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First published online October 21, 2005
Journal of Experimental Biology 208, 4159-4165 (2005)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2005
doi: 10.1242/jeb.01893
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The contribution of tympanic transmission to fine temporal signal evaluation in an ultrasonic moth

Rafael L. Rodríguez1,*, Johannes Schul2, Reginald B. Cocroft2 and Michael D. Greenfield1

1 Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
2 Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211, USA

* Author for correspondence at present address: 223 Tucker Hall, Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211, USA (e-mail: rafa{at}missouri.edu)

Accepted 21 September 2005

In lesser waxmoths Achroia grisella, pair formation and female mate choice involve very fine discrimination of male ultrasonic signals. Female A. grisella prefer male signals with longer pulses and longer `asynchrony intervals', and evaluate differences in these characteristics in the range of 80-260 µs. The first step in the evaluation of these characteristics is the tympanic transmission of stimuli. We used laser vibrometry to describe the mode of vibration, frequency tuning and stimulus transmission of the tympana of A. grisella. The tympanic response consisted of a rotational mode of vibration, in which the anterior and posterior sections moved out of phase; the posterior section of the tympanum vibrated with all points moving in phase and maximum displacement at the attachment point of the scoloparium that contains the receptor cells. The tympana of A. grisella were tuned to high ultrasonic frequencies and had an estimated time constant (i.e. the limit to their temporal acuity) of about 20-50 µs. Pulse length and all but the shortest asynchrony interval were thus well resolved by the tympanum. We discuss implications for the evaluation of pulse length and asynchrony interval.

Key words: bioacoustics, mechanisms of mate choice, Lepidoptera, Pyralidae, Achroia grisella




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