-
Funding
Funding
HFSP supports novel, innovative and interdisciplinary basic research focused on the complex mechanisms of living organisms. A clear emphasis is placed on novel collaborations that bring biologists together to focus on problems at the frontier of the life sciences.
-
Awardees
Awardees
In this section you find information about the awardees in the HFSP scientific programs. This includes a searchable database of HFSP awardees, information on the HFSP Nakasone Award and other achievements by HFSP awardees.
- News & Impact
-
Events
Events
HFSP promotes and participates in several events every year. We are committed to bringing together the scientific community and forging new opportunities to network and have scientific discussions that help to create bridges and partnerships for the future of frontier science.
-
About
About
The Human Frontier Science Program is a program of funding for frontier research in the life sciences. It is implemented by the International Human Frontier Science Program Organization (HFSPO) with its office in Strasbourg. Here you can find all you need to know about the HFSPO.
Decoding the biomechanics of flight-tone based acoustic communication in mosquitoes
Decoding the biomechanics of flight-tone based acoustic communication in mosquitoes
GIBSON Gabriella (USA)
Dept. of Agriculture, Health and Environment - University of Greenwich - London - UK
MITTAL Rajat (USA)
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering - Johns Hopkins University - Baltimore - USA
The aerial courtship “dance” of mosquitoes has fascinated entomologists for over 150 years. This dance involves highly controlled variations in the frequency and intensity of flight-tones (i.e. sounds generated by the flapping wings) with concurrent changes in flight speed and direction, and enables recognition of conspecifics, display of fitness and transmission of mating interest. However, despite over a century and a half of research, significant knowledge gaps continue to exist in our understanding of this behavior. To decipher this courtship dance, entomologists have to integrate acoustic, energetic and flight information for untethered, free-flying mosquitoes, but the tools that can provide these data have, so far, not been available. In the current project, the two investigators combine their respective expertise in computational biomechanics and acoustics, and behavioral entomology, to generate unprecedented data and insights into the biomechanics and physics of courtship-associated acoustic communication in mosquitoes. In particular, by combining computational modeling with biological assays, the team will generate six-dimensional soundscapes of free-flying mosquitoes engaged in courtship and determine how these soundscapes are actively modified during courtship. We will also estimate for the first time, the energetic costs of courtship and mate-chasing, and the potential constraints this places on courtship behavior. Finally, the team will characterize the degree to which, carefully tailored exogenous sounds can alter and even disrupt courtship. The success of this novel approach could be transformative for future research into comparative auditory mechanisms of communication across a wide range of flying insects. In addition, the insights gleaned here could form the scientific foundation for novel insecticidal/surveillance traps and also lead to environmentally friendly strategies for diminishing mating success in mosquito species that are vectors for malaria, Zika fever and other devastating mosquito-borne diseases.