Light alters calling-song characteristics in crickets
Keren Levy1, Yossef Yits'hak Aidan1, Dror Paz1
1School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 6997801, Israel.
The Journal of Experimental Biology
|January 29, 2025
Summary
Constant light conditions alter cricket male calling songs, influencing female choice. This study analyzed cricket songs under light:dark versus constant light, finding significant differences that may impact mate selection and species fitness.
Area of Science:
- Animal behavior
- Bioacoustics
- Insect communication
Background:
- Mate choice is vital for species survival and fitness.
- Cricket females select males based on calling-song attractiveness.
- Light exposure is known to alter cricket activity patterns, but its effect on calling songs and female choice was unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how light conditions (light:dark vs. constant light) affect male cricket calling-song properties.
- To determine if these changes in calling songs influence female mate choice.
Main Methods:
- A novel semi-automated process was developed to analyze a large sample size of cricket calling songs.
- Males were subjected to lifelong light:dark (LD) or constant light (LL) conditions.
- Preliminary female choice experiments using playback recordings were conducted.
Main Results:
- Calling songs from LD males had longer chirps and inter-syllable intervals compared to LL males.
- LD songs also featured a higher proportion of 4-syllable chirps than LL songs.
- Females showed a preference for LD over LL calling-song recordings in playback experiments.
Conclusions:
- Illumination conditions, specifically constant light, alter male cricket calling-song properties.
- These alterations are discernible to females and may influence mate choice.
- Further research is needed to understand the full impact on female mate choice and species fitness.
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