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First published online March 31, 2005
Journal of Experimental Biology 208, 1495-1512 (2005)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2005
doi: 10.1242/jeb.01550

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Simultaneous measurement of metabolic and acoustic power and the efficiency of sound production in two mole cricket species (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae)

Kenneth N. Prestwich^* and Kristin O'Sullivan

Department of Biology, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA 01610, USA

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: kprestwich{at}holycross.edu)

Accepted 21 February 2005

We here report the first simultaneous measurement of metabolic cost of calling, acoustic power and efficiency of sound production in animals – the mole crickets Scapteriscus borellii and S. vicinus (Gryllotalpidae). We measured O₂ consumption, CO₂ production and acoustic power as the crickets called from their burrows in an open room. We utilized their calling burrow as the functional equivalent of a mask. Both species had a respiratory quotient near 0.85, indicative of metabolism based on a mix of carbohydrates and fats. The metabolic rate was significantly higher in S. borellii (11.6 mW g^–1) than in S. vicinus (9.0 mW g^–1) and averaged about eight- to fivefold greater, respectively, than resting metabolism. In some individuals, metabolic rate decreased by 20% during calling bouts. Costs of refurbishing calling burrows in S. borellii were less than calling costs, due to the behavior's short duration (ca. 15 min) and its relatively low average metabolic rate (4 mW).

Acoustic power was on average sevenfold greater in S. borellii (21.2 vs 2.9 µW) and was more variable within individuals and across species than the metabolic rate. The efficiency of sound production was significantly higher in S. borellii (0.23 vs 0.03%). These values are below published estimates for other insects even though these mole crickets construct acoustic burrows that have the potential to increase efficiency. The cricket/burrow system in both species have an apparent Q_{ln decrement} of about 6, indicative of significant internal damping caused by the airspaces in the sand that forms the burrow's walls. Damping is therefore an important cause of the low sound production efficiency. In field conditions where burrow walls are saturated with water and there is less internal damping, calls are louder and sound production efficiency is likely higher.

File tooth depths and file tooth-to-tooth distances correlated with interspecific differences in metabolism and acoustic power much better than with wing stroke rates and plectrum-to-file tooth strike rates. To further investigate these correlations, we constructed two models of energy input to the tegminal oscillator. A model based on transfer of kinetic energy based on differences in tegminal velocity and file tooth spacing showed the most promise. Related calculations suggest that if there are no elastic savings, the power costs to accelerate and decelerate the tegmina are greater than the predicted power input to the tegminal oscillator, and that they are similar in the two species even though S. vicinus has a nearly threefold higher wing stroke rate.

Key words: mole cricket, Gryllotalpidae, Scapteriscus borellii, Scapteriscus vicinus, acoustics, bioacoustics, energetics, respirometry, stridulation, morphology, efficiency

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