The role of decision accuracy in the evolution of niche width
Lead Research Organisation:
Newcastle University
Department Name: Sch of Biology
Abstract
Why are some animals generalists and others specialists? Humans are the ultimate generalists, eating thousands of different types of food and making a living in a thousand different ways. Some species of fly are quite the opposite, however, and will spend their entire life living on one single species of plant. The advantages of generalisation seem obvious: an animal that can use everything should have no problems finding food or somewhere to live. The reasons why many millions of economically important animal species such as plant eating insects and many disease-causing parasites are so specialised, however, is less clear. These issues are important because the level of specialisation of an animal is a key factor in its ability to survive environmental change. Recently it has been suggested that specialisation may evolve to avoid confusion. Just as a person interested in sports searching a cluttered TV schedule might focus only on the word 'sport' and filter-out all other information, it is reasoned that an insect flying over a cluttered field of plants might try to focus on a smaller number of plants and become a specialist. Most experimental studies conducted so far do indeed indicate that specialists find it easier to locate and select suitable resources. I recently published a computer modelling study that suggests the conditions in nature in which this neural limitations hypothesis ('specialising to avoid confusion') could work are just the ones actually found in nature. The purpose of this fellowship is to establish just how important the neural limitations hypothesis is in the evolution of specialist animal lifestyles. My published computer model consists of a virtual world where animals search a cluttered environment for appropriate resources using eyes and a sensory system. I train the virtual animals using natural selection to become more specialised and then determine whether their nervous systems become less confused. I will reconstruct this model, this time including virtual noses instead of virtual eyes to look for resources. Modelling smell is important as most specialised animals actually sniff out food rather than looking for it. A 'smell' is also commonly a more complex and confusing signal than a 'sight' and so I predict that the neural limitations hypothesis is especially likely to be important in animals that use smell to locate resources. I will test this prediction with my model and then check to see that I can reproduce my model predictions in a real living system by recreating model simulations in a laboratory microcosm (a 'little world' in the laboratory) using the fruit fly, Drosophila, an animal that uses smell to find food. I will then take the insights I have gained from my computer model of smell and feed these into a more traditional class of model called an evolutionary genetic model that contains assumptions about the genetics of specialisation. This will tell me whether the neural limitations mechanism can drive the specialisation process to completion and even split populations into new species. The project will ultimately help us to better understand specialisation and how animals respond to environmental change. It could also help to protect crops against pests. Intercropping (planting more that one type of crop plant together in a field) is an increasingly popular agricultural method because it appears to lessen pest insect attacks. This reduction in attack could be due to the confusion pests experience in a more complex field environment. By studying how animals become confused we may be able to design intercropping strategies to even better confuse pests and so protect crops in a totally environmentally friendly way.
People |
ORCID iD |
Colin Tosh (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Chapman BB
(2010)
Behavioural consequences of sensory plasticity in guppies.
in Proceedings. Biological sciences
Faria J
(2010)
Leadership and social information use in human crowds
in Animal Behaviour
Lewis HM
(2010)
Constraints on adaptation: explaining deviation from optimal sex ratio using artificial neural networks.
in Journal of evolutionary biology
McDaniel T
(2016)
Novel resistance mechanisms of a wild tomato against the glasshouse whitefly.
in Agronomy for sustainable development
Tosh C
(2014)
Control of tomato whiteflies using the confusion effect of plant odours
in Agronomy for Sustainable Development
Tosh C
(2011)
Experiments with humans indicate that decision accuracy drives the evolution of niche width
in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Tosh CR
(2011)
Which conditions promote negative density dependent selection on prey aggregations?
in Journal of theoretical biology
Tosh CR
(2016)
Can computational efficiency alone drive the evolution of modularity in neural networks?
in Scientific reports
Tosh CR
(2015)
The relative efficiency of modular and non-modular networks of different size.
in Proceedings. Biological sciences
Description | One particularly useful piece of research work I am involved in involves 'confusing' whiteflies on tomato by blowing numerous additional host plant volatiles over them when feeding. I have shown that this disrupts the phloem location behaviour of these insect pests. In the long term I am looking at the potential for these results to be developed into a useable pest management strategy. I have also modelled the evolution of niche specialisation when trade-offs exist in both plant preference and plant related performance. This is a new modelling framework for the evolution of niche specialisation and model output indicates that the ecological conditions required for the evolution of niche specialisation may be more relaxed than previously thought. |
Exploitation Route | Pest management The whitefly work is being developed in association with Stockbridge Technology Centre |
Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink |
Description | A couple of recent papers have had a good deal of press. Go here: http://crtosh1.wix.com/colintosh#!project04/c7xw |
First Year Of Impact | 2015 |
Sector | Other |
Impact Types | Societal |
Description | BBSRC-CASE Application |
Organisation | Rothamsted Research |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | This is an application for a BBSRC-CASE PhD studentship, decision due December. |
Collaborator Contribution | Rothamsted will doe chemical identification. Stockbridge will help with glasshouse trials. |
Impact | None yet. |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | BBSRC-CASE Application |
Organisation | Stockbridge Technology Centre |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | This is an application for a BBSRC-CASE PhD studentship, decision due December. |
Collaborator Contribution | Rothamsted will doe chemical identification. Stockbridge will help with glasshouse trials. |
Impact | None yet. |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | Confusing insect plant pests |
Organisation | Research Councils UK (RCUK) |
Department | School of Biology, Newcastle University, and Stockbridge Technology Centre |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | BBSRC CASE studentship with Prof Angharad Gatehouse, Newcastle University, and Dr pat Crof, Stockbridge Technology Centre |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | NERC Responsive application, decision due December |
Organisation | Newcastle University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | This was a NERC responsive application written by me, Dr Mark whittingham, Unicastle University, and Dr Shinichi Nakagawa at the University of Otago |
Collaborator Contribution | Whittingham and Nakagawa advise on quantitative literature analysis |
Impact | None yet. |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | NERC Responsive application, decision due December |
Organisation | University of Otago |
Country | New Zealand |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | This was a NERC responsive application written by me, Dr Mark whittingham, Unicastle University, and Dr Shinichi Nakagawa at the University of Otago |
Collaborator Contribution | Whittingham and Nakagawa advise on quantitative literature analysis |
Impact | None yet. |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | BBC Radio Newcastle interview |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Radio interview to explain new research publication |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | How to confuse whitefly into staying away from your plants |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Daily Telegraph article covering research paper http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/10793994/How-to-confuse-whitefly-into-staying-away-from-your-plants.html How to confuse whitefly into staying away from your plants Whitefly exposed to an overpowering cocktail of cucumber, courgette, watercress, watermelon, cabbage and beans, get confused and give up trying to eat the plants, Newcastle University found |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | How to keep the tomato bugs at bay: Whiteflies are easily distracted by the smell of other vegetables |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Daily Mail article http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2615508/How-tomato-bugs-bay-Whiteflies-easily-distracted-smell-vegetables.html How to keep the tomato bugs at bay: Whiteflies are easily distracted by the smell of other vegetables Scientists at the University of Newcastle clustered plants together Insects struggled to attack tomatoes amongst cucumbers and beans Research suggests |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Public dissemination activities carried out within my research group |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Primary Audience | |
Results and Impact | 17/06/12 - Public Pollinator Survey at Cockle Park Farm 22/07/12 - Mister Bloom's Nursery: Get set Grow! at Ward Jackson Park in Hartlepool 24/07/12 - Pollinator event at Robinson Library to open the pollinator garden 04/08/12 - Annual insect day public bug identification event at Close House 19/08/12 - Moorbank bee festival pollinator information and identification 17/01/13 - Royal Entomological Society Special Interest Group Talk at the NHM on automated camera systems 17/03/13 - Moorbank Nature Party: Insect evolution information Created science school packs for brisitsh Science festival, Available at: http://ideastakeflight.org/?p=874 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Smelly plants could be natural pest control |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | |
Results and Impact | NERC Planet Earth Article http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/news/story.aspx?id=1664 Smelly plants could be natural pest control 30 April 2014, by Harriet Jarlett Bombarding whiteflies with smells from different plants may stop them damaging crops, say scientists trying to understand traditional organic farming techniques. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |