A Mosquito-Inspired Theoretical Framework for Acoustic Signal Detection

Distortion products are tones produced through nonlinear effects of a system simultaneously detecting two or more frequencies. These combination tones are ubiquitous to vertebrate auditory systems and are generally regarded as byproducts of nonlinear signal amplification. It has previously been shown that several species of infectious-disease-carrying mosquitoes utilize these distortion products for detecting and locating potential mates. It has also been shown that their auditory systems contain multiple oscillatory components within the sensory structure, which respond at different frequency ranges. Using a generic theoretical model for acoustic detection, we show the signal-detection advantages that are implied by these two detection schemes: distortion product detection and cascading a signal through multiple layers of oscillator elements. Lastly, we show that the combination of these two schemes yields immense benefits for signal detection. These benefits could be essential for male mosquitoes to be able to identify and pursue a particular female within a noisy swarm environment.