EVOLUTION IN THE FIELD CRICKET, ACHETA ASSIMILIS FAB.

1958 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. S. Bigelow

Progeny of northern spring field cricket adults lay non-diapause eggs, undergo nymphal diapause, and overwinter as nymphs. Progeny of northern fall adults lay diapause eggs, do not undergo nymphal diapause, and overwinter as eggs. The two populations cannot interbreed freely in the field owing to a temporal difference in breeding seasons; they did not interbreed in the laboratory. Rearing experiments show that the developmental differences are genetically based rather than environmentally conditioned, and it is, therefore, unlikely that hybrids would be viable even if they were produced in the field. Consequently these two populations behave as good species. Field crickets from Virginia developed much more rapidly than did spring crickets from Quebec. Quebec spring males and Virginia females produced hybrids with developmental rates intermediate between those of their parents. More female than male hybrids were produced, and the females developed more rapidly than did male hybrids. Offspring were produced by hybrid females and Quebec spring males, but not by hybrid females and Virginia males. Partial, but incomplete reproductive isolation exists between Quebec and Virginia field crickets. A possible mechanism of sympatric speciation in insects is discussed.

Genetics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 147 (2) ◽  
pp. 609-621
Author(s):  
Laura A Katz ◽  
Richard G Harrison

Two species of crickets, Gryllus veletis and G. pennsylvanicus, share six electrophoretic mobility classes for the enzyme phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI), despite evidence from other genetic markers that the two species are not closely related within eastern North American field crickets. Moreover, the frequencies of the two most common PGI electrophoretic classes (PGI-100 and PGI-65) covary in sympatric populations of these species in the eastern United States, suggesting that PGI may be subject to trans-specific balancing selection. To determine the molecular basis of the electrophoretic variation, we characterized the DNA sequence of the Pgi gene from 29 crickets (15 G. veletis and 14 G. pennsylvanicus). Amino acid substitutions that distinguish the electrophoretic classes are not the same in the two species, and there is no evidence that specific replacement substitutions represent trans-specific polymorphism. In particular, the amino acids that diagnose the PGI-65 allele relative to the PGI-100 allele differ both between G. veletis and G. pennsylvanicus and within G. pennsylvanicus. The heterogeneity among electrophoretic classes that covary in sympatric populations coupled with analysis of patterns of nucleotide variation suggest that Pgi is not evolving neutrally. Instead, the data are consistent with balancing selection operating on an emergent property of the PGI protein.


Zootaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4750 (3) ◽  
pp. 328-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
DAVID A. GRAY ◽  
DAVID B. WEISSMAN ◽  
JEFFREY A. COLE ◽  
EMILY MORIARTY LEMMON

We present the first comprehensive molecular phylogeny of Gryllus field cricket species found in the United States and Canada, select additional named Gryllus species found in Mexico and the Bahamas, plus the European field cricket G. campestris Linnaeus and the Afro-Eurasian cricket G. bimaculatus De Geer. Acheta, Teleogryllus, and Nigrogryllus were used as outgroups. Anchored hybrid enrichment was used to generate 492,531 base pairs of DNA sequence from 563 loci. RAxML analysis of concatenated sequence data and Astral analysis of gene trees gave broadly congruent results, especially for older branches and overall tree structure. The North American Gryllus are monophyletic with respect to the two Old World taxa; certain sub-groups show rapid recent divergence. This is the first Anchored Hybrid Enrichment study of an insect group done for closely related species within a single genus, and the results illustrate the challenges of reconstructing the evolutionary history of young rapidly diverged taxa when both incomplete lineage sorting and probable hybridization are at play. Because Gryllus field crickets have been used extensively as a model system in evolutionary ecology, behavior, neuro-physiology, speciation, and life-history and life-cycle evolution, these results will help inform, interpret, and guide future research in these areas. 


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (128) ◽  
pp. 20170035 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin J. Lankheet ◽  
Uroš Cerkvenik ◽  
Ole N. Larsen ◽  
Johan L. van Leeuwen

Female field crickets use phonotaxis to locate males by their calling song. Male song production and female behavioural sensitivity form a pair of matched frequency filters, which in Gryllus bimaculatus are tuned to a frequency of about 4.7 kHz. Directional sensitivity is supported by an elaborate system of acoustic tracheae, which make the ears function as pressure difference receivers. As a result, phase differences between left and right sound inputs are transformed into vibration amplitude differences. Here we critically tested the hypothesis that acoustic properties of internal transmissions play a major role in tuning directional sensitivity to the calling song frequency, by measuring tympanal vibrations as a function of sound direction and frequency. Rather than sharp frequency tuning of directional sensitivity corresponding to the calling song, we found broad frequency tuning, with optima shifted to higher frequencies. These findings agree with predictions from a vector summation model for combining external and internal sounds. We show that the model provides robust directional sensitivity that is, however, broadly tuned with an optimum well above the calling song frequency. We therefore advocate that additional filtering, e.g. at a higher (neuronal) level, significantly contributes to frequency tuning of directional sensitivity.


1960 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 973-988 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. S. Bigelow

Tendencies to diapause were not observed in nymphs of Acheta pennsylvanicus (Burmeister), but diapause was noted in a high proportion of the nymphs of Acheta veletis Alexander and Bigelow. On the average, nymphal development was more rapid in pennsylvanicus than it was in veletis nymphs. Embryonic diapause always occurred in pennsylvanicus but never in veletis eggs. These differences in developmental physiology are genetically determined and the failure of the two species to produce hybrids may be due to conflicting lethal interactions of the two genotypes in hybrid embryos. Both species die out after several generations of laboratory rearing at continuous high temperatures, and the evolution of cold hardiness has apparently involved a reduction in tolerance to constant high temperatures. Reproductive isolation may have been achieved by these two species without geographical isolation. Nymphal development is more rapid in northern than in southern veletis populations.


The Auk ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 119 (3) ◽  
pp. 770-777 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miyoko Chu ◽  
Walter D. Koenig ◽  
Alvaro Godinez ◽  
Carl E. McIntosh ◽  
Robert C. Fleischer

Abstract We observed courtship and copulatory behavior in two populations of Phainopeplas (Phainopepla nitens) with contrasting social systems and used multilocus DNA fingerprinting to assess rates of extrapair fertilization (EPF). Phainopeplas from both territorial and loosely colonial populations copulated infrequently (≤2 times per day). No extrapair copulations (EPCs) were observed in either population. We found no evidence of EPFs in 48 nestlings from 25 nests. Thus, Phainopeplas appear to be both socially and genetically monogamous. However, Phainopeplas are not monogamous over their lifetimes—they do not retain mates from year to year and appear to switch mates between breeding localities within the same year. Compressed breeding seasons, geographically shifting food resources, and widespread breeding failures may favor monogamy during any given breeding attempt while allowing opportunities to switch mates between breeding localities and years.


1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (11) ◽  
pp. 2916-2920 ◽  
Author(s):  
William H. Cade ◽  
Daniel Otte

Field observations and experiments in the Republic of South Africa demonstrated that burrowing male field crickets, Acanthogryllus fortipes, call in alternation by singing during the interval of silence in a neighbour's song. Alternating males had a chirp rate which was 30 to 60% that of nonaltrnating males. Rapidly singing and nonalternating males responded to taped playbacks of conspecific song by reducing their chirp rate to match that of a loudspeaker. Alternation calling is observed after sunset. Males do not alternate when they begin singing during the day. Nearest neighbour analyses of calling males and of cricket burrows show that calling males are spatially aggregated, but that burrows or potential signaling sites are not localized. In playback experiments where the loudspeaker to male distance was repeatedly reduced, males called at distances comparable to those separating actual males. Males became silent, however, when the loudspeaker was moved inside of the minimum intermale distance observed in the field. Spacing patterns are more compact in A. fortipes, a deep burrowing species, than in other gryllines, and A. fortipes is the only cricket species in which alternation of male calls has been demonstrated experimentally.


EDIS ◽  
1969 ◽  
Vol 2003 (14) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Walker

This species was first described from Jamaica and is widespread in the West Indies. It may have first become established in south Florida as recently as the early 1950's. Its scientific name (Gryllus assimilis or Acheta assimilis) was applied to all New World field crickets until 1957. This document is EENY-069, one of a series of Featured Creatures from the Entomology and Nematology Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Published: January 1999. Reviewed: May 2003. EENY069/IN226: Jamaican Field Cricket, Gryllus assimilis (Fabricius) (Insecta: Orthoptera: Gryllidae) (ufl.edu)


1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (12) ◽  
pp. 2697-2700 ◽  
Author(s):  
William H. Cade ◽  
Michael G. Tyshenko

Hybridization was attempted between three geographically separated field cricket populations having males that produce distinct songs. Gryllus integer from central Texas and G. rubens from Arkansas produced many offspring in both reciprocal crosses. Gryllus sp. from New Mexico also produced hybrid offspring in matings with G. integer and G. rubens but at a very low frequency and only in crosses where the female was Gryllus sp. In previous experiments, G. integer from California was unable to hybridize with G. integer from Texas and G. rubens.


2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 561-565
Author(s):  
Takashi Kuriwada ◽  
Rintaro Kawasaki ◽  
Akifumi Kuwano ◽  
Gadi V P Reddy

Abstract Many animals produce acoustic signals to mark territories and attract mates. When different species produce acoustic signals simultaneously, the signals create a noisy environment, with potential acoustic interference between species. Theoretical studies suggest that such reproductive interference may have strong effects on species interaction. For example, the inferior resource competitor can survive if its disadvantage is counterbalanced by superiority in reproductive interference. Two field cricket species, Teleogryllus occipitalis (Audinet-Serville) (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) and Loxoblemmus equestris Saussure (Orthoptera: Gryllidae), cooccur in the same habitat. A previous study has shown that L. equestris is an inferior species to T. occipitalis in terms of resource competition. Therefore, we predicted that mate location and choice behavior of female T. occipitalis would be negatively affected by the acoustic signals of L. equestris and tested this with a series of playback experiments. The mate choice behavior of female T. occipitalis was not significantly affected by the calling song of L. equestris. Our results suggest that the acoustic interference does not explain the cooccurrence of the two species in the same habitat.


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