Luke Verburgt Prof J.W.H. FergusonDr T. Weber A critical examination of “Symmetry in the songs of crickets” Simmons & Ritchie (1996) The importance of symmetry in an insect communication system.

Introduction Males sing to attract females Gryllus bimaculatus

kHz Introduction  Bandwidth ~ 150ms 0.4kHz

Introduction  FA Fluctuating Asymmetry (R-L) Developmental Instability

Directional Asymmetry (R-L) Genetically determined Introduction  DA

Simmons & Ritchie (summary) MALES Harp size is correlated with body size Call frequency is correlated with harp size Call bandwidth is correlated with DA of harp FA morph is correlated with DA of harp Therefore: Females can “hear” how symmetrical a male is FEMALES Prefer pure-tones indicative of a symmetrical male Therefore: Females can “choose” symmetrical males acoustically

The Male Wing….

Male Harp Area vs Size

Male Frequency Results

Male Bandwidth Results

Male FA Results

Conclusion for Males Harp size is correlated with body size Call frequency is correlated with harp size Call bandwidth is correlated with DA of harp FA morph is correlated with DA of harp Therefore: Females can NOT “hear” how symmetrical a male is

Cricket Sphere Speaker Kramer spherical treadmill

Female frequency response….

y = x x x x x x x x

Female frequency response….

Female bandwidth response…

Female bandwidth response….

Area under BW curve 1) Area under Frequency curve 2) Poly-predicted Frequency preference Multiple regression…. F 2,109 = 15.24; R 2 = 0.22; p<0.001 Area under Frequency curve  p=0.008 Poly-predicted Frequency preference  p = 0.005

Conclusion for Females FEMALES Prefer pure-tones indicative of a symmetrical male Therefore: Females can NOT “choose” symmetrical males acoustically rather A female will tolerate a certain bandwidth range which is pre-defined by her frequency response range

Dr. H.U. Kleindienst Heidrun Bamberg Marna FerreiraDr. Xim Cerda Funding & logistics Acknowledgements