Deciphering The Communicative Rosetta Stone

Abstract

Although it has been known for years that plants and animals are remarkable natural product chemists, it has only been in the last few decades that biologists have developed some awareness of the significance of this biosynthetic versatility. Among animals, a dazzling array of organic compounds function as external stimuli which regulate a multitude of intraspecific behavioral responses. These have been heretofore described mostly in anecdotal terms. Among the invertebrates, these chemical agents, the pheromones, have been documented for so many groups that it may not be premature to speculate that the presence of these compounds constitutes an ubiquitous characteristic of these animals. Furthermore, even at this early stage in our comprehension of the modus operandi of these chemical stimuli, it is obvious that we now have a particularly powerful additional tool with which to study the evolution of animal behavior.