Date of Award

4-5-2021

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Department

Biology

First Advisor

Benjamin Navia

Abstract

Phonotaxis is defined as the movement of organisms in response to an auditory stimulus. It plays an important role in helping animals find a potential mate, and thus it is worthwhile to understand what factors may influence phonotaxis. Phonotactic behavior in virgin female cricket Acheta domesticus has been the focus of multiple studies, which have reported a degree of variability among individuals. Several factors that have been reported to influence such variability include age, environmental temperature, and the presence of certain neuromodulators. This study investigated possible changes in the behavioral responses of young females when raised with males but not allowed to mate. The results of this study showed a significant difference in the behavioral response of young male-exposed females compared to young virgin females. These results suggest that factors other than mating may alter selectivity in the females’ phonotactic response and its underlying neural elements controlling behavior.

Subject Area

Crickets--Behavior; Crickets--Effect of sound on

Presentation Record URL

https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/honors-undergraduate-poster-symposium/2021/symposium/6/

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.32597/honors/246/

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