Life Sciences Commons^™

Reassessing The Parameters Of Phonotaxis In Female Acheta Domesticus, Jewel Murray

Honors Theses

To study phonotaxis in crickets a trackball system has been traditionally used, which consists of a spherical, air supported styrofoam ball placed in a soundproof container in which crickets are tethered to. Two computer mice detect its movement. A speaker is at one end of the container, and it is connected to a computer which generates calls with pre-set parameters. Once a cricket is attached to the trackball system, it can freely navigate toward the source of the sound, while the styrofoam ball remains stationary.

This apparatus has been used to measure the walking distance and angular orientation. When evaluating …

Phonotactic Tuning In Female Cricket Acheta Domesticus, Jessica Rim

Honors Theses

Phonotactic behavior of female cricket Acheta domesticus has been shown to vary among individuals. While some females are finely tuned to calls with syllable periods in the natural range of conspecific males, others respond phonotactically to a wider range of syllable periods and therefore lack the ability to discriminate between attractive and unattractive calls. When females are exposed to males but prevented from mating, their ability to discriminate attractive calls is reduced, suggesting that factors other than mating alter phonotactic behavior. This study evaluated the effect of male exposure on females’ phonotactic tuning and responsiveness in relation to underlying neural …

Phonotactic Tuning In Female Cricket Acheta Domesticus, Jessica Rim

Honors Theses

Phonotactic behavior of female cricket Acheta domesticus has been shown to vary among individuals. While some females are finely tuned to calls with syllable periods in the natural range of conspecific males, others respond phonotactically to a wider range of syllable periods and therefore lack the ability to discriminate between attractive and unattractive calls. When females are exposed to males but prevented from mating, their ability to discriminate attractive calls is reduced, suggesting that factors other than mating alter phonotactic behavior.

This study evaluated the effect of male exposure on females’ phonotactic tuning and responsiveness in relation to underlying neural …

The Role Of Octopamine In Syllable-Period Selective Phonotaxis In Female Cricket Acheta Domesticus, Darley Magno

Honors Theses

Female crickets respond phonotactically to the calls of conspecific males. Females' phonotaxis has been reported to be variable, ranging from unselective to selectve in response to calls with varying syllable periods (30-90 ms). Octopamine, an intertebrate neurotransmitter, has been reported to increase aggressive behavior in crickets, (Stevanson et al. 2005) but the effects of octopamine on behaviors such as phonotaxis have not been investigated. The goal of this study is to determine the effects of octopamine on the syllable-period selective phonotactic response of females. Results suggest a decrease in phonotactic responsiveness shown by 5-10 day-okds after prothroacic nanoinjection of octopamine.

Chelerythrine Chloride And Its Effects On Phonotactic Behavior In Female Crickets Acheta Domesticus, Haneul Shin

Honors Theses

Selective phonotaxis by female crickets has been shown to be variable. Mechanisms which underlie such behavioral variability are being studied. Juvenile Hormone III is a neuromodulator that has been shown to increase selectivity in phonotactic behavior of female crickets. In an attempt to further explore its effects on the behavioral responses of femaile crickets, experiments have been performed with chelerythrine cloride that is known to have an opposite effect of Juvenile Hormone III. Chelerythrine chloride, a potent protein kinase C blocker, has been hypothesized to block the effect of Juvenile Hormone III which acts through a protein kinase C pathway, …