P-48 How Age Affects Phonotaxis in Male-exposed Female Crickets (Achetus Domesticus)
Abstract
This study seeks to evaluate the potential effects of male-exposure on female cricket’s behavioral response and consequently on their underlying neuronal circuits. Previous studies have reported that virgin females respond with varying degrees of selectivity to a narrow range of calls, and that as these virgin female crickets age, they respond to a wider range of calling songs. In comparison, the current study indicates that exposure to males may be causally related to a loss of selectivity in young females. Females raised in the same chamber as males were placed on a non-compensating treadmill and exposed to a range of computerized calling songs as their trajectory was monitored. Additionally, this study evaluates how Juvenile Hormone III, a hormone found in younger crickets, affects the phonotactic selectivity of these young, male-exposed female crickets.
Start Date
3-2-2018 2:30 PM
P-48 How Age Affects Phonotaxis in Male-exposed Female Crickets (Achetus Domesticus)
This study seeks to evaluate the potential effects of male-exposure on female cricket’s behavioral response and consequently on their underlying neuronal circuits. Previous studies have reported that virgin females respond with varying degrees of selectivity to a narrow range of calls, and that as these virgin female crickets age, they respond to a wider range of calling songs. In comparison, the current study indicates that exposure to males may be causally related to a loss of selectivity in young females. Females raised in the same chamber as males were placed on a non-compensating treadmill and exposed to a range of computerized calling songs as their trajectory was monitored. Additionally, this study evaluates how Juvenile Hormone III, a hormone found in younger crickets, affects the phonotactic selectivity of these young, male-exposed female crickets.
Acknowledgments
Dr. Benjamin Navia.
AU Office of Research & Creative Scholarship.