Journal of Chemical Ecology最新文献

{"title":"Cuticular Hydrocarbon Composition of Adhesive Secretions from Functionally Different Attachment Pads of the Stick Insect Medauroidea extradentata (Phasmatodea).","authors":"Julian Thomas, Stanislav N Gorb, Thomas Schmitt, Thies H Büscher, Zsolt Kárpáti","doi":"10.1007/s10886-026-01713-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10886-026-01713-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>During the evolution of insects, two principal types of attachment systems, hairy and smooth, evolved that enable them to attach to and move across diverse surfaces. Both rely on attachment supported by a thin film of fluid that enhances functionality. In some insects, multiple pad types occur on the same leg, each fulfilling complementary roles during attachment. Although their structural and mechanical differences are well understood, the secretion’s chemical composition and its functional implications remain largely unexplored. Stick and leaf insects (Phasmatodea) provide an ideal model to investigate these aspects, as they possess two morphologically and functionally distinct smooth attachment pads on the same tarsus: the pretarsal arolium, responsible for adhesion, and the tarsal euplantulae, specialised for friction. Using polydimethylsiloxane-coated solid-phase microextraction fibres and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, we analysed the hydrocarbon profiles of both pad types and the body surface of Medauroidea extradentata. These data were compared with published profiles from other insect taxa possessing either hairy or smooth attachment systems to place our findings in a broader phylogenetic and functional context. Our analyses revealed distinct hydrocarbon compositions consistent with the specific mechanical roles of each structure. The arolium secretion was enriched with long-chain, methyl-branched hydrocarbons, likely enhancing fluidity and capillary forces, whereas the euplantulae secretion contained shorter, less methyl-branched hydrocarbons, suggesting higher viscosity, improving frictional contact. The body surface contained only n-alkanes, likely forming a wax-like protective layer. Comparisons across taxa revealed significant differences between smooth and hairy systems, reflecting both functional and phylogenetic influences on fluid chemistry.</p>","PeriodicalId":15346,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Ecology","volume":"52 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13109221/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147772842","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Advances and Prospects in Odour-based Management of Filth Flies.","authors":"Steve B S Baleba","doi":"10.1007/s10886-026-01705-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10886-026-01705-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Filth flies are groups of dipteran species closely associated with human and animal faeces, food waste, or carrion. They include species such as the house fly (Musca domestica), face fly (Musca autumnalis), bazaar fly (Musca sorbens), false stable flies (Muscina stabulans, Muscina levida), lesser house fly (Fannia canicularis), stable flies (Stomoxys spp.), horn fly (Haematobia irritans), neglected blood feeder fly (Musca crassirostris), oriental latrine fly (Chrysomya megacephala), green bottle fly (Lucilia sericata), Australian sheep blowfly (Lucilia cuprina) and blue bottle fly (Calliphora vicina). Thriving on decomposing organic waste, sewage, animal faeces, and carrion, these flies act as mechanical vectors of viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and helminths. They also cause direct harm through annoyance, stress, skin lesions, blood loss, and immunosuppression. In humans, contact with contaminated items, body parts, or food results in diseases such as trachoma, chlamydia, cholera, and gastrointestinal infections. In livestock, infestations lead to reduced weight gain and milk yield, causing economic losses exceeding USD 2 billion annually. Like all insects, filth flies rely heavily on olfaction to locate food, mates, oviposition sites, shelters, and to avoid danger. Identifying the odour cues that guide these behaviours offers promising opportunities for control, particularly when integrated into trapping or repellent systems. This review summarises current knowledge on filth fly management using odour cues. It explains the nature of these cues and their detection mechanisms in insects, discusses studies applying them for monitoring, attraction, repellency, or mass trapping, and highlights key considerations for developing effective odour-based control strategies. The review provides a useful reference for veterinarians, entomologists, chemical ecologists, industry, and funding agencies seeking sustainable alternatives for managing filth flies.</p>","PeriodicalId":15346,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Ecology","volume":"52 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13102726/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147772687","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Western Corn Rootworm is Strongly Attracted to Floral (E)-p-Methoxycinnamaldehyde, but not or Weakly to other Compounds of the oil Pumpkin.","authors":"Martin Schlager, Stephan Manhalter, Katharina Wechselberger, Zsolt Kárpáti, Stefan Dötterl","doi":"10.1007/s10886-026-01712-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10886-026-01712-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Western corn rootworm (WCR, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera) is one of the most serious pests in maize. In some parts of Europe, maize is frequently cultivated adjacent to the Styrian oil pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo pepo var. styriaca). Adult beetles are strongly attracted to the flowers of this cucurbit, likely due to their strong scent, and lay some of their eggs in the soil of the pumpkin crop. This makes crop rotation, an otherwise effective pest control strategy, less effective. Here, we used gas chromatography coupled to electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) and field biotests to identify floral scent compounds of the oil pumpkin that elicit physiological and behavioural responses in WCR, respectively. We identified 18 non-sex specific EAD-active compounds for WCR. In field tests, 1,4-dimethoxybenzene, the main compound in pumpkin floral scent, was not attractive to WCR, whereas (E)-p-methoxycinnamaldehyde, a minor compound, was as attractive as the complete pumpkin mixture. This research provides the basis for developing an attract and kill system, to prevent, or at least mitigate, the substantial yield losses caused by WCR.</p>","PeriodicalId":15346,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Ecology","volume":"52 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13102798/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147772784","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Single Sensillum Recordings Reveal Antennal Responses of Monochamus alternatus and Monochamus saltuarius (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) to Pheromones and Host Volatiles.","authors":"Min-Jung Huh, Gwang-Hyun Roh, Kye-Chung Park, Il-Kwon Park","doi":"10.1007/s10886-026-01714-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10886-026-01714-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Monochamus alternatus Hope and Monochamus saltuarius Gebler (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) are insect vectors of the pine wood nematode (PWN) on the Korean peninsula. Although they share an identical aggregation-sex pheromone, the two species exhibit different synergistic responses to host volatiles and other semiochemicals. In this study, we examined the electrophysiological responses of olfactory sensilla in both species to 22 semiochemicals, including pheromone, bark beetle pheromones, and host volatiles. Single-sensillum recordings (SSR) identified two distinct groups of basiconic-type olfactory sensilla, each associated with different functional groups. Sensilla basiconica A (SBaA) contained specialized olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) that could be functionally distinguished into non-responsive, specialist like pheromone specialist, and generalist OSNs. In contrast, OSNs in sensilla basiconica B (SBaB) did not show clear functional classification into specific odor groups. Therefore, they were classified based on the number of compounds eliciting responses, as non-responsive neurons, specialists, and generalists. Notably, enantiomer-specific differences were observed among generalist OSNs. Most OSNs responded to both (+)- and (−)-α-pinene enantiomers, whereas a significantly higher proportion of OSNs showed exclusive responses to (−)-limonene compared to (+)-limonene. These results provide new insight into the olfactory mechanisms that underlie species-specific behavioral responses to semiochemicals in these economically important beetle vectors.</p>","PeriodicalId":15346,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Ecology","volume":"52 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13091885/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147717011","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Identification of A Sex Attractant Pheromone for the North American Click Beetle Elater abruptus (Coleoptera: Elateridae).","authors":"Jocelyn G Millar, Jacqueline M Serrano, Sean Halloran, Lawrence M Hanks","doi":"10.1007/s10886-026-01711-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10886-026-01711-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Of the > 1000 known species of North American click beetles (Coleoptera: Elateridae), sex pheromones have only been identified from a handful of species. Here, we report the identification of 5-methylhexyl (Z)-4-decenoate as the female-produced pheromone of the elaterid Elater abruptus Say (subfamily Elaterinae), a species native to the northeastern United States. The pheromone was species-specific in the geographic region where it was tested, attracting only males of the target species. Ovipositor extracts contained a number of related esters, but only two, hexyl (Z)-4-decenoate and 5-methylhexyl (Z)-4-decenoate, elicited responses from antennae of male beetles in coupled gas chromatography-electroantennogram assays. In a field experiment, traps baited with 5-methylhexyl (Z)-4-decenoate, and those baited with the blend of that compound and hexyl (Z)-4-decenoate, captured significantly more beetles than did control traps. Hexyl (Z)-4-decenoate as a single component did not attract significant numbers of beetles. This phenomenon of the production of a number of inactive analogs and homologs of a pheromone component has been reported previously for a number of other elaterid species, and it remains unclear what purpose these apparently redundant compounds may serve.</p>","PeriodicalId":15346,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Ecology","volume":"52 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147699034","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Feral Cat Responses to Silver Vine: Implications for Feral Cat Management.","authors":"Natasha E Tay, Bob Du, Todd A Gillam, Melissa L Thomas, Dave Algar, Patricia A Fleming","doi":"10.1007/s10886-026-01707-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10886-026-01707-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Lures are an important tool used for pest management of invasive and feral species. The euphoric 'catnip' response in the domestic cat (Felis catus) is triggered by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by several plants. These compounds elicit sniffing, licking, chewing, and rubbing responses in cats, which could increase the efficacy of various management tools for feral cats. We examined feral cat behavioural responses to four commercial plant products that are purported to elicit the 'catnip' response-Fishmint (a mix of five plant species) and three silver vine (Actinidia polygama) products. The behavioural responses of 12 feral cats, individually exposed to each of the products in a controlled environmental setting, were recorded. There were significant differences in the amount of time cats spent interacting with the plant materials, with marked differences in intensity of their interactions. Chemical analysis of the plant products using Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry were carried out using headspace and solvent extraction. The silver vine plant material that they appeared most strongly interested in had the highest concentration of actinidine present, but nepetalactone, isodihydronepetalactone (and isomers), and iridomyrmecin were also evident in all the silver vine samples. Silver vine products elicited behavioural responses from feral cats, indicating their potential as effective lures. Such lures could enhance detection and monitoring in feral cat management programs. We report chemical differences in plant lure compounds, which likely reflect the plant part used, and/or processing and handling of plant material, and raise considerations for manufacture and presentation of cat lures.</p>","PeriodicalId":15346,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Ecology","volume":"52 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13076403/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147673682","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Chemotaxonomy and Ecological Role of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids: A Comprehensive Review of the Case Study of Africa.","authors":"Fritz Mukow Nsanyi, Joel O Onoja, Fidele Ntie-Kang, Andrew E Egbe","doi":"10.1007/s10886-026-01689-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10886-026-01689-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids (PAs) and their N-oxides (PANOs) from Asteraceae, Boraginaceae, Fabaceae, and Apocynaceae cause toxicity in humans and livestock across Africa, while serving as herbivore defenses. This first Africa-focused review analyzes PA diversity, chemotaxonomy, and ecological patterns in African flora, drawing from the African Natural Products Database (ANPDB) and literature (1940-2024) via Google Scholar, PubMed, and ScienceDirect. A presence-absence matrix of 161 characterized PAs across 91 species (19 genera) from Asteraceae, Boraginaceae, and Fabaceae underwent hierarchical clustering (Jaccard distance, R v4.4.0, vegan package). Apocynaceae producers (e.g., Alafia pyrrolizidines A-C) were documented qualitatively due to incomplete characterization and excluded from quantitative analysis. Clustering reveals robust family-level patterns (Senecio-dominated Asteraceae via macrocyclic diesters like Senecionine and Seneciphylline), Boraginaceae subclade diversity, and Crotalaria (Fabaceae) structural versatility. Cross-family convergence (e.g., Trichodesma africanum with Crotalaria mildbraedii) and Crotalaria's mixed PA types (macrocyclic/open-chain diesters, monoesters) suggest parallel evolution, horizontal transfer, or biosynthetic plasticity. Ecologically, PAs mediate herbivore defense and specialist insect sequestration across African ecosystems. Despite ethnopharmacological uses, PA hepatotoxicity (e.g., 1,2-unsaturated necine bases) demands surveillance, especially in contaminated crops/honey. Findings affirm PA profiles as taxonomic markers and highlight the need for integrated chemical ecology research for African food safety and biodiversity conservation.</p>","PeriodicalId":15346,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Ecology","volume":"52 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147633609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Metabolic and Biochemical Responses of Heirloom and Hybrid Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) Under Flooding, Specialist, and Generalist Insect Herbivory, and their Stress Combination.","authors":"Michael Somerville, Emma Cartelli, Minxing Zhu, Esther N Ngumbi","doi":"10.1007/s10886-026-01703-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10886-026-01703-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study investigated how heirloom (Cherokee Purple) and hybrid (New Girl) tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) plant varieties respond metabolically and biochemically to flooding and specialist (Manduca sexta) and generalist (Spodoptera exigua) insect herbivory both individually and in combination. Using LC-MS/MS based untargeted metabolite profiling of foliar tissue and solid phase microextraction and GC-MS, we characterized and quantified metabolome and aboveground headspace volatile organic compounds (VOCs) changes in response to individual and combined stressors. We additionally measured aboveground and belowground biomass in each treatment. We hypothesized that (1) flooding would dominate metabolomic reprogramming and VOC emissions; (2) specialist and generalist herbivores would elicit distinct metabolic and VOC responses; (3) single and combined stresses would produce distinct metabolite and VOC profiles; and (4) VOC emissions would differ between heirloom and hybrid tomato varieties. Flooding was the primary driver of metabolic reprogramming, VOC emission, and reduced root biomass in tomato, with accumulated metabolites linked to oxidative stress mitigation. Differences between generalist and specialist herbivory were most evident in secondary sulfur metabolites. In addition, in the heirloom tomato variety, the generalist altered many more metabolites than the specialist, a trend that was reversed in the hybrid variety. Under combined stress, flooding-induced metabolic changes were largely preserved or additive, including the accumulation of indole metabolites associated with multifunctional roles including priming plant defenses against biotic stressors, whereas herbivore-driven metabolic changes were attenuated. Monoterpenes increased under flooding and combined stress, especially in the heirloom variety. Finally, we documented varietal differences in metabolic responses reflected in increased accumulation of several metabolites in the heirloom tomato variety compared with the hybrid. Together, our results reveal that flooding, herbivory by specialist and generalist caterpillar species and their interactions can dynamically change metabolites, volatile organic compounds, and plant growth patterns and suggest that breeding history shapes plants metabolic response and resillience under multi-stress combinations.</p>","PeriodicalId":15346,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Ecology","volume":"52 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13046590/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147592496","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Harnessing Allelopathic Autotoxicity for Invasive Plant Management: Knowledge Gaps and Future Research Directions.","authors":"Elizabeth A Esser, Gary N Ervin, Rima D Lucardi, Paul M Severns, Erika D Womack-Peoples, Steven H Bullard, Ashley N Schulz","doi":"10.1007/s10886-026-01706-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10886-026-01706-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Nuisance species are typically managed using mechanical removal, biological, cultural, or chemical treatments, applied either individually or in combination. Applications of synthetic pesticides may result in significant non-target effects that reduce biodiversity or result in pesticide drift, and target organisms can rapidly develop pesticide resistance. Biological control has less physical impact on ecosystems than mechanical removal, and none of the human health concerns of synthetic pesticides, but relies on coevolved antagonists that are introduced to the invaded environments and can have non-target effects (e.g., outcompeting native species, switching to non-target native organisms, and ineffectively suppressing the target organism). Due to increasing restrictions, it is becoming more difficult to import, propagate, and release new biological control agents. These concerns, in combination with the increased rates of species invasion and economic and ecological costs of existing control methods, necessitate alternative means of nuisance species control. In this review, we examine an alternative control approach based on the principles of allelopathy and autotoxicity. Autotoxins used in this manner exploit secondary metabolites produced by a target species and/or their endosymbionts to inhibit growth or induce mortality with reduced non-target impacts. We synthesized autotoxicity-related literature to compare plant-derived autotoxins to traditional biological and chemical controls and discuss how further autotoxicity research and development can assist with the control of nuisance plant species. Although autotoxins provide a promising new frontier for nuisance species control, further research is necessary to effectively develop, test, and deploy these biochemical controls for species inhibition or mortality.</p>","PeriodicalId":15346,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Ecology","volume":"52 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147574240","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Maternal Pheromone Emission During Biparental Care: Evidence for Consistent Individual Differences and Links to Terminal Investment.","authors":"Jacqueline Sahm, Cassandra Jackl, Taina Conrad, Johannes Stökl, Sandra Steiger","doi":"10.1007/s10886-026-01697-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10886-026-01697-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Pheromone production, once considered a fixed species-specific trait, is now recognized to vary plastically within individuals and consistently among them. Such variation may reflect differences in individual quality as well as adaptive allocation strategies, for example when residual reproductive value declines and individuals exhibit terminal investment in current reproduction. While most work has focused on sex pheromones, much less is known about variation in pheromones that mediate social behavior. In the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides, caring females emit the pheromone methyl geranate (MG), which reflects their temporary infertility during active larval care and suppresses mating behavior of the male breeding partner. Here, we examined how MG emission varies with female age and reproductive experience, whether variation in emission reflects parental investment in the current brood, and whether it shows consistent individual differences. Females reproduced once or repeatedly at four ages under standardized conditions. Age alone did not affect MG emission, but pheromone levels and parental effort increased with reproductive experience. Importantly, MG emission was positively correlated with brood and larval mass, indicating that higher pheromone production was associated with greater investment in offspring. MG emission was also repeatable across reproductive bouts. These findings suggests that MG emission exhibits both plasticity and consistent individual differences and may serve as a reliable signal of maternal investment. MG could therefore provide males not only with information about female temporary infertility but also about her level of investment in the current brood, offering a mechanism for the coordination of parental care between the sexes.</p>","PeriodicalId":15346,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Chemical Ecology","volume":"52 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13009076/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147503973","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}