Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Program

Biology, MS

First Advisor

Benjamin Navia

Second Advisor

David Mbungu

Third Advisor

Daniel Gonzalez-Socoloske

Abstract

The phonotactic behavior of male Acheta domesticus has not been described at length. The present study evaluates the phonotactic responses of male A. domesticus in relation to age. Male crickets of different ages (young and old) were exposed to calls with attractive and non-attractive syllable periods for this species. Both age groups exhibited phonotaxis but did not show a preference towards the attractive call over the non-attractive ones. No significant relationship was found between age and phonotactic response. Additionally, no significant differences were observed between age and preferred syllable period. Acoustic responses were also observed in some of the older crickets. The results indicate that age does not determine phonotactic preference and does not seem to affect the likelihood of showing aggressive or satellite tendencies towards a conspecific caller. The lack of age-related phonotaxis to specific calls could also imply that there are no age-related changes or differences in the auditory processing and pattern recognition network in males of A. domesticus.

Subject Area

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

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