The Scent Glands of the Neotropical Harvestman Discocyrtus Pectnifemur: Morphology, Behavior and Chemistry

Overview

Journal J Chem Ecol

Publisher Springer

Specialties Chemistry
Environmental Health

Date 2015 Aug 15

PMID 26271673

Citations 2

Authors

Julio M G Segovia

Marcos Ryotaro Hara

Guilherme Ferreira Pagoti

Miriam Sannomiya

Deborah Y A C Santos

Rodrigo Hirata Willemart

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Harvestmen have a pair of scent glands that open through ozopores. The literature suggests a link between the morphology of the ozopore area and the emission of a defensive secretion. A previous study on a species that aggregates in open areas, where individuals are probably more easily spotted by predators, showed that this defensive secretion causes conspecifics to flee. However, it is unknown whether this behavior occurs in species that aggregate in sheltered areas, where prey are harder to find. Herein, we describe the morphology of the ozopore area, the mode of emission of the defensive secretion, and its chemical composition in the harvestman Discocyrtus pectinifemur. We also tested if the defensive secretion is used as an alarm pheromone. We found that D. pectinifemur releases the defensive secretion in different ways, one of them being as a jet. Emission as a jet contrasts with that known for all congeners previously studied, and is in accord with the expected morphology of the ozopore. We found that the defensive secretion of D. pectinifemur does not function as an alarm pheromone. The composition of the defensive secretion, a mixture of quinones, is congruent with those already described for the clade that includes Discocyrtus. Our results support the link between the morphology of the scent glands area and the emission behavior of the defensive secretion, and they suggest that the alarm pheromone function in harvestmen may be dependent on ecological factors.

Citing Articles

Sexual differences in weaponry and defensive behavior in a neotropical harvestman.

Segovia J, Murayama G, Willemart R Curr Zool. 2019; 65(5):553-558.

PMID: 31616486 PMC: 6784509. DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoy073.

Methyl-ketones in the scent glands of Opiliones: a chemical trait of cyphophthalmi retrieved in the dyspnoan .

Schaider M, Novak T, Komposch C, Leis H, Raspotnig G Chemoecology. 2018; 28(2):61-67.

PMID: 29670318 PMC: 5897473. DOI: 10.1007/s00049-018-0257-5.

References

Soares Leal W, Ricardo Panizzi A, Carla Niva C . Alarm pheromone system of leaf-footed bugLeptoglossus zonatus (Heteroptera: Coreidae). J Chem Ecol. 2013; 20(5):1209-16. DOI: 10.1007/BF02059755. View

Machado G, Bonato V, Oliveira P . Alarm communication: a new function for the scent-gland secretion in harvestmen (Arachnida: Opiliones). Naturwissenschaften. 2002; 89(8):357-60. DOI: 10.1007/s00114-002-0337-8. View

Nault L, Wood T, GOFF A . Treehopper (Membracidae) alarm pheromones. Nature. 1974; 249(455):387-8. DOI: 10.1038/249387a0. View

Rocha D, Wouters F, Zampieri D, Brocksom T, Machado G, Marsaioli A . Harvestman phenols and benzoquinones: characterisation and biosynthetic pathway. Molecules. 2013; 18(9):11429-51. PMC: 6270637. DOI: 10.3390/molecules180911429. View

Raspotnig G, Bodner M, Schaffer S, Koblmuller S, Schonhofer A, Karaman I . Chemosystematics in the Opiliones (Arachnida): a comment on the evolutionary history of alkylphenols and benzoquinones in the scent gland secretions of Laniatores. Cladistics. 2015; 31(2):202-209. PMC: 4459239. DOI: 10.1111/cla.12079. View

Eisner T, Rossini C, Gonzalez A, Eisner M . Chemical defense of an opilionid (Acanthopachylus aculeatus). J Exp Biol. 2004; 207(Pt 8):1313-21. DOI: 10.1242/jeb.00849. View

Rocha D, Hamilton K, Goncalves C, Machado G, Marsaioli A . 6-Alkyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-pyrans: chemical secretion compounds in neotropical harvestmen. J Nat Prod. 2011; 74(4):658-63. DOI: 10.1021/np100719f. View

VANDENDOOL H, KRATZ P . A GENERALIZATION OF THE RETENTION INDEX SYSTEM INCLUDING LINEAR TEMPERATURE PROGRAMMED GAS-LIQUID PARTITION CHROMATOGRAPHY. J Chromatogr. 1963; 11:463-71. DOI: 10.1016/s0021-9673(01)80947-x. View

Raspotnig G, Fauler G, Leis M, Leis H . Chemical profiles of scent gland secretions in the cyphophthalmid opilionid harvestmen, Siro duricorius and S. exilis. J Chem Ecol. 2005; 31(6):1353-68. DOI: 10.1007/s10886-005-5291-4. View

10.

Willemart R, Osses F, Chelini M, Macias-Ordonez R, Machado G . Sexually dimorphic legs in a neotropical harvestman (Arachnida, Opiliones): ornament or weapon?. Behav Processes. 2008; 80(1):51-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2008.09.006. View

11.

Dias B, Willemart R . The effectiveness of post-contact defenses in a prey with no pre-contact detection. Zoology (Jena). 2013; 116(3):168-74. DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2012.12.001. View

12.

Machado G, Carrera P, Pomini A, Marsaioli A . Chemical defense in harvestmen (arachnida, opiliones): do benzoquinone secretions deter invertebrate and vertebrate predators?. J Chem Ecol. 2005; 31(11):2519-39. DOI: 10.1007/s10886-005-7611-0. View

13.

Hara M, Gnaspini P . Comparative study of the defensive behavior and morphology of the gland opening area among harvestmen (Arachnida, Opiliones, Gonyleptidae) under a phylogenetic perspective. Arthropod Struct Dev. 2007; 32(2-3):257-75. DOI: 10.1016/S1467-8039(03)00040-9. View

14.

Schaider M, Komposch C, Stabentheiner E, Raspotnig G . Functional anatomy of scent glands in Paranemastoma quadripunctatum (Opiliones, Dyspnoi, Nemastomatidae). J Morphol. 2011; 272(10):1182-91. DOI: 10.1002/jmor.10973. View

15.

Raspotnig G, Schaider M, Stabentheiner E, Leis H, Karaman I . On the enigmatic scent glands of dyspnoan harvestmen (Arachnida, Opiliones): first evidence for the production of volatile secretions. Chemoecology. 2014; 24:43-55. PMC: 3948569. DOI: 10.1007/s00049-014-0146-5. View

16.

Raspotnig G, Schwab J, Karaman I . High conservatism in the composition of scent gland secretions in cyphophthalmid harvestmen: evidence from pettalidae. J Chem Ecol. 2012; 38(4):437-40. PMC: 3324689. DOI: 10.1007/s10886-012-0108-8. View

17.

Raspotnig G, Leutgeb V, Schaider M, Komposch C . Naphthoquinones and anthraquinones from scent glands of a dyspnoid Harvestman, Paranemastoma quadripunctatum. J Chem Ecol. 2010; 36(2):158-62. PMC: 2825321. DOI: 10.1007/s10886-010-9745-y. View

18.

Wouters F, Rocha D, Goncalves C, Machado G, Marsaioli A . Additional vinyl ketones and their pyranyl ketones in gonyleptid harvestmen (Arachnida: Opiliones) suggest these metabolites are widespread in this family. J Nat Prod. 2013; 76(9):1559-64. DOI: 10.1021/np4001569. View