Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

The response of scutigerella immaculata to naturally occurring chemical stimuli

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/v118rh34v

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  • A study was conducted of the response of the garden symphylan, Scutigerella immaculata (Newport), to naturally occurring chemicals. Results of olfactometer studies with plant odors were inconclusive because air currents in one olfactometer and the shape of another had undesirable effects on symphylan behavior. Non-random distributions of symphylans in chambers designed to investigate the response of symphylans to chemotactic stimuli suggested that symphylans produced an aggregation pheromone. The existence of an aggregation pheromone was confirmed when an average of 81. 4% of 30 symphylans placed in each of 16 choice chambers aggregated on the side of the chambers containing a filter paper disk conditioned by 30 symphylans for 96 hours. The anatomical source of the pheromone was not identified, although the silk glands associated with the spinnerets were eliminated as a possible source. Perception of the pheromone occurred by chemotactic stimulation of chemoreceptors located on the antennae. The ability of symphylans to produce the pheromone was independent of their sex and maturity. Loss of biological activity of pheromone-conditioned substrate was highly correlated with drying of the substrate. A comparison of responses to different types of pheromone-conditioned substrate showed a significantly weaker response (P < 0. 02) to soil than to sand or filter paper. A positive response of symphylans to filter paper moistened with an aqueous extract from conditioned filter paper demonstrated that the pheromone was water soluble. The function of the pheromone was not established; however, the possibility that the pheromone facilitated reproduction was discussed.
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