{"title":"The Influence of Substance Properties on Arthropod Chemical Defenses: A Meta-Analysis.","authors":"Ximenes Nathalia, Moraes Vinicius, Rocha Danilo Brito, Gawryszewski Felipe, Willemart Rodrigo","doi":"10.1007/s10886-023-01457-8","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Among defenses against predation, chemical defenses are possibly the most studied. However, when addressing the effectiveness of those chemical defenses, previous studies did not include properties of the chemical substances themselves. Lipophilicity, for instance, may facilitate crossing membranes, and boiling point may define the duration of the substances in the air. Moreover, other variables may also be relevant: the predator taxon; the prey model chosen to conduct experiments; whether the prey is presented grouped or not in experiments; and whether the chemical defense is a mixture of many substances or only one. To understand how those factors influence chemical defenses' effectiveness, we conducted a multilevel meta-analysis with 43 studies (127 effect sizes), accounting for different types of dependence. We used Akaike Information Criterion (AICc) to select the best model. The model with the lowest AICc value included only the boiling point, which defines how quickly a chemical substance volatilizes. This model indicated that the most effective chemical defenses had lower boiling point values, i.e., higher volatility. Moreover, we did not find chemicals with very low boiling points, suggesting there might be an optimum range of volatility. Other models, including the intercept-only model, were also recovered among the best models, therefore further studies are needed to confirm the relationship between volatility and chemical defenses' effectiveness. Our results highlight the value of incorporating physicochemical properties in the ecological and evolutionary study of chemical defense.</p>","PeriodicalId":15346,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Chemical Ecology","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-023-01457-8","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/12/22 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Among defenses against predation, chemical defenses are possibly the most studied. However, when addressing the effectiveness of those chemical defenses, previous studies did not include properties of the chemical substances themselves. Lipophilicity, for instance, may facilitate crossing membranes, and boiling point may define the duration of the substances in the air. Moreover, other variables may also be relevant: the predator taxon; the prey model chosen to conduct experiments; whether the prey is presented grouped or not in experiments; and whether the chemical defense is a mixture of many substances or only one. To understand how those factors influence chemical defenses' effectiveness, we conducted a multilevel meta-analysis with 43 studies (127 effect sizes), accounting for different types of dependence. We used Akaike Information Criterion (AICc) to select the best model. The model with the lowest AICc value included only the boiling point, which defines how quickly a chemical substance volatilizes. This model indicated that the most effective chemical defenses had lower boiling point values, i.e., higher volatility. Moreover, we did not find chemicals with very low boiling points, suggesting there might be an optimum range of volatility. Other models, including the intercept-only model, were also recovered among the best models, therefore further studies are needed to confirm the relationship between volatility and chemical defenses' effectiveness. Our results highlight the value of incorporating physicochemical properties in the ecological and evolutionary study of chemical defense.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Chemical Ecology is devoted to promoting an ecological understanding of the origin, function, and significance of natural chemicals that mediate interactions within and between organisms. Such relationships, often adaptively important, comprise the oldest of communication systems in terrestrial and aquatic environments. With recent advances in methodology for elucidating structures of the chemical compounds involved, a strong interdisciplinary association has developed between chemists and biologists which should accelerate understanding of these interactions in nature.
Scientific contributions, including review articles, are welcome from either members or nonmembers of the International Society of Chemical Ecology. Manuscripts must be in English and may include original research in biological and/or chemical aspects of chemical ecology. They may include substantive observations of interactions in nature, the elucidation of the chemical compounds involved, the mechanisms of their production and reception, and the translation of such basic information into survey and control protocols. Sufficient biological and chemical detail should be given to substantiate conclusions and to permit results to be evaluated and reproduced.