electromechanical sensing through arrays of hairs, and over a whole body. Thus far, studies on electrical sensing have solely focused on the mechanisms of individual hairs [13,22]. By contrast, there are several studies of mechanosensory hair responses to aerodynamic and acoustic stimuli as singlets, arrays and whole systems (as singlets: spider trichobothria [23][24][25][26], cricket cercal hairs [27,28]; as arrays: spider trichobothria [10], cricket cercal hairs [12,29]; as whole systems: cricket cercal sensors [30,31]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The mechanics and interactions of electrically sensitive mechanoreceptive hair arrays of arthropods

Palmer

Chenchiah

Robert

2022

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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Recent investigations highlight the possibility of electroreception within arthropods through charged mechanosensory hairs. This discovery raises questions about the influence of electrostatic interaction between hairs and surrounding electrical fields within this sensory modality. Here, we investigate these questions by studying electrostatic coupling in arrays of hairs. We establish the notion of sensitivity contours that indicate regions within which point charges deflect hairs beyond a given threshold. We then examine how the contour’s shape and size and the overall hair behaviour change in response to variations in the coupling between hairs. This investigation unveils synergistic behaviours whereby the sensitivity of hairs is enhanced or inhibited by neighbouring hairs. The hair spacing and ratio of a system’s electrical parameters to its mechanical parameters influence this behaviour. Our results indicate that electrostatic interaction between hairs leads to emergent sensory properties for biologically relevant parameter values. The analysis raises new questions around the impact of electrostatic interaction on the current understanding of sensory hair processes, such as acoustic sensing, unveiling new sensory capabilities within electroreception such as amplification of hair sensitivity and location detection of charges in the environment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Electrostatic Sensing With N Hairsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All scripts used in this study are openly accessible through . The data are provided in the electronic supplementary material [ 43 ].…”

Section: Data Accessibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The mechanics and interactions of electrically sensitive mechanoreceptive hair arrays of arthropods

Palmer

Chenchiah

Robert

2022

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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“…Given the above morphological and mechanical features, we consider the hairs as a linear inverted pendulum (as is common in the literature, e.g. [11,17,18,29]). A hair’s motion is governed byIhθ¨hfalse(tfalse)+Rhθ˙hfalse(tfalse)+Shθhfalse(tfalse)=−τhfalse(tfalse),where τ h ( t ) [kg m 2 s −2 ] is the torque on the hair from external forces F [N m −1 ] acting perpendicular to the hair’s position r h such thatτh=falsefalse|boldrh×Ffalsefalse|.Equation (3.1) describes a linear oscillator with moment of inertia I h [kg m 2 ] depending on the hair geometry (i.e.…”

Section: Morphology and Mechanics Of Mechanoreceptor Hairsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An analysis of time-varying dynamics in electrically sensitive arthropod hairs to understand real-world electrical sensing

Palmer

O’Reilly

Carpenter

et al. 2023

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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With increasing evidence of electroreception in terrestrial arthropods, an understanding of receptor level processes is vital to appreciating the capabilities and limits of this sense. Here, we examine the spatio-temporal sensitivity of mechanoreceptive filiform hairs in detecting electrical fields. We first present empirical data, highlighting the time-varying characteristics of biological electrical signals. After which, we explore how electrically sensitive hairs may respond to such stimuli. The main findings are: (i) oscillatory signals (elicited by wingbeats) influence the spatial sensitivity of hairs, unveiling an inextricable spatio-temporal link; (ii) wingbeat direction modulates spatial sensitivity; (iii) electrical wingbeats can be approximated by sinusoidally modulated DC signals; and (iv) for a moving point charge, maximum sensitivity occurs at a faster timescale than a hair’s frequency-based tuning. Our results show that electro-mechanical sensory hairs may capture different spatio-temporal information, depending on an object’s movement and wingbeat and in comparison with aero-acoustic stimuli. Crucially, we suggest that electrostatic and aero-acoustic signals may provide distinguishable channels of information for arthropods. Given the pervasiveness of electric fields in nature, our results suggest further study to understand electrostatics in the ecology of arthropods and to reveal unknown ecological relationships and novel interactions between species.

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Aerial electroreception

Robert

2024

Current Biology

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Analysis of aerodynamic and electrostatic sensing in mechanoreceptor arthropod hairs

Cited by 8 publications

References 39 publications

The mechanics and interactions of electrically sensitive mechanoreceptive hair arrays of arthropods

The mechanics and interactions of electrically sensitive mechanoreceptive hair arrays of arthropods

An analysis of time-varying dynamics in electrically sensitive arthropod hairs to understand real-world electrical sensing

Aerial electroreception

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