The cricket Amphiacusta maya (Gryllidae: Phalangopsinae) was studied in the field in Costa Rica and in the laboratory. In the seasonal habitat of Guanacaste Province, C.R., adults are found only during the first 4 months of the rainy season. Adults and subadult nymphs form aggregations each dawn and disperse at dusk. Within the aggregations, males chirp, fight other males, and occasionally mate with females. The acoustic behavior of these crickets differs from that of the better-known field crickets in three major ways. First, males do not produce a calling song. Second, the chirps given in aggressive and courtship contexts are nearly indistinguishable spectrally and temporally. Third, the species-typical chirp does not elicit phonotaxis in adult females or in nymphs. Possibly the calling song would no longer provide a selective advantage to males because females are in their vicinity regardless of male behavior. Additionally, acoustic signal similarity may be a result of selection for aggressive signalling in both contexts (aggression and courtship). Thus these modifications in acoustic signals may be adaptations to a gregarious mating system. /// Die Grille Amphiacusta maya (Gryllidae: Phalangopsinae) wurde im Felde (in Costa Rica) und im Labor untersucht. Im Saisonfundort in der Provinz Guanacaste wurden die erwachsenen Tiere nur in den ersten vier Monaten der Regenzeit gefunden. Erwachsene Tiere und Nymphen, die fast reif sind, bilden alltäglich beim Sonnenaufgang Ansammlungen, die beim Sonnenuntergang wieder auseinander gehen. Innerhalb der Ansammlungen zirpen die Männchen, kämpfen sie miteinander, und manchmal paaren sie sich mit den Weibchen. Das akustische Verhalten dieser Grillen unterscheidet sich von dem der bekannteren Feldgrillen auf bei wichtigen Weisen. Erstens bringen die Männchen keinen Lockgesang hervor. Zweitens sind Rivalen- und Werbegesang auf spektrale und zeitliche Weise fast nicht zu unterscheiden. Drittens löst das artspezifische Zirpen bei den erwachsenen Weibchen und den Nymphen keine Phonotaxis aus. Vielleicht verschafft der Lockgesang den Männchen keinen Auswahlvorteil, da die Weibchen sowieso schon in der Nähe der Männchen sind. Ausserdem könnte die akustische Signalähnlichkeit das Resultat einer Selektion für aggressive Signalgebung in beiden Kontexten (Rivalität und Werbung) sein. Also dürften diese Änderungen in den akustischen Signalen Anpassungen an ein geselliges Paarungssystem sein.
Behaviour publishes original research pursuing Tinbergen's four questions and questions resulting from the interrelationship among the four. In addition, the editorial board encourages reviews of behavioural biology that illuminate emergent trends and new directions in behavioural research. Niko Tinbergen (1907-1988) defined 4 questions for research in behavioral biology: Proximate causation of behaviour: 1. How does an animal use its sensory and motor abilities to activate and modify its behaviour patterns? (physiological mechanisms) 2. How does an animal's behaviour change during its growth, especially in response to the experiences that it has while maturing? (ontogeny of development) Ultimate causation of behaviour: 3. How does the behaviour promote an animal's ability to survive and reproduce? (adaptation) 4. How does an animal's behaviour compare with that of other closely related species, and what does this tell us about the origins of its behavior and the changes that have occurred during the history of the species? (phylogeny) Niko Tinbergen shared, with Konrad Lorenz and Karl von Frisch, the 1973 Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology for contributions to the study of behavioural biology. Tinbergen was at heart an experimentalist who, more than Lorenz and von Frisch, applied the scientific method to the field of animal and human behaviour. It is his experimental approach to the study of behaviour that lasts to this day. That is why Tinbergen listed questions and not answers (theorems or laws). The answers (or at least some of them) are published monthly in Behaviour, the journal Tinbergen co-founded with W. H. Thorpe in 1948.
BRILL, founded in 1683, is a publishing house with a strong international focus. BRILL is renowned for its publications in the following subject areas; Asian Studies, Ancient Near East & Egypt, Biblical Studies & Religious Studies, Classical Studies, Medieval & Early Modern Studies, Middle East & Islamic Studies. BRILL's mainly English language publications include book series, individual monographs and encyclopaedias as well as journals. Publications are increasingly becoming available in electronic format (CD-ROM and/or online editions).BRILL is proud to work with a broad range of scholars and authors and to serve its many customers throughout the world. Throughout its existence the company has been honored with many awards which recognise BRILL's contribution to science, publishing and international trade.
This item is part of a JSTOR Collection.
For terms and use, please refer to our
Behaviour
© 1984 Brill