Vibrational communication networks: eavesdropping and biotic noise

In nature, communication predominantly occurs in a group of several conspecific and/or heterospecific individuals within signaling and receiving range of each other, i.e., in a network environment. Vibrational communication in the context of sexual behavior has been, in the past, usually considered as a private communication channel, free of potential competitors and eavesdropping predators or parasitoids and consequently only rarely studied outside an emitter–receiver dyad. We provide an overview of work related to vibrational communication in the presence of (a) environmental (abiotic) noise, (b) other conspecific and/or heterospecific signalers (biotic noise), (c) rivals and (d) exploiters (predators and parasitoids) The evidence gathered in the last few years shows that arthropods relying on substrate-borne vibrations communicate within a rich and complex vibrational world and reveals diverse interactions and mechanisms. Considering vibrational communication from a network perspective may allow us in the future to identify sources of selection pressures that cannot be recognized in a communication dyad