Signals for Survival in the Lives of Crickets

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Abstract
Two behavioral acts of undoubted survival value are predator avoidance and mate choice. In field crickets both are mediated by acoustic signals containing high frequency spectral energy. Nocturnally active bats use ultrasonic echolocation signals to detect and locate their prey, which includes insects that disperse by flying at night. Many insects have developed ultrasound avoidance behaviors in flight, in order to elude bats. In crickets, an auditory interneuron that is excited by ultrasound has been identified and shown to initiate the avoidance behavior; it is a putative bat-detector cell. Male field crickets produce acoustic signals during their courtship (females are mute). Courtship song appears to facilitate mating success (copulation), for its absence in courtship diminishes the likelihood of copulation. The possible role of the bat-detector neuron in courtship behavior is considered because it is activated by courtship signals as well as bat-like ultrasound. The role of behavioral context shapes the participation of neurons in the neural networks that underlie a given behavior.

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