Tel Aviv University Team in Israel
"First Evidence That Animals Respond to Sounds from Plants"
An Israeli research team has confirmed for the first time that animals respond to sounds emitted by plants. When a tomato plant emits sounds while suffering from water deficiency, female moths avoid laying eggs on the tomato plant.
On July 15 (local time), the BBC reported that a research team from Tel Aviv University in Israel had published a scientific paper confirming, for the first time, that animals respond to sounds made by plants.
Two years ago, research results were published showing that plants emit specific sounds when they are under stress or unhealthy. According to the paper, these "screams" from plants are inaudible to humans, but can be heard by many insects, bats, and some mammals.
Yossi Yovel, a professor at Tel Aviv University, stated, "This is the first case proving that animals respond to sounds made by plants." He added, "Although it is only speculation at this stage, it is possible that various animals make decisions?such as whether to pollinate, hide inside the plant, or feed on the plant?based on the sounds they hear from plants."
The researchers conducted a carefully controlled series of experiments to ensure that moths were responding to the sounds, and not to the appearance of the plants. In the future, they plan to study the different sounds produced by various plants, and to investigate whether other species also make decisions?such as whether to pollinate, hide inside the plant, or feed on the plant?based on these sounds.
The paper containing these research findings was published last December in the open-access journal eLife.
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