physiology of chemical communication

Question 1

how does human olfaction compare to that of other animals

Answer 1

they have small olfactory bulbs but, like most animals, have around 10,000 neurones so olfaction sensing is relatively similar across most species

Question 2

what is the role of the vomeronasal organ

Answer 2

the first stage of olfaction in many animals where chemicals are senses then transduced. they mainly detect pheromones

Question 3

how do insects detect smell

Answer 3

they have highly developed olfaction sensing. odourant detecting proteins (ODPs) detect the chemical stimuli, then they are bound to odour receptors (ORs)

Question 4

what is chemical ecology

Answer 4

the role of chemical interaction between organisms and the environment, and their consequences in ethology and evolution

Question 5

what are allelochemicals and outline the three types

Answer 5

they are intraspecific signals. kairomones benefit the detector, allomones the emitter and synomones both

Question 6

what are pheromones

Answer 6

interspecific signals. examples are sex, alarm and aggregation pheromones