Kit Muma was awarded a summer grant titled, "High resolution video analysis of moth
anti-bat avoidance and the underlying neural control of these flight behaviors".
Abstract:
I study the evolution of sensory adaptations of animals. For the past five years I have directed my interests to neuroethology which is the combination of studies in animal behavior and the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms responsible for behavior. In particular, I am fascinated by the evolution of ultrasonic hearing in insects and the coevolution between bats and their insect prey. This type of research has implications in a broad range of fields from pest management (Fullard, Muma and Dawson 2003) to the development of subminiature microphones and even hearing aids (see work by Robert and Hoy 1998).
The goal of the experiments proposed in this study is to determine the timing of behavioral flight responses of moths to ultrasonic pulses and correlate these motor responses to the exact sensory pathways of the auditory system. I videotaped moths in stationary flight using an infra-red high-speed video camera. The moth was transferred to an auditory neurophysiology chamber where the receptor neurons of its tympanic nerve were monitored while its ears were stimulated by the identical sounds that activated the flight behaviors. The next phase of the study, for which I am applying for funding, is to analyze the frame-by-frame sequences of the flight patterns and correlate these with the auditory responses of the organisms as recorded directly from their tympanic nerves. This will provide an empirical demonstration of how simple ears directly govern specific behaviors.
