Flight and hearing: ultrasound sensitivity differs between flight-capable and flight-incapable morphs of a wing-dimorphic cricket species
2007
SUMMARY We studied frequency sensitivity of flight-capable and flight-incapable
forms of the wing-dimorphic cricket Gryllus texensis , using both
behavioral and neurophysiological measurements. Behavioral thresholds for
negative phonotaxis in response to ultrasound stimuli are lower for
long-winged (i.e. flight-capable) crickets than for short-winged
(flight-incapable) individuals, whereas thresholds for positive phonotaxis in
response to a calling-song model do not differ. Similarly, thresholds of the
identified interneurons ON1 and AN2 differ between flight morphs for high
sound frequencies but not for the frequency of calling song. Our results show
that sensitivity to ultrasound is closely linked to flight ability, and thus
to the risk of predation from aerially hawking bats. We suggest that
sensitivity to ultrasound is one of a suite of flight-associated
characteristics, the development of which may be under common hormonal
regulation.
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