@article {52756, title = {Nutritional effects on male calling behaviour in the variable field cricket}, journal = {Animal Behaviour}, volume = {57}, year = {1999}, month = {Jan-01-1999}, pages = {89 - 95}, abstract = {

In the variable field cricket,Gryllus lineaticeps, females prefer higher chirp rates and longer chirp durations in male calling song. Higher chirp rates are energetically more expensive to produce, but the energetic cost of calling does not vary with chirp duration. We tested the hypothesis that nutrition affects male chirp rate and chirp duration. Full-sibling brothers of similar age were placed on high- and low-nutrition feeding regimes. There was no effect of feeding regime on male weight; neither group showed a significant change in weight, and the two groups did not differ from each other in weight change. However, males on the high-nutrition feeding regime both called more frequently and called at higher chirp rates when they did call. The two groups did not differ in chirp duration, the duration of pulses within chirps or chirp dominant frequency. These results suggest that females select mates based on one nutrition-dependent call character (chirp rate) and one nutrition-independent call character (chirp duration). In addition, because males in the two groups did not show significant differences in weight change, and because males on the high-nutrition feeding regime engaged in energetically more expensive calling, these results suggest that males invest any excess energy above their basic maintenance requirements in the production of call types that increase their attractiveness to females. The absence of a relationship between body condition and calling song structure for males in the field may be a consequence of this pattern of energy allocation.

}, issn = {00033472}, doi = {10.1006/anbe.1998.0964}, url = {http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0003347298909642}, author = {William E. Wagner and W. Wyatt Hoback} } @article {52755, title = {The energetic cost of calling in the variable field cricket, Gryllus lineaticeps}, journal = {Physiological Entomology}, volume = {22}, year = {1997}, month = {Jan-09-1997}, pages = {286 - 290}, abstract = {

Female preferences for conspicuous male calls have been documented in many groups. However, relatively few studies have examined the metabolic costs associated with the production of call types preferred by females. We measured the oxygen consumption of calling male Gryllus lineaticeps St\ål crickets using closed chamber respirometry. Calling song was recorded concurrently. The average increase in mass-specific oxygen consumption during calling was 2.7 times basal rates of oxygen consumption, and calling males consumed approximately 1.2ml O2g-lh-1. Oxygen consumption increased with increasing chirp rate and pulse duration, but not with increasing chirp duration. Females of this species prefer higher chirp rates, thus some call types that increase the male\&$\#$39;s attractiveness to females require more metabolic energy to produce.

}, keywords = {female preference, Field cricket, Gryllus lineaticeps, metabolic cost}, issn = {0307-6962}, doi = {10.1111/j.1365-3032.1997.tb01170.x}, url = {http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/j.1365-3032.1997.tb01170.xhttps://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111\%2Fj.1365-3032.1997.tb01170.x}, author = {W. Wyatt Hoback and William E. Wagner} } @article {52754, title = {Convergent song preferences between female field crickets and acoustically orienting parasitoid flies}, journal = {Behavioral Ecology}, volume = {7}, year = {1996}, month = {Jan-01-1996}, pages = {279 - 285}, abstract = {

Traits that increase the attractiveness of males to females often make them more conspicuous to predators. In the field cricket (Gryllus lineaticeps), males are attacked by parasitoid tachinid flies (Ormia ochracea) that locate males through their calls. Female flies larviposit on crickets and the larvae burrow into and feed on the cricket, killing the cricket upon emergence. To determine whether traits preferred by females increase a male\&$\#$39;s risk of attracting a predator, I examined the effect of variation in male singing behavior on mate and predator attraction. Both female crickets and female flies preferred male calling songs with higher chirp rates, longer chirp durations, and higher chirp amplitudes. In addition, both female crickets and female flies preferred male calling songs with higher chirp rates and longer chirp durations, even when these songs were of lower amplitude. These results suggest that sexual selection by female choice will favor the evolution of higher chirp rates and longer chirp durations. However, call types that increase a male\&$\#$39;s attractiveness to females also appear to increase a male\&$\#$39;s risk of attracting parasitoids. Sexual and natural selection appear to have opposing effects on the evolution of male singing behavior in this species.

}, issn = {1045-2249}, doi = {10.1093/beheco/7.3.279}, url = {https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/beheco/7.3.279}, author = {William E. Wagner} } @article {47912, title = {Female Field Crickets Incur Increased Parasitism Risk When Near Preferred Song}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {5}, year = {2010}, month = {Sep-03-2010}, pages = {e9592}, abstract = {

Female animals often prefer males with conspicuous traits because these males provide direct or indirect benefits. Conspicuous male traits, however, can attract predators. This not only increases the risk of predation for conspicuous males but also for the females that prefer them. In the variable field cricket, Gryllus lineaticeps, males that produce preferred song types provide females with greater material benefits, but they are also more likely to attract lethal parasitoid flies. First, we conducted a field experiment that tested the hypothesis that females have a greater risk of fly parasitism when in association with preferred high chirp rate males. Females were nearly twice as likely to be parasitized when caged with high chirp rate song than when caged with low chirp rate song. Females may thus be forced to trade off the quality of the benefits they receive from mating with preferred males and the risk of being killed by a predator when near these males. Second, we assessed female parasitism rates in a natural population. Up to 6\% of the females were parasitized in field samples. Because the females we collected could have become parasitized had they not been collected, this provides a minimum estimate of the female parasitism rate in the field. In a laboratory study, we found no difference in the proportion of time parasitized and unparasitized females spent hiding under shelters; thus, differences in activity patterns do not appear to have biased our estimate of female parasitism rates. Overall, our results suggest that female association costs have the potential to shape the evolution of female mating preferences.

}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.000959210.1371/journal.pone.0009592.g00110.1371/journal.pone.0009592.g002}, url = {http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0009592}, author = {Martin, Cassandra M. and William E. Wagner} }