Nature & Environment
Crickets Sing Strange, Vibrational Duet to One Another
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Dec 11, 2015 09:39 AM EST
Crickets may have a more complex communication system than once thought. Scientists have found that a group of crickets has a unique communication system that likely evolved from males startling females into revealing their location.
"The origins of communication signals have long fascinated evolutionary biologists, and multiple potential mechanisms for these origins have been proposed," said Hannah ter Hofstede, co-lead author of the new study, in a news release. "Our results demonstrate how sensory exploitation of anti-predator behavior can also evolve into a classic communication system that benefits both senders and receivers, and that this unexpected origin might be more common than previously appreciated."
Most crickets distinguish between mates and predators based on the frequency of sound. Male crickets produce low frequency calls to attract females, while bats produce high frequency (ultrasonic) sounds for echolocation.
In this latest study, the researchers examined a group of crickets in which males produced exceptionally high frequency calls to determine how they attract females by using sounds similar to a predator. In the end, the researchers found that typical female behavior of walking to calling mates had been lost in these crickets. Instead, the females shake their whole body to produce a vibrational signal after each male call. The males then follow these vibrations to find the females.
The researchers then looked at the responses of closely related crickets. This revealed that the female vibrational signal probably had its origins in a startle reflex signal seen in other crickets in respond to loud high frequency sounds.
The findings reveal a bit more about these crickets and, more specifically, shows their unique communication.
The findings are published in the journal Current Biology.
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First Posted: Dec 11, 2015 09:39 AM EST
Crickets may have a more complex communication system than once thought. Scientists have found that a group of crickets has a unique communication system that likely evolved from males startling females into revealing their location.
"The origins of communication signals have long fascinated evolutionary biologists, and multiple potential mechanisms for these origins have been proposed," said Hannah ter Hofstede, co-lead author of the new study, in a news release. "Our results demonstrate how sensory exploitation of anti-predator behavior can also evolve into a classic communication system that benefits both senders and receivers, and that this unexpected origin might be more common than previously appreciated."
Most crickets distinguish between mates and predators based on the frequency of sound. Male crickets produce low frequency calls to attract females, while bats produce high frequency (ultrasonic) sounds for echolocation.
In this latest study, the researchers examined a group of crickets in which males produced exceptionally high frequency calls to determine how they attract females by using sounds similar to a predator. In the end, the researchers found that typical female behavior of walking to calling mates had been lost in these crickets. Instead, the females shake their whole body to produce a vibrational signal after each male call. The males then follow these vibrations to find the females.
The researchers then looked at the responses of closely related crickets. This revealed that the female vibrational signal probably had its origins in a startle reflex signal seen in other crickets in respond to loud high frequency sounds.
The findings reveal a bit more about these crickets and, more specifically, shows their unique communication.
The findings are published in the journal Current Biology.
Related Articles
How Ants Evolved Their Sex Determination Traits
Monarch Butterfly's Seasonal Migration May Lower Infection Levels
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone