Effect of mating on female phonotactic response in Gryllus integer (Orthoptera: Gryllidae)

1998 ◽  
Vol 76 (7) ◽  
pp. 1263-1268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Lickman ◽  
Anne-Marie Murray ◽  
William H Cade
Keyword(s):  
Single Stimulus ◽  
Field Cricket ◽  
Mating Status ◽  
Mating Preferences ◽  
Female Response ◽  
Mating History ◽  
Directional Movement ◽  
Male Calling ◽  
Female Mating Preferences ◽  
Gryllus Integer

Little work has examined the importance of the variation in mating preferences shown by individual females in a population. In acoustical insects, female response in terms of orientation and movement towards the male calling song is one aspect of female mating preferences. In this study, the effects of mating status on female phonotactic responses in the field cricket, Gryllus integer, were investigated. All test subjects were 10-14 days old and varied in their pretrial mating history. Mated females had copulated 24 h prior to testing. Virgin females, however, had visual, olfactory, and acoustical exposure to males during the pretrial matings of the mated females. Phonotactic responses were measured using a noncompensating treadmill called the kugel. Females were presented with simulated conspecific calling songs differing in trill length in either choice or no-choice protocols. Virgin females exhibited greater overall movement than mated females as well as increased directional movement in multi-stimulus presentations but not in single-stimulus presentations. Neither virgin nor mated females differentiated between the two songs differing in trill length. The data demonstrate that female G. integer phonotaxis is influenced, in part, by both mating status and the availability of mates.

Senescence in field crickets (Orthoptera; Gryllidae): examining the effects of sex and a sex-biased parasitoid

2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 140-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A Gray ◽  
William H Cade
Keyword(s):  
Field Cricket ◽  
Gryllus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Extrinsic Mortality ◽  
Field Crickets ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Theory Of Aging ◽  
Male Calling ◽  
Intrinsic Mortality ◽  
Gryllus Integer

The evolutionary theory of aging proposes that senescence is related to decreased selection against deleterious mutations acting late in life. Senescence, i.e., an increase in intrinsic mortality with age, should reflect levels of extrinsic mortality early in life. We tested these predictions using two species of field cricket, Gryllus integer and Gryllus pennsylvanicus. Gryllus integer males are host to a sex-biased parasitoid fly, which orients to the male calling song. As a result, males have reduced life expectancy compared with females in the field. In contrast, G. pennsylvanicus males and females appear to have similar life expectancies in the wild. Thus, we predicted that there would be a significant species × sex interaction, with G. integer males having the shortest life-span. In two replicates, we found that males of both species died at a significantly younger age than females. However, no evidence of a species × sex interaction was found: in the first replicate, G. integer males died earliest, in the second replicate, G. pennsylvanicus males died earliest.

scholarly journals Tradeoffs limit the evolution of male traits that are attractive to females

2012 ◽  
Vol 279 (1739) ◽  
pp. 2899-2906 ◽  
Author(s):  
William E. Wagner ◽  
Oliver M. Beckers ◽  
Amanda E. Tolle ◽  
Alexandra L. Basolo
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Field Cricket ◽  
Common Environment ◽  
Mating Preferences ◽  
Male Song ◽  
Full Sibling ◽  
Female Mating ◽  
Male Trait ◽  
Female Mating Preferences ◽  
Gryllus Lineaticeps

Tradeoffs occur between a variety of traits in a diversity of organisms, and these tradeoffs can have major effects on ecological and evolutionary processes. Far less is known, however, about tradeoffs between male traits that affect mate attraction than about tradeoffs between other types of traits. Previous results indicate that females of the variable field cricket, Gryllus lineaticeps , prefer male songs with higher chirp rates and longer chirp durations. In the current study, we tested the hypothesis that a tradeoff between these traits affects the evolution of male song. The two traits were negatively correlated among full-sibling families, consistent with a genetically based tradeoff, and the tradeoff was stronger when nutrients were limiting. In addition, for males from 12 populations reared in a common environment, the traits were negatively correlated within populations, the strength of the tradeoff was largely invariant across populations, and the within-population tradeoff predicted how the traits have evolved among populations. A widespread tradeoff thus affects male trait evolution. Finally, for males from four populations assayed in the field, the traits were negatively correlated within and among populations. The tradeoff is thus robust to the presence of environmental factors that might mask its effects. Together, our results indicate there is a fundamental tradeoff between male traits that: (i) limits the ability of males to produce multiple attractive traits; (ii) limits how male traits evolve; and (iii) might favour plasticity in female mating preferences.

scholarly journals Isophya sicula sp. n. (Orthoptera: Tettigonioidea), a new, morphologically cryptic bush-cricket species from the Eastern Carpathians (Romania) recognized from its peculiar male calling song

Zootaxa ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 2627 (1) ◽  
pp. 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
KIRILL MÁRK ORCI ◽  
GERGELY SZÖVÉNYI ◽  
BARNABÁS NAGY
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Signals ◽  
Pair Formation ◽  
Descriptive Statistics ◽  
Calling Song ◽  
Syllable Type ◽  
Morphometric Characters ◽  
Female Response ◽  
Eastern Carpathians ◽  
Male Calling ◽  
Bush Cricket

The morphology and pair-forming acoustic signals of Isophya sicula sp. n., a new phaneropterine bush-cricket species from the Eastern Carpathians (Romania) is described. The species is morphologically similar to I. posthumoidalis and I. camptoxypha, but the male calling song differs clearly from the songs of those species. The male calling song is a long series of evenly repeated, very short syllables. Syllables are much shorter than in I. camptoxypha, and the song is composed from only one syllable type differently from I. posthumoidalis, where the male calling song is composed of two syllable types. Pair formation is achieved during an acoustic duet. The delay of female response (40–70 ms) is shorter than in I. camptoxypha and I. posthumoidalis. Basic descriptive statistics of sonometric and morphometric characters of the new species as well as SEM photos of the male stridulatory file and female stridulatory bristles are presented.

scholarly journals Predator-induced changes of male and female mating preferences: innate and learned components

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Plath ◽  
Kai Liu ◽  
Diane Umutoni ◽  
Guilherme Gomes-Silva ◽  
Jie-Fei Wei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Choice Test ◽  
Extrinsic Factors ◽  
Mating Preferences ◽  
Choice Tests ◽  
Experiential Effects ◽  
Female Mating Preferences ◽  
Induced Changes

Abstract While many mating preferences have a genetic basis, the question remains as to whether and how learning/experience can modify individual mate choice decisions. We used wild-caught (predator-experienced) and F1 laboratory-reared (predator-naïve) invasive Western mosquitofish Gambusia affinis from China to test whether mating preferences (assessed in a first mate choice test) would change under immediate predation threat. The same individuals were tested in a second mate choice test during which 1 of 3 types of animated predators was presented: 1) a co-occurring predator, 2) a co-evolved but not currently co-occurring predator, and 3) a non-piscivorous species as control. We compared preference scores derived from both mate choice tests to separate innate from experiential effects of predation. We also asked whether predator-induced changes in mating preferences would differ between sexes or depend on the choosing individual’s personality type and/or body size. Wild-caught fish altered their mate choice decisions most when exposed to the co-occurring predator whereas laboratory-reared individuals responded most to the co-evolved predator, suggesting that both innate mechanisms and learning effects are involved. This behavior likely reduces individuals’ risk of falling victim to predation by temporarily moving away from high-quality (i.e., conspicuous) mating partners. Accordingly, effects were stronger in bolder than shyer, large- compared with small-bodied, and female compared with male focal individuals, likely because those phenotypes face an increased predation risk overall. Our study adds to the growing body of literature appreciating the complexity of the mate choice process, where an array of intrinsic and extrinsic factors interacts during decision-making.

Audience effect alters male but not female mating preferences

2008 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Plath ◽  
Katja Kromuszczynski ◽  
Ralph Tiedemann
Keyword(s):  
Audience Effect ◽  
Mating Preferences ◽  
Female Mating ◽  
Female Mating Preferences
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