Scientists Find First Evidence of Auditory Interaction Between Animals and Plants: Study

A
female
moth
lays
eggs
on
a
leaf.
Tel
Aviv
University

Plants
can
do
amazing
things,
from
converting

carbon
dioxide
into

food
and
oxygen,
to
communicating
with
other
plants,

fungi
and
even

animals.

In
the
first

study
of
its
kind,
scientists
from
Tel
Aviv
University
(TAU)
have
documented
an
acoustic
interaction
between

insects
and
plants.
The
ultrasonic
distress
sounds
emitted
by
plants
were
detected
by
female

moths
who
used
them
to
decide
where
to
lay
their
eggs.

“Insects
rely
on
plants’
visual,
chemical,
tactile,
and
electrical
cues
when
making
various
decisions.
Recently
it
has
been
found
that
plants
emit
ultrasonic
sounds,
which
are
in
the
hearing
range
of
many
moths,
especially
under
dehydration
stress,”
the
authors
of
the
study
wrote.
“We
reveal
evidence
for
a
first
acoustic
interaction
between
moths
and
plants,
but
as
plants
emit
various
sounds,
our
findings
hint
to
the
existence
of
more
currently
unknown
insect-plant
acoustic
interactions.”

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The
researchers
discovered
that
female
moths
prefer
plants
that
are
healthy
and
not
emitting
stress
sounds.
The
ultrasonic
sounds
they
give
off
are
beyond
the
range
of
what
the
human
ear
can
detect,
but
moths
are
able
to
hear
them.

The
research
was
conducted
in
laboratories
run
by
Professor
Lilach
Hadany
from
TAU’s
School
of
Plant
Sciences
and
Food
Security
and
Professor
Yossi
Yovel
from
the
School
of
Zoology.

The
study
followed
another

discovery
published
by
the
research
team
about
two
years
earlier
—
that
plants
under
stress
emit
ultrasonic
sounds
that
are
detectable
by
many
animals
at
frequencies
above
the
range
of
what
humans
can
hear.

“After
proving
in
the
previous
study
that

plants
produce
sounds,
we
hypothesized
that
animals
capable
of
hearing
these
high-frequency
sounds
may
respond
to
them
and
make
decisions
accordingly.
Specifically,
we
know
that
many
insects,
which
have
diverse
interactions
with
the
plant
world,
can
perceive
plant
sounds.
We
wanted
to
investigate
whether
such
insects
actually
detect
and
respond
to
these
sounds,”
Yovel
explained
in
a
press
release
from
TAU.

Hadany
said
the
new
study
focused
on
female
moths,
since
the
researchers
assumed
they
would
look
for
a
healthy,
nourishing
plant
as
the
place
to
lay
their
eggs,
given
that
larvae
feed
once
they
hatch.

“Thus,
when
the
plant
signals
that
it
is
dehydrated
and
under
stress
would
the
moths
heed
the
warning
and
avoid
laying
eggs
on
it?
To
explore
this
question,
we
conducted
several
experiments,”
Hadany
said.

In
their
first
experiment,
the
research
team
aimed
to
isolate
the
auditory
features
of
plants
from
other
components
like
scent
and
color.
They
presented
the
moths
with
two
boxes:
one
silent
and
one
containing
a
speaker
playing
recorded
sounds
of
dehydrated
tomato
plants.

The
moths
clearly
preferred
the
“noisy”
box,
which
demonstrated
they
had
heard
and
responded
to
the
playback
of
plant-emitted
sounds.
When
the
moths’
hearing
organs
were
neutralized,
they
stopped
preferring
either
box
and
chose
both
equally.

In
a
second
experiment,
the
team
presented
the
female
moths
with
a
pair
of
healthy
tomato
plants.
Again,
one
was
silent,
and
the
other
had
a
speaker
playing
drying
plant
sounds.
The
moths
again
demonstrated
a
clear
preference,
but
for
the
silent
plant
this
time,
which
likely
served
as
a
better
place
to
lay
their
eggs.

Another
experiment
involved
the
moths
again
facing
two
boxes:
one
containing
male
moths
—
who
emit
ultrasonic
sounds
of
a
frequency
that
is
similar
to
plant
sounds
—
and
the
other
silent.
The
females
demonstrated
no
preference,
laying
their
eggs
on
both
boxes
equally.

The
researchers
concluded
that
female
moths
respond
specifically
to
sounds
emitted
by
plants
when
choosing
where
to
lay
eggs,
and
not
to
other
sounds,
such
as
those
made
by
male
moths.

“In
this
study,
we
revealed
the
first
evidence
for
acoustic
interaction
between
a
plant
and
an
insect.
We
are
convinced,
however,
that
this
is
just
the
beginning.
Acoustic
interaction
between
plants
and
animals
doubtlessly
has
many
more
forms
and
a
wide
range
of
roles.
This
is
a
vast,
unexplored
field
—
an
entire
world
waiting
to
be
discovered,”
the
researchers
concluded.

The
findings
of
the
study,
“Female
Moths
Incorporate
Plant
Acoustic
Emissions
into
Their
Oviposition
Decision-Making
Process,”
were
published
in
the
journal

eLife.

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