The effects of calling song spacing and intensity on the attraction of flying crickets (orthoptera: Goryllidae: Nemobiinae) |
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Authors: | H E Farris T G Forrest R R Hoy |
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Institution: | (1) National Center for Physical Acoustics, University of Mississippi, 38677 University, Mississippi;(2) Section of Neurobiology and Behavior, S. G. Mudd Hall, Cornell University, 14853 Ithaca, New York;(3) Present address: Department of Biology, University of North Carolina-Asheville, One University Heights, 28804 Asheville, North Carolina |
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Abstract: | Previous studies have shown that sexually signaling males across different taxa show stereotyped spacing behavior that may
be related to aspects of their signals, such as intensity. However, few studies have shown that the separation between signaling
males affects their relative attractiveness. Using two sound traps broadcasting the calling song of the cricketEunemobius carolinus, we show that the separation, relative intensity, and absolute intensity of the calling songs influence calling song attractiveness.
For calling songs separated by 5 m, the proportion of individuals attracted to the higher intensity song increased as the
relative intensity difference of the two songs increased from 3 to 6 dB. For calling songs that differed by 6 dB, relative
attraction to the less intense song decreased with decreasing song separation. These two results are consistent with the predictions
of a model (Forrest and Raspet, 1994) that suggests that dense spacing is more costly for less powerful singers and that this
cost increases with increasing differences in relative intensity. When the relative intensity of the songs was held constant
(6 dB), we found that discrimination between songs decreases as the song absolute intensity increases. In particular, a greater
proportion of individuals was attracted to the high-intensity song when the songs were broadcast at 103 and 97 dB than when
the songs were broadcast at 109 and 103 dB. Unlike mammals and birds, the ability ofE. carolinus to discriminate between songs that differ in intensity may decrease as the absolute intensity increases. This may mean that
females are less discriminating when they are closer to singing males. |
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Keywords: | cricket mate choice Eunemobius carolinus Nemobiinae male spacing mating aggregation intensity discrimination |
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