02611nas a2200121 4500008004100000245011900041210006900160520214400229100002102373700001802394700002402412856005302436 2012 eng d00aMating Behaviour and Vibratory Signalling in Non-Hearing Cave Crickets Reflect Primitive Communication of Ensifera0 aMating Behaviour and Vibratory Signalling in NonHearing Cave Cri3 a

In Ensifera, the lack of well-supported phylogeny and the focus on acoustic communication of the terminal taxa hinders understanding of the evolutionary history of their signalling behaviour and the related sensory structures. For Rhaphidophoridae, the most relic of ensiferans following morphology-based phylogenies, the signalling modes are still unknown. Together with a detailed description of their mating process, we provide evidence on vibratory signalling for the sympatric European species Troglophilus neglectus and T. cavicola. Despite their temporal shift in reproduction, the species’ behaviours differ significantly. Signalling by abdominal vibration constitutes an obligatory part of courtship in T. neglectus, while it is absent in T. cavicola. Whole-body vibration is expressed after copulation in both species. While courtship signalling appears to stimulate females for mating, the function of post-copulation signals remains unclear. Mating and signalling of both species were found to take place in most cases on bark, and less frequently on other available substrates, like moss and rock. The signals’ frequency spectra were substrate dependent, but with the dominant peak always expressed below 120 Hz. On rock, the intensity of T. neglectus courtship signals was below the species’ physiological detection range, presumably constraining the evolution of such signalling in caves. The species’ behavioural divergence appears to reflect their divergent mating habitats, in and outside caves. We propose that short-range tremulation signalling in courtship, such as is expressed by T. neglectus, represents the primitive mode and context of mechanical signalling in Ensifera. The absence of high-frequency components in the signals may be related to the absence of the crista acoustica homologue (CAH) in the vibratory tibial organ of Rhaphidophoridae. This indirectly supports the hypothesis proposing that the CAH, as an evolutionary precursor of the ear, evolved in Ensifera along the (more) complex vibratory communication, also associated with signals of higher carrier frequency.

1 aStritih, Nataša1 aČokl, Andrej1 aGordon, Deborah, M. uhttps://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.004764603010nas a2200181 4500008004100000245009100041210006900132520234200201653002902543653001202572653002402584653004202608653003302650653002302683100002202706700001902728856008102747 2013 eng d00aDiversity of acoustic tracheal system and its role for directional hearing in crickets0 aDiversity of acoustic tracheal system and its role for direction3 a

Background: Sound localization in small insects can be a challenging task due to physical constraints in deriving sufficiently large interaural intensity differences (IIDs) between both ears. In crickets, sound source localization is achieved by a complex type of pressure difference receiver consisting of four potential sound inputs. Sound acts on the external side of two tympana but additionally reaches the internal tympanal surface via two external sound entrances. Conduction of internal sound is realized by the anatomical arrangement of connecting trachea. A key structure is a trachea coupling both ears which is characterized by an enlarged part in its midline (i.e., the acoustic vesicle) accompanied with a thin membrane (septum). This facilitates directional sensitivity despite an unfavorable relationship between wavelength of sound and body size. Here we studied the morphological differences of the acoustic tracheal system in 40 cricket species (Gryllidae, Mogoplistidae) and species of outgroup taxa (Gryllotalpidae, Rhaphidophoridae, Gryllacrididae) of the suborder Ensifera comprising hearing and non hearing species.

Results: We found a surprisingly high variation of acoustic tracheal systems and almost all investigated species using intraspecific acoustic communication were characterized by an acoustic vesicle associated with a medial septum. The relative size of the acoustic vesicle - a structure most crucial for deriving high IIDs - implies an important role for sound localization. Most remarkable in this respect was the size difference of the acoustic vesicle between species; those with a more unfavorable ratio of body size to sound wavelength tend to exhibit a larger acoustic vesicle. On the other hand, secondary loss of acoustic signaling was nearly exclusively associated with the absence of both acoustic vesicle and septum.

Conclusion: The high diversity of acoustic tracheal morphology observed between species might reflect different steps in the evolution of the pressure difference receiver; with a precursor structure already present in ancestral non-hearing species. In addition, morphological transitions of the acoustic vesicle suggest a possible adaptive role for the generation of binaural directional cues.

10aAcoustic tracheal system10acricket10adirectional hearing10aInteraural intensity difference (IID)10aPressure difference receiver10aSound localization1 aSchmidt, Arne, KD1 aRömer, Heiner uhttp://frontiersinzoology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1742-9994-10-6100497nas a2200121 4500008004100000022001500041245013500056210006900191260003800260300001200298100002400310856004100334 2001 eng d a085199408300aCommunication and Reproductive Behaviour in North American Jerusalem Crickets (Stenopelmatus) (Orthoptera: Stenopelmatidae)0 aCommunication and Reproductive Behaviour in North American Jerus aWallingford, United KingdombCABI a351-3751 aWeissman, David, B. uhttps://bio.acousti.ca/nl/node/40322