@article {164000, title = {Odor tracking in insects: a multisensory behavior.}, journal = {J Exp Biol}, volume = {229}, year = {2026}, month = {2026 Feb 15}, abstract = {

Insects rely on sophisticated odor-tracking mechanisms to locate mates and food sources, or follow conspecific trails, in both two (e.g. substrate-based tracking by ants and termites) and three (e.g. airborne pheromone plume tracking by flying insects) dimensions. These behaviors rely on the integration of multisensory information and understanding them requires us to draw upon principles from odor transport physics, odor chemistry and sensory ecology. Airborne odor plumes are typically heterogeneous and turbulent, delivering chemical cues in intermittent bursts, while ground-based odor trails are more stable and localized. Hence, insects employ fundamentally distinct strategies to navigate these environments, shaped by the physical and chemical properties of the odorants. Insect odor-tracking behavior is mediated by an array of sensory modalities, including chemosensory, visual, mechanosensory and thermal inputs. Experimental approaches in both laboratory and field settings have revealed how insects integrate these cues to successfully identify odor sources under complex environmental conditions. Comparative studies, such as those examining diurnal versus nocturnal tracking, highlight how sensory prioritization shifts with ecological context, revealing adaptive neural integration mechanisms. This article reviews the behavioral strategies insects use for odor tracking in air and on the ground, focusing on the role of multisensory integration and the vulnerability of these behaviors to sensory noise. Emerging research on environmental disruptions, such as artificial light at night and air pollution, highlights the ecological threats to odor-mediated behaviors. By synthesizing insights from diverse insect taxa, we examine how sensory noise and anthropogenic change can impair essential behaviors such as foraging and mating.

}, keywords = {Animals, Behavior, Animal, Cues, Insecta, Odorants, Smell}, issn = {1477-9145}, doi = {10.1242/jeb.250945}, url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41668668/}, author = {Soman, Shuchita and Ramaswamy, Sree Subha and Sane, Sanjay P} } @article {909, title = {The dynamic impact of repeated stress on the hippocampal spatial map.}, journal = {Hippocampus}, volume = {25}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Jan}, pages = {38-50}, abstract = {

Stress alters the function of many physiological processes throughout the body, including in the brain. A neural circuit particularly vulnerable to the effects of stress is the hippocampus, a key component of the episodic and spatial memory system in both humans and rodents. Earlier studies have provided snapshots of morphological, molecular, physiological and behavioral changes in the hippocampus following either acute or repeated stress. However, the cumulative impact of repeated stress on in vivo hippocampal physiology remains unexplored. Here we report the stress-induced modulation of the spatially receptive fields of the hippocampal CA1 {\textquoteright}place cells{\textquoteright} as mice explore familiar and novel tracks after 5 and 10 days of immobilization stress. We find that similar to what has been observed following acute stress, five days of repeated stress results in decreased excitability of CA1 pyramidal cells. Following ten days of chronic stress, however, this decreased hippocampal excitability is no longer evident, suggesting adaptation may have occurred. In addition to these changes in neuronal excitability, we find deficient context discrimination, wherein both short-term and chronic stress impair the ability of the hippocampus to unambiguously distinguish novel and familiar environments. These results suggest that a loss of network flexibility may underlie some of the behavioral deficits accompanying chronic stress.

}, keywords = {Animals, Behavior, Animal, CA1 Region, Hippocampal, Discrimination (Psychology), Generalization (Psychology), Male, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Spatial Memory, Stress, Psychological, Time Factors}, issn = {1098-1063}, doi = {10.1002/hipo.22348}, author = {Tomar, Anupratap and Polygalov, Denis and Chattarji, Sumantra and McHugh, Thomas J} } @article {894, title = {Quaternary climate change and social behavior shaped the genetic differentiation of an endangered montane primate from the southern edge of the Tibetan Plateau.}, journal = {Am J Primatol}, volume = {77}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Mar}, pages = {271-84}, abstract = {

Multiple factors, including climate change, dispersal barriers, and social behavior influence the genetic structure of natural populations. While the effects of extrinsic factors such as historical climatic change and habitat topography have been well studied, mostly in temperate habitats, the simultaneous effects of intrinsic factors such as social behavior on genetic structure have rarely been explored. Such simultaneous effect, however, may particularly be common in social mammals such as many primates. Consequently, we studied the population structure of a rare and endangered social primate, the Arunachal macaque Macaca munzala, endemic to the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, located on the subtropical southern edge of the Tibetan Plateau and forming part of the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot. We studied a 534 bp-long mitochondrial DNA sequence and 22 autosomal microsatellite loci in individuals from three populations, Tawang, Upper Subansiri, and West Siang. The mtDNA data revealed three major divergence events: that between the Arunachal and bonnet macaques (ca. 1.61 mya), the founding of the West Siang population and the ancestral population of the present-day bonnet macaques (ca. 1.32 mya), and the divergence between the Tawang and Upper Subansiri populations (ca. 0.80 mya) that coincided with the major glacial events in the region. Comparing mitochondrial DNA with autosomal microsatellites, we also found evidence for female philopatry and male-driven long-distance gene flow. Arunachal macaques thus appear to be characterized by groups of philopatric females separated by geographical barriers and harsh climate but with dispersing males exerting a homogenizing effect on the nuclear gene pool. Given that severe population differentiation is of major concern in species conservation, we suggest that our study populations represent significant conservation units of this rare, endangered primate but, more importantly, emphasize the complex interplay of extrinsic and intrinsic factors in shaping the population structure of a social mammalian species.

}, keywords = {Animals, Behavior, Animal, Climate Change, DNA, Mitochondrial, Ecosystem, Evolution, Molecular, Female, Gene Flow, Genetics, Population, India, Macaca, Male, Microsatellite Repeats, Phylogeography, Population Dynamics, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Social Behavior}, issn = {1098-2345}, doi = {10.1002/ajp.22343}, author = {Chakraborty, Debapriyo and Ramakrishnan, Uma and Sinha, Anindya} }