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First published online August 31, 2007
Journal of Experimental Biology 210, 3160-3164 (2007)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2007
doi: 10.1242/jeb.008136
Flight and hearing: ultrasound sensitivity differs between flight-capable and flight-incapable morphs of a wing-dimorphic cricket species
Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Avenue Docteur Penfield, Montreal, QC, H3A 1B1, Canada
* Author for correspondence (e-mail: gerald.pollack{at}mcgill.ca)
Accepted 11 July 2007
| Summary |
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Key words: bat predation, phonotaxis, juvenile hormone
| Introduction |
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Many cricket species are flight dimorphic, occurring both as long-winged
and short-winged forms (Zera,
2004
; Roff and Fairbairn,
2007
). The long-winged form is initially capable of flight, but
individuals may lose this ability when flight muscles undergo histolysis,
which becomes increasingly probable with advancing adult age
(Shiga et al., 1991
). The
short-winged form is incapable of flight throughout life. Unlike the cases
cited above, in flight-dimorphic crickets the risk of bat predation varies
within a single gender and, for long-winged crickets, within a single
individual. Moreover, crickets use hearing not only to detect bats but also,
in a lower range of frequencies, for intraspecific communication
(Moiseff et al., 1978
). We
compare auditory sensitivity between flight-capable and flight-incapable forms
of the cricket Gryllus texensis, both to ultrasonic stimuli and to
the sonic frequency of intraspecific signals. We find, using both behavioral
and neurophysiological measures, that sensitivity to ultrasound, but not to
low sound frequencies, varies according to the ability to fly. Our findings
suggest that ultrasound sensitivity is one of a suite of developmental and
physiological phenotypes that are linked to flight, and thus to the risk of
predation by aerially hawking bats.
| Materials and methods |
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Sound stimuli
Stimuli were produced by National Instruments (Austin, TX, USA)
digital-to-analog boards (AT-MIO 16E4, 12-bit resolution or PCI-6251, 16-bit)
with sampling rate of 100 kHz. Sound level (r.m.s. of a constant tone with the
same peak amplitude as actual stimuli) was adjusted by a programmable
attenuator (PA4, Tucker-Davis, Alachua, FL, USA or 50P-076, JFW Industries,
Indianapolis, IN, USA) and calibrated with Bruël and Kjaer instruments
(Naerum, Denmark; 4135 microphone, 2610 sound-level meter).
Behavioral measurements
Flying crickets flex the abdomen in the direction of an intended turn
(Moiseff et al., 1978
). We
monitored abdominal position as an indicator of phonotactic responses.
Crickets were attached to an applicator stick at the pronotum using a
wax-colophonium mixture and placed ventral side uppermost in a wind stream to
induce flight. The abdomen was illuminated with a fiber-optic source so as to
cast a shadow onto a pair of photocells, which were connected together to
provide a differential output. The photocells were masked by a V-shaped
covering, so that the area covered by the shadow of the abdomen varied as the
abdomen was flexed to the left or right. Experiments were performed in a
plywood chamber (0.6 mx0.6 mx1.2 m) lined with echo-suppressing
foam. Sound stimuli were either 5 s-long models of the species' calling song
(6 ms-long sound pulses, with 2 ms linear onset and offset ramps, pulse period
of 12.8 ms, and carrier frequency of 5.2 kHz)
(Walker, 2000
), or 60 ms
pulses (including 5 ms onset and offset ramps) with carrier frequency of 30
kHz, a frequency that occurs within the echolocation calls of many bat species
(Fenton et al., 1998
),
including some that are sympatric with G. texensis [e.g.
Eptesicus fuscus, Myotis thysanodes, Antrozous pallidus
(Fenton and Bell, 1981
)].
Duration of the ultrasound pulse was longer than that typical of bat calls,
but was chosen to be consistent with the stimuli used in neurophysiological
experiments, where long pulse duration facilitates measurements of threshold.
Photocell output and stimulus marker were recorded to computer files using a
DigiData 1322A interface (Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale, CA, USA), with a
sampling rate of 1 kHz.
Stimuli were presented in blocks of 5 trials, with 9 s between trials and at least 1 min between blocks; sound frequency and sound level was constant within each block. Stimulation began at 60 dB SPL for the song model, and at 80 dB SPL for the ultrasound pulse, with the expectation that these would be above threshold; if they were not, stimulus level was increased successively, in 10 dB steps, until threshold was exceeded. Stimulus level was then decreased in 10 dB steps until it fell below threshold, and then increased in 2 dB steps until threshold was again reached. A stimulus was scored as above threshold if it evoked a response on at least three of the five trials. The criterion for a response on each trial was that the recording of abdominal position during the period 10 ms to 200 ms after stimulus onset for 30 kHz pulses, or 10 ms to 5 s for the song model, departed from the mean pre-stimulus value (recorded for 1 s immediately before stimulus onset) by at least four standard deviations (s.d.). Responses were analyzed during the intervals between blocks of trials using custom-written software running under Scilab 3.0 (www.scilab.org). Thresholds were measured for each of two loudspeakers (Radio Shack 40-1310, Fort Worth, TX, USA), one on the left and one on the right, each at an angle of 72° from straight ahead and at a distance of 22 cm from the cricket. Thresholds for the two loudspeakers seldom differed by more than 2 dB (maximum difference 8 dB); threshold was taken as their mean.
Neurophysiology
Crickets were affixed to a support and their forelegs were held flexed
against the sides of the pronotum in a position similar to that adopted during
flight. The prothoracic ganglion and cervical connectives were exposed by
ventral dissection and bathed in physiological saline
(Strausfeld et al., 1983
). ON1
was recorded extracellularly with a glass microelectrode (5–10 M
,
1 mol l–1 NaCl) from its soma-contralateral processes in the
auditory neuropil, where its spikes can be recognized unambiguously by
response preference for electrode-contralateral (i.e. soma-ipsilateral)
stimuli (for details, see Pollack,
1986
). AN2 was recorded extracellularly from the cervical
connective using either a hook (stainless-steel or tungsten) or suction
electrode. AN2 spikes were recognized by their large amplitude and lower
threshold to ultrasound stimuli. Stimuli were 60 ms sound pulses, including
onset and offset ramps of 5 ms duration, presented at rates of 0.5 Hz (ON1) or
0.33 Hz (AN2). Stimuli were generated (National Instruments AT-MIO16 E4,
sampling rate: 100 kHz), and responses recorded (sampling rate: 10 kHz), using
custom Matlab programs (Mathworks, Natick, MA, USA). As for behavioral
measurements, threshold was defined as the lowest sound level that evoked a
response on at least three of five stimulus presentations, with a response
defined as occurrence of at least two spikes within 70 ms following stimulus
onset. For ON1, threshold was determined on-line using the same algorithm for
adjusting sound level as described above for behavior (except that resolution
was 1 dB rather than 2 dB). For AN2, stimuli were presented at intensities
ranging from 50–90 dB SPL in steps of 5 dB, and threshold was determined
off-line.
Flight-muscle condition
At completion of an experiment, flight-muscle condition was assessed
visually after exposing the metathoracic muscles 112a, 118 and 119
(Shiga et al., 1991
) by dorsal
dissection. Non-histolyzed muscles are pink, whereas histolyzed muscles are
white (Zera, 2004
). This
distinction is obvious and unambiguous, as indicated by 100% agreement among a
group of four individuals who scored muscle condition for a subset of crickets
(7 pink, 8 white) (Guerra and Pollack,
2007
).
Statistics
Statistical tests were performed using R
(www.r-project.org).
| Results |
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Thresholds for positive phonotactic responses are similar for the two morphs (t-test, P=0.75). Threshold for the negative phonotactic response to ultrasound is approximately 8 dB lower for long-winged than for short-winged individuals (P=0.003; Fig. 2).
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Differences in threshold between short- and long-winged crickets are evident only for high sound frequencies. Because there was no difference in sensitivity between LWP and LWW crickets, we combined these into a single, long-winged group for further analysis. Thresholds are significantly lower (post-hoc t-tests, P<0.05) for long-winged crickets for all tested frequencies above 10 kHz except 30 kHz, where the difference is nearly significant (P<0.07). Thresholds of the long- and short-winged groups are nearly identical for 5.2 kHz, the dominant frequency of the species' calling song (long-winged: 44.1±1.1 dB SPL; short-winged: 46.4±1.8, P=0.30).
Sensitivity of AN2 also varies with both sound frequency and flight class (Fig. 4, frequency effect, P<0.0001; flight-class effect, P<0.003). Unlike ON1, where sensitivity correlates with wing length independently of muscle condition, for AN2 sensitivity is determined by flight ability, independently of wing length; thresholds for high frequencies are elevated for SW and LWW individuals. Post-hoc, pair-wise ANOVAs among the three flight classes show that LWW and SW crickets do not differ in sensitivity (flight-class effect, P>0.1), but each of these classes differs from the LWP group (SW vs LWP, P<0.02; LWW vs LWP, P<0.003). Post-hoc comparisons of threshold between flight-incapable (LWW and SW treated as a single group) and flight-capable (LWP) individuals revealed significant differences at 20 kHz and 35 kHz (t-test, P<0.05), and nearly significant differences at 15, 25 and 30 kHz (P<0.06, P<0.08 and P<0.07, respectively). Thresholds are similar for 5.2 kHz (flight-incapable, 68.3±2.0 dB SPL; flight-capable, 71.4±3.2, P>0.4). Because all long-winged individuals have pink muscles early in adult life, these results imply that sensitivity of AN2 to high frequencies changes along with, or following, wing-muscle histolysis.
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| Discussion |
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The mechanisms underlying the poorer ultrasound sensitivity of flight-incapable G. texensis are not yet known. One possible explanation lies in the mechanics of auditory transduction, whether at the level of the tympanum or of the cellular elements of the inner ear. Any mechanical differences between the flight morphs must be restricted to high sound frequencies, as differences in sensitivity to low-frequency stimuli were not found. It is also possible that flight-incapable forms have fewer receptor neurons tuned to high frequencies, or that these differ in their electrophysiological properties (e.g. voltage threshold for production of action potentials; firing rate). Electrophysiological and biomechanical experiments directed at these issues are currently underway.
Threshold of AN2 for high frequencies is higher in long-winged crickets
with histolyzed flight muscles than in those that have not yet undergone
histolysis. Peripheral changes cannot account for this shift, as there is no
corresponding change in sensitivity of ON1. A caveat here is that this
conclusion rests on the assumption that ON1 and AN2 receive input from the
same high-frequency receptors. However, earlier work, albeit on another
species (Teleogryllus oceanicus), suggested that this is indeed the
case (Pollack, 1994
;
Pollack, 1997
). It is likely,
then, that central mechanisms also play a role in regulating sensitivity to
high frequencies, at least for AN2.
Because the frequency of histolyzed muscles increases with age, the loss of high-frequency hearing in individuals with histolyzed muscles may be an indirect consequence of aging, rather than being more directly related to muscle condition. However, even if this is the case, the functional result is the same; ultrasound hearing is poorer when flight is no longer possible.
The decision to develop as a short- or long-winged morph is made during the
last larval instars, and is determined by a combination of genetic and
environmental influences (Zera,
2004
; Roff and Fairbairn,
2007
). The genetic contribution is polygenic
(Roff and Fairbairn, 1991
).
Under constant laboratory conditions, genetics can account for up to 98% of
the phenotypic variation in wing morph [G. rubens
(Roff and Fairbairn, 1991
)].
Under natural, more variable, conditions, however, heritability may be as low
as 21% [G. pennsylvanicus (Roff
and Simons, 1997
); heritability of wing morph has not yet been
measured for G. texensis]. Environmental factors that bias
development towards one morph or the other include temperature, photoperiod,
density and diet (Harrison,
1980
). Proximately, wing morph is determined by juvenile hormone
(JH) titre, which is elevated in larvae that will develop with short wings,
compared to their long-winged counterparts
(Zera, 2004
). Long- and
short-winged crickets differ in a number of other characters, including
flight-muscle condition, gonad growth and lipid metabolism
(Zera and Denno, 1997
).
Collectively, these have been referred to as a `migratory syndrome'
(Roff and Fairbairn, 2007
).
Experimental manipulation of hormone levels suggest that all of these
characters are regulated in concert by JH
(Zera et al., 1998
). Our
findings suggest that enhanced sensitivity to high sound frequencies may be
yet another component of the migratory syndrome.
Moths that live in bat-free habitats tend to lose sensitivity to
ultrasound, a phenomenon that has been interpreted as evolutionary loss of a
specialization that is no longer being maintained by selection
(Fullard, 1994
). In the current
case, however, the loss of sensitivity by flight-incapable individuals occurs
on a developmental, rather than an evolutionary, time scale. Both long- and
short-winged individuals may issue from a single mating
(Roff and Simons, 1997
), in
which case they would share identical histories of selection pressure. Nor can
relaxed selection explain the loss of high-frequency sensitivity of AN2 in
long-winged crickets that have undergone wing-muscle histolysis. The question
thus arises: why is high frequency sensitivity poorer in flight-incapable
individuals? There is no obvious advantage accompanying decreased
high-frequency sensitivity (e.g. there is no increase in sensitivity to lower
frequencies).
We suggest that poorer sensitivity to ultrasound may simply be a
consequence of the physiological mechanisms responsible for enhanced
sensitivity in flight-capable individuals. That is, rather than poor
sensitivity in flight-incapable individuals representing a decrease in
sensitivity, it may instead reflect the absence or reversal of an increase.
Acoustic communication among conspecific crickets predated the appearance of
bats (Hoy, 1992
). A plausible
scenario is that selection pressure exerted by bat predation led to
enhancement of the moderate sensitivity to ultrasound that was already present
in the auditory system. This might have been implemented physiologically
through a JH-regulated mechanism, which was already in place as a regulator of
other flight-associated characteristics such as wing length and the other
components of the migratory syndrome. According to this view, lower
sensitivity to high frequencies of flight-incapable individuals would reflect
a mechanistic link, through JH, to the other characteristics associated with
inability to fly, rather than being adaptive itself.
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