Acoustic ecology of insect-plant interactions
Cocroft Laboratory
We study the acoustic ecology of insect-plant interactions. Our research areas include how plant feeding insects communicate to solve the challenges of life on a plant, how insects find the source of a plant-borne vibration, and how plants 'hear' their herbivores. We also find ways to make the vibrational world of plants more accessible!
Research
We want to better understand the acoustic world in which insect-plant interactions take place.
The leaves of living plants experience one of the most complex acoustic environments on earth. Leaves exist in a world of vibration: they are moved by wind and rain, they tremble invisibly with every airborne sound, and they vibrate with the activity of the insects and other organisms that live on or in the plant.
Some of the most acoustically creative components of this acoustic symphony are the vibrational mating songs of insects and spiders, which introduce intricate vibrations into plants to attract attention and find a partner. The social signals of group-living insect herbivores allow the insects to make collective decisions about foraging, movement or defense. There are even signals from vertebrates, especially frogs and lizards, that introduce vibrations into plants to communicate with other nearby individuals.
Within this rich tapestry of sound – aptly called the plant’s vibroscape – organisms communicate, produce incidental cues by moving or feeding, or listen for the acoustic signature of key events such as the arrival of predators or prey.
