A new conceptual and quantitative approach to exploring and defining potential open‐access olfactory information. Issue 4 (13th September 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Orlando, Cristian Gabriel; Possell, Malcolm; Price, Catherine; Banks, Peter B.; Mercorelli, Louis; McArthur, Clare
• Is Part Of: New phytologist. Volume 236:Issue 4(2022)
• Page Start: 1605
• Page End: 1619
• Publication Date: 2022-09-13
• Subjects: cue -- ecological interactions -- information recovery -- signal -- volatile organic compounds; Botany -- Periodicals; 580
• DOI: 10.1111/nph.18432
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0028-646X

Abstract

Summary: All organisms emit odour, providing 'open‐access' olfactory information for any receiver with the right sensory apparatus. Characterizing open‐access information emitted by groups of organisms, such as plant species, provides the means to answer significant questions about ecological interactions and their evolution. We present a new conceptual framework defining information reliability and a practical method to characterize and recover information from amongst olfactory noise. We quantified odour emissions from two tree species, one focal group and one outgroup, to demonstrate our approach using two new R statistical functions. We explore the consequences of relaxing or tightening criteria defining information and, from thousands of odour combinations, we identify and quantify those few likely to be informative. Our method uses core general principles characterizing information while incorporating knowledge of how receivers detect and discriminate odours. We can now map information in consistency–precision reliability space, explore the concept of information, and test information–noise boundaries, and between cues and signals.