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27 results for “courtship signals”
Vibroscape analysis reveals acoustic niche overlap and plastic alteration of vibratory courtship signals in ground-dwelling wolf spiders
<p>Soundscape ecology has enabled researchers to investigate natural interactions among biotic and abiotic sounds as well as their influence on local animals. To expand the scope of soundscape ecology to encompass substrate-borne vibrations (i.e. vibroscapes), we developed methods for recording and analyzing sounds produced by ground-dwelling arthropods to characterize the vibroscape of a deciduous forest floor using inexpensive contact microphone arrays followed by automated sound filtering and detection in large audio datasets. Through the collected data, we tested the hypothesis that closely related species of <em>Schizocosa</em> wolf spider partition their acoustic niche. In contrast to previous studies on acoustic niche partitioning, two closely related species - <em>S. stridulans</em> and <em>S. uetzi</em> - showed high acoustic niche overlap across space, time, and/or signal structure. Finally, we examined whether substrate-borne noise, including anthropogenic noise (e.g., airplanes) and heterospecific signals, promotes behavioral plasticity in signaling behavior to reduce the risk of signal interference. We found that all three focal <em>Schizocosa</em> species increased the dominant frequency of their vibratory courtship signals in noisier signaling environments. Also, <em>S. stridulans</em> males displayed increased vibratory signal complexity with an increased abundance of <em>S. uetzi</em>, their sister species with which they are highly overlapped in the acoustic niche.</p>
Developmental temperature alters the thermal sensitivity of courtship activity and signal-preference relationships, but not mating rates
<p><span>Mating behaviours are susceptible to novel or stressful thermal conditions, particularly for ectothermic organisms. One way to deal with changes in thermal conditions is to exhibit developmental plasticity, whereby the thermal sensitivity of mating behaviours depend on developmental conditions. </span></p> <p><span>We test how developmental temperature affects the thermal sensitivity of courtship behaviour and mating rates, as well as mating signal and preference coupling. </span></p> <p><span>We rear treehoppers under two temperature regimes and then test how a range of ambient temperature affects behaviours involved in the coordination of mating. We also test for sex-specific thermal sensitivity and developmental plasticity.</span></p> <p><span>We find developmental plasticity in the thermal sensitivity of courtship behaviour and mating signals for males. However, we found no developmental plasticity in females, and no change in the thermal sensitivity of mating rates.</span></p> <p><span>We discuss the implications of signal-preference decoupling for sexual selection, how reversible acclimation may drive sex-specific results, and the potential for mismatches between developmental and mating thermal environments under future climate change predictions. </span><span><br></span></p>
Computational analyses of dynamic visual courtship display reveal diet-dependent and plastic male signaling in Rabidosa rabida wolf spiders
<p>It has long been a challenge to quantify the variation in dynamic motions to understand how those displays function in animal communication. The traditional approach is dependent on labor-intensive manual identification/annotation by experts. However, the recent progress in computational techniques provides researchers with toolsets for rapid, objective, and reproducible quantification of dynamic visual displays. In the present study, we investigated the effects of diet manipulation on dynamic visual components of male courtship displays of <em>Rabidosa</em> <em>rabida</em> wolf spiders using machine learning algorithms. Our results suggest that (i) the computational approach can provide an insight into the variation in the dynamic visual display between high- and low-diet males which is not clearly shown with the traditional approach and (ii) males may plastically alter their courtship display according to the body size of females they encounter. Through the present study, we add an example of the utilization of recent computational techniques for understanding the evolution of animal behaviors.</p>
Vibroscape analysis reveals acoustic niche overlap and plastic alteration of vibratory courtship signals in ground-dwelling wolf spiders
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Data and code from: Computational analyses of dynamic visual courtship display reveal diet-dependent male signaling in <em>Rabidosa rabida</em> wolf spiders
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Computational analyses of dynamic visual courtship display reveal diet-dependent and plastic male signaling in Rabidosa rabida wolf spiders
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Developmental temperature alters the thermal sensitivity of courtship activity and signal-preference relationships, but not mating rates
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Data from: Phenotypic evolution shaped by current enzyme function in the bioluminescent courtship signals of sea fireflies
Mating behaviours are diverse and noteworthy, especially within species radiations where they may contribute to speciation. Studying how differences in mating behaviours arise between species can help us understand how diversity is generated at multiple biological levels. The bioluminescent courtship displays of cypridinid ostracods (or sea fireflies) are an excellent system for this since amazing variety evolves while using a conserved biochemical mechanism. We find that the evolution of one aspect in this behavioural phenotype - the duration of bioluminescent courtship pulses - is shaped by biochemical function. First, by measuring light production from induced bioluminescence in 38 species, we discovered differences between species in their biochemical reactions. Then, for 16 species of which biochemical, phylogenetic, and behavioral data are all available, we used phylogenetic comparative models to show that differences in biochemical reaction are nonlinearly correlated with the duration of courtship pulses. This relationship indicates that changes to both enzyme (c-luciferase) function and usage have shaped the evolution of courtship displays, but that they differentially contribute to these phenotypic changes. This nonlinear dynamic may have consequences for the disparity of signaling phenotypes observed across species, and demonstrates how unappreciated diversity at the biochemical level can lead to inferences about behavioural evolution.
Vibroacoustic courtship signals of the cricket Acheta domesticus
<p>Dataset accompanying the publication: More than stridulation: signal interaction and constraint in the<br>complex vibroacoustic courtship of a cricket, by Nataša Stritih-Peljhan and Alenka Žunič-Kosi, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2024 (https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-024-03530-y)</p> <p>Temporal, spectral and amplitude parameters of signals produced by wing stridulation, leg drumming, and body tremulation during courtship by male<em> Acheta domesticus</em>, recorded as sound and substrate vibration.</p>
Varied female and male courtship behavior facilitated the evolution of a novel sexual signal
<p><span><span>Sexual selection can contribute to speciation when signals and preferences expressed during mate choice are coupled within groups, but come to differ across groups (generating assortative mating). When new sexual signals evolve, it is important to investigate their roles in both mate location and courtship contexts, as both signaling functions are critical in mate choice. In previous work, researchers identified two new male morphs (silent and purring) in Hawaiian populations of the Pacific field cricket, </span><span>Teleogryllus oceanicus.</span><span> These morphs likely evolved because they protect males from an acoustically orienting parasitoid, yet still obtain some reproductive success. But, it remains unknown how purring morphs function in close courtship encounters. We compared the relative success of the very recently evolved purring morph to that of the ancestral and silent morphs during courtship encounters. Purring males produce a novel courtship song and were not as successful in courtship as the ancestral type, but were mounted by females as often and as quickly as the obligately silent morph that arose and spread ~20 years ago. Purring males initiate courtship more quickly than other morphs, and females from populations where purring is common exhibit higher overall mounting rates. Thus, differences in the behavior of purring males and of females from populations where purring is common may have facilitated the origin of this novel sexual signal. We found no assortative mating between males of a given morph and females from their own population, and so we hypothesize that multiple male types will be maintained within the species because each achieves fitness in different ways. </span></span></p>
Why signal if you are not attractive? Courtship synchrony in a fiddler crab
<p>Synchronised male courtship signals are puzzling because males generally compete with each other for females. Male <i>Austruca mjoebergi</i> fiddler crabs wave in synchrony to attract females, but, all else being equal, females have a strong preference for 'leader' males that can produce waves before other males ('followers'). So why do followers participate in synchrony? Here, we experimentally investigate three explanations for why followers might wave in synchrony: 1) followers obtain a small proportion of matings, 2) followers are more likely than a leader to attract females if they are positioned closer to her than is the leader, and 3) synchrony functions as a long-distance visual signal that attracts females so there is a net benefit to synchrony for all males. Using robotic male crabs, we found that females show a strong preference for leading males, but followers obtain a 'better-than-nothing' proportion of mates. We also showed that closer proximity of a follower to the female did not affect her preference for leaders, although being a leader increased a male's success when he was further from the female than were rival males. Finally, females were more likely to approach a distant group if there was a leader present, suggesting that followers do benefit from participating in synchrony.</p>
Data from: A mosaic of endogenous and plant-derived courtship signals in moths
<p>Insects rely on olfaction to guide a wide range of adaptive behaviors, including mate- and food-localization, mate choice, oviposition site selection, kin recognition and predator avoidance. In nocturnal insects, such as moths and cockroaches, mate finding is stimulated predominantly by long-range species-specific sex pheromones, typically emitted by females. During courtship, at close-range, males in most moth species emit a blend of pheromone compounds from an everted, often large, pheromone gland. While long-distance communication with sex pheromones has been remarkably well characterized in thousands of moth species, close-range chemosensory sexual communication remains poorly understood. We reveal that in the moth <em>Chloridea virescens</em>, the male pheromone consists of three distinct classes of compounds: de novo biosynthesized alcohols, aldehydes, acetates and carboxylic acids that resemble the female's emissions, and newly identified compounds that are unique to the male pheromone: aliphatic polyunsaturated hydrocarbons and sequestered plant secondary compounds and hormone derivatives, including methyl salicylate (MeSA). Thus, males employ a mosaic pheromone blend of disparate origins that may serve multiple functions during courtship. We show that two olfactory receptors in female antennae are tuned to MeSA, which facilitates female acceptance of the male. Because MeSA is emitted by plants attacked by pathogens and herbivores, the chemosensory system of female moths was likely already tuned to this plant volatile, and males appear to exploit the female's preadapted sensory bias. Interestingly, while female moths (largely nocturnal) and butterflies (diurnal) diverged in their use of sensory modalities in sexual communication, MeSA is used by males of both lineages.</p>
Figure 9. Semaphore signalling with extended legs III. 1, Approaching a in Courtship display by a peacock spider, Maratus constellatus (Araneae: Salticidae: Euophryini: Australphryni)
Figure 9. Semaphore signalling with extended legs III. 1, Approaching a female from the rear, as the female elevates legs III in a rejection display. 2, Approaching a female from the front. 3-10, Other positions assumed during this symmetrical display.
Data from: Phenotypic evolution shaped by current enzyme function in the bioluminescent courtship signals of sea fireflies
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Varied female and male courtship behavior facilitated the evolution of a novel sexual signal
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Why signal if you are not attractive? Courtship synchrony in a fiddler crab
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Data from: A mosaic of endogenous and plant-derived courtship signals in moths
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Sexual signals persist over deep time: ancient co-option of bioluminescence for courtship displays in cypridinid ostracods
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Data from: Control of signaling alignment during the dynamic courtship display of a jumping spider
During communication, alignment between signals and sensors can be critical. Signals are often best perceived from specific angles, and sensory systems can also exhibit strong directional biases. However, we know little about how animals establish and maintain such signaling alignment during communication. To investigate this, we characterized the spatial dynamics of visual courtship signaling in the jumping spider Habronattus pyrrithrix. The male performs forward-facing displays involving complex color and movement patterns, with distinct long- and short-range phases. The female views displays with 2 distinct eye types and can only perceive colors and fine patterns of male displays when they are presented in her frontal field of view. Whether and how courtship interactions produce such alignment between male display and female field of view is unknown. We recorded relative positions and orientations of both actors throughout courtship and established the role of each sex in maintaining signaling alignment. Males always oriented their displays toward the female. However, when females were free to move, male displays were consistently aligned with female principal eyes only during short-range courtship. When female position was fixed, signaling alignment consistently occurred during both phases, suggesting that female movement reduces communication efficacy. When female models were experimentally rotated to face away during courtship, males rarely repositioned themselves to re-align their display. However, males were more likely to present certain display elements after females turned to face them. Thus, although signaling alignment is a function of both sexes, males appear to rely on female behavior for effective communication.
Sister-Species Diverge in Modality-Specific Courtship Signal Form and Function
<p>Understanding the relative importance of different sources of selection (e.g. the environment, social/sexual selection) on the divergence or convergence of reproductive communication can shed light on the origin, maintenance, or even disappearance of species boundaries. Using a multi-step approach, we tested the hypothesis that two presumed sister-species of wolf spider with overlapping ranges and microhabitat use, yet differing degrees of sexual dimorphism, have diverged in their reliance on modality-specific courtship signaling. We predicted that male <i>Schizocosa crassipalpata</i> (no ornamentation) rely predominantly on diet-dependent vibratory signaling for mating success. In contrast, we predicted that male <i>S. bilineata </i>(black foreleg brushes) rely on diet-dependent visual signaling. We first tested and corroborated the sister-species relationship between <i>S. crassipalpata </i>and <i>S. bilineata </i>using phylogenomic scale data. Next, we tested for species-specific, diet-dependent vibratory and visual signaling by manipulating subadult diet and subsequently quantifying adult morphology and mature male courtship signals. As predicted, vibratory signal form was diet-dependent in <i>S. crassipalpata</i> while visual ornamentation (brush area) was diet-dependent in <i>S. bilineata. </i>We then compared the species-specific reliance on vibratory and visual signaling by recording mating across artificially manipulated signaling environments (presence/absence of each modality in a 2 x 2 full factorial design). In accordance with our diet dependence results for <i>S. crassipalpata, </i>the presence of vibratory signaling was important for mating success<i>. </i>In contrast, the light and vibratory environment interacted to influence mating success in <i>S. bilineata, </i>with vibratory signaling being important only in the absence of light. We found no differences in overall activity patterns. Given that these species overlap in much of their range and microhabitat use, we suggest that competition for signaling space may have led to the divergence and differential use of sensory modalities between these sister-species.</p>
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