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First published online November 14, 2008
Journal of Experimental Biology 211, 3682-3690 (2008)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2008
doi: 10.1242/jeb.019901
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Static electric field detection and behavioural avoidance in cockroaches

Philip L. Newland1,*, Edmund Hunt1, Suleiman M. Sharkh2, Noriyuki Hama3, Masakazu Takahata3 and Christopher W. Jackson1

1 School of Biological Sciences, Biomedical Science Building, University of Southampton, Bassett Crescent East, Southampton SO16 7PX, UK
2 School of Engineering Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
3 Animal Behavior and Intelligence, Division of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan

* Author for correspondence (e-mail: pln{at}soton.ac.uk)

Accepted 23 September 2008

Electric fields are pervasively present in the environment and occur both as a result of man-made activities and through natural occurrence. We have analysed the behaviour of cockroaches to static electric fields and determined the physiological mechanisms that underlie their behavioural responses. The behaviour of animals in response to electric fields was tested using a Y-choice chamber with an electric field generated in one arm of the chamber. Locomotory behaviour and avoidance were affected by the magnitude of the electric fields with up to 85% of individuals avoiding the charged arm when the static electric field at the entrance to the arm was above 8–10 kV m–1. Electric fields were found to cause a deflection of the antennae but when the antennae were surgically ablated, the ability of cockroaches to avoid electric fields was abolished. Fixation of various joints of the antennae indicated that hair plate sensory receptors at the base of the scape were primarily responsible for the detection of electric fields, and when antennal movements about the head–scape joint were prevented cockroaches failed to avoid electric fields. To overcome the technical problem of not being able to carry out electrophysiological analysis in the presence of electric fields, we developed a procedure using magnetic fields combined with the application of iron particles to the antennae to deflect the antennae and analyse the role of thoracic interneurones in signalling this deflection. The avoidance of electric fields in the context of high voltage power lines is discussed.

Key words: electric fields, high voltage, sensory, mechanoreception, behaviour, cockroach


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