Projektbeschreibung
Anbaupflanzen vor Insekten schützen
Pflanzenfressende Insekten stellen eine ständige Bedrohung für die Landwirtschaft und die globale Ernährungssicherheit dar. Eine neue Methode, um dieses Problem anzugehen, könnte das Verständnis der Bedeutung von biomechanischen Einschränkungen auf die Leistung fruchtbarer pflanzenfressender Insekten sein. Das EU-finanzierte Projekt MechAnt verwendet Blattschneiderameisen als Modellsystem, um fundamentale Kenntnisse zur Bedeutung der Mechanik beim Pflanzenfressen durch Insekten zu gewinnen. Das Projekt überprüft die Hypothese, dass die soziale Organisation der Blattschneiderameisenkolonien auf ergonomischen Standards basiert, die wiederum durch die Eigenschaften der Blätter reguliert werden. Es werden eine Vielzahl wissenschaftlicher Gebiete konsultiert, um die Mechanismen und Einschränkungen zu ermitteln und zu erklären, die für die Schneideleistung der Insekten entscheidend sind.
Ziel
Insect herbivores are a dominant element in terrestrial ecosystems, and pose a continuing threat to global food security. However, little is known about a key determinant of insect herbivore success: the mechanics of plant-feeding. MechAnt proposes to transform our understanding of insect-plant relations by providing a rigorous biomechanical investigation into how insects cut leaves, using the major ecosystem engineers and principal insect pest of the New World, the leaf-cutter ants, as a model system. Specifically, MechAnt will combine the traditionally separate fields of behavioural ecology, mechanical engineering, materials science, computer vision and machine learning to investigate: (1) the mechanical and energetic constraints determining the cutting ability, and ontogeny of task choice of differently-sized workers, and hence the adaptive value of physical castes in eusocial insects; (2) the relationship between plant material properties, ease of cutting, and mandibular wear, which will reveal the key mechanical determinants of plant-herbivore species interactions; (3) the division of labour, ontogeny and demography of leaf-cutter colonies foraging on leaves of different “toughness”, testing the hypothesis that leaf-cutter colonies are organised according to ergonomic criteria. By integrating insights ranging from nano-scale mechanics up to whole-colony ecology, MechAnt will quantitatively link the mechanical properties of plants with the performance of individual foragers, the organisation of foraging parties, and the demography and social organisation of leaf-cutter ant colonies. The resulting understanding of the biomechanical innovations underpinning the success of the leaf-cutter ants will yield insights into the behavioural ecology of advanced plant-feeders, highlight the role of biomechanical constraints in the behaviour and evolution of herbivorous insects, and pave the way for the development of novel crop protection strategies.
Wissenschaftliches Gebiet
- social sciencessociologydemography
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesartificial intelligencecomputer vision
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystems
- natural sciencesbiological scienceszoologyentomology
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiological behavioural sciencesbehavioural ecology
Schlüsselbegriffe
Programm/Programme
Thema/Themen
Finanzierungsplan
ERC-STG - Starting GrantGastgebende Einrichtung
SW7 2AZ LONDON
Vereinigtes Königreich