Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Auditory-based defence against gleaning bats in neotropical katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae)

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Comparative Physiology A Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Neotropical katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) are preyed on by gleaning bats, which are known to use male calling songs to locate them. At least one katydid species has been reported to stop singing in response to bat echolocation calls. To investigate the relationship between this behavioural defence and ecological and sensory factors, we surveyed calling song characteristics, song cessation in response to the echolocation calls of a sympatric gleaning bat (Trachops cirrhosus), and T-cell responses (an auditory interneuron sensitive to ultrasound) in five katydid species from Panamá. The two katydid species that stopped singing in response to bat calls (Balboa tibialis and Ischnomela gracilis, Pseudophyllinae) also had the highest T-cell spike number and rate in response to these stimuli. The third pseudophylline species (Docidocercus gigliotosi) did not reliably cease singing and had low T-cell spiking activity. Neoconocephalus affinis (Copiphorinae) produced continuous calling song, possibly preventing males from hearing the bat during singing, and did not show a behavioural response despite high T-cell activity in response to bat calls. Steirodon rufolineatum (Phaneropterinae) did not cease singing and differed in T-cell activity compared to the other species. T-cell function might not be conserved in katydids, and evidence for this idea is discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bailey WJ (2003) Insect duets: underlying mechanisms and their evolution. Physiol Ent 28:157–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bailey WJ, Yeoh PB (1988) Female phonotaxis and frequency discrimination in the bushcricket Requena verticalis. Physiol Ent 13:363–372

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bailey WJ, Cunningham RJ, Lebel L (1990) Song power, spectral distribution and female phonotaxis in the bushcricket Requena verticalis (Tettigoniidae: Orthoptera): active female choice or passive attraction. Anim Behav 40:33–42

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belwood JJ (1988) The influence of bat predation on calling behavior in neotropical forest katydids (Insecta: Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae). PhD Thesis, University of Florida

  • Belwood J (1990) Anti-predator defences and ecology of neotropical forest katydids, especially the Pseudophyllinae. In: Bailey WJ, Rentz DCF (eds) The Tettigoniidae: biology, systematics, and evolution. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Belwood JJ, Morris GK (1987) Bat predation and its influence on calling behavior in neotropical katydids. Science 238:64–67

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bonato V, Facure KG, Uieda W (2004) Food habits of bats of subfamily Vampyrinae in Brazil. J Mammal 85:708–713

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brinkløv S, Kalko EKV, Surlykke A (2009) Intense echolocation calls from two “whispering” bats, Artibeus jamaicensis and Macrophyllum macrophyllum (Phyllostomidae). J Exp Biol 212:11–20

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brodie ED III (1989) Genetic correlations between morphology and antipredator behaviour in natural populations of the garter snake Thamnophis ordinoides. Nature 342:542–543

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dobler S, Stumpner A, Heller K-G (1994) Sex-specific spectral tuning for the partner’s song in the duetting bushcricket Ancistrura nigrovittata (Orthoptera: Phaneropteridae). J Comp Physiol A 175:303–310

    Google Scholar 

  • Edmunds M (1974) Defence in animals: a survey of anti-predator defences. Longman, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Faure PA, Hoy RR (2000a) The sounds of silence: cessation of singing and song pausing are ultrasound-induced acoustic startle behaviours in the katydid Neoconocephalus ensiger (Orthoptera; Tettigoniidae). J Comp Physiol A 186:129–142

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Faure PA, Hoy RR (2000b) Neuroethology of the katydid T-cell. I. Tuning and responses to pure tones. J Exp Biol 203:3225–3242

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fenton MB, Gaudet CL, Leonard ML (1983) Feeding behaviour of the bats Nycteris grandis and Nycteris thebaica (Nycteridae) in captivity. J Zool 200:347–354

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Findley JS (1993) Bats: a community perspective. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Forrest TG, Lajoie DR, Cusick D (2006) Calling songs, duets, and auditory tuning in two cryptic katydids (Tettigoniidae: Phaneropterinae: Amblycorypha). Ann Entomol Soc Am 99:978–987

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forsman A, Appelqvist S (1998) Visual predators impose correlational selection on prey color pattern and behavior. Behav Ecol 9:409–413

    Google Scholar 

  • Giannini NP, Kalko EKV (2004) Trophic structure in a large assemblage of phyllostomid bats in Panama. Oikos 105:209–220

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giannini NP, Kalko EKV (2005) The guild structure of animalivorous leaf-nosed bats of Barro Colorado Island, Panama, revisited. Acta Chiropterol 7:131–146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griffin DR (1971) Importance of atmospheric attenuation for echolocation of bats (Chiroptera). Anim Behav 19:55–61

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gwynne DT (1991) Sexual competition among females: what causes courtship role reversal? Trends Ecol Evol 6:118–121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gwynne DT (1995) Variation in bushcricket nuptial gifts may be due to common ancestry rather than ecology as taxonomy and diet are almost perfectly confounded. Behav Ecol 6:458

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gwynne DT (2001) Katydids and bush-crickets: reproductive behavior and evolution of the Tettigoniidae. Cornell University Press, Ithaca

    Google Scholar 

  • Gwynne DT, Simmons LW (1990) Experimental reversal of courtship roles in an insect. Nature 346:172–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heller K-G, von Helversen D (1986) Acoustic communication in phaneropterid bushcrickets: species-specific delay of female stridulatory response and matching male sensory time window. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 18:189–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill KG, Oldfield BP (1981) Auditory function in Tettigoniidae (Orthoptera: Ensifera). J Comp Physiol 142:169–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hosken DJ, Bailey WJ, O’Shea JE, Roberts JD (1994) Localisation of insect calls by the bat Nyctophilus geoffroyi (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae): a laboratory study. Aus J Zool 42:177–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Humphrey SR, Bonaccorso FJ, Zinn TL (1983) Guild structure of surface-gleaning bats in Panama. Ecology 64:284–294

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalka M, Kalko EKV (2006) Gleaning bats as underestimated predators of herbivorous insects: dietary composition of Micronycteris microtis (Phyllostomidae) in Panamá. J Trop Ecol 22:1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalko EKV (2004) Neotropical leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae): “whispering” bats or candidates for acoustic survey? In: Brigham M, Jones G, Kalko EKV (eds) Proceedings of a workshop on identification and acoustic monitoring of bats. Bat Conservation International, Austin

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalko EKV, Krull D, Handley CO, Schnitzler HU (1999) Roosting and foraging behavior of two neotropical gleaning bats, Tonatia silvicola and Trachops cirrhosus (Phyllostomidae). Biotropica 31:344–353

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kavaliers M, Choleris E (2001) Antipredator responses and defensive behavior: ecological and ethological approaches for the neurosciences. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 25:577–586

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lang AB, Römer H (2008) Roost site selection and site fidelity in the neotropical katydid Docidocercus gigliotosi (Tettigoniidae). Biotropica 40:183–189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Latimer W, Sippel M (1987) Acoustic cues for female choice and male competition in Tettigonia cantans. Anim Behav 35:887–900

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence BD, Simmons JA (1982) Measurements of atmospheric attenuation at ultrasonic frequencies and the significance for echolocation by bats. J Acoust Soc Am 71:585–590

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Libersat F, Hoy RR (1991) Ultrasonic startle behavior in bushcrickets (Orthoptera; Tettigoniidae). J Comp Physiol A 169:507–514

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McKay JM (1969) The auditory system of Homorocoryphus (Tettigonioidea, Orthoptera). J Exp Biol 51:787–802

    Google Scholar 

  • Nabatiyan A, Poulet JFA, de Polavieja GG, Hedwig B (2003) Temporal pattern recognition based on instantaneous spike rate coding in a simple auditory system. J Neurophysiol 90:2484–2493

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Naskrecki P (2000) The phylogeny of katydids (Insecta: Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) and the evolution of their acoustic behavior. PhD Thesis, University of Connecticut

  • Nickle DA (1992) Katydids of Panama (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae). In: Quintero D, Aiello A (eds) Insects of Panama and Mesoamerica: selected studies. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Page RA, Ryan MJ (2008) The effect of signal complexity on localization performance in bats that localize frog calls. Anim Behav 76:761–769

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poulet JFA, Hedwig B (2002) A corollary discharge maintains auditory sensitivity during sound production. Nature 418:872–876

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Poulet JFA, Hedwig B (2003) Corollary discharge inhibition of ascending auditory neurons in the stridulating cricket. J Neurosci 23:4717–4725

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rheinlaender J, Römer H (1986) Insect hearing in the field. I. The use of identified nerve cells as “biological microphones”. J Comp Physiol A 158:647–651

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schul J (1997) Neuronal basis of phonotactic behaviour in Tettigonia viridissima: processing of behaviourally relevant signals by auditory afferents and thoracic interneurons. J Comp Physiol A 180:573–583

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stapells DR, Picton TW, Smith AD (1982) Normal hearing thresholds for clicks. J Acoust Soc Am 72:74–79

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Suga N (1966) Ultrasonic production and its reception in some neotropical Tettigoniidae. J Insect Physiol 12:1039–1050

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Suga N, Katsuki Y (1961) Central mechanism of hearing in insects. J Exp Biol 38:545–558

    Google Scholar 

  • ter Hofstede HM, Fullard JH (2008) The neuroethology of song cessation in response to gleaning bat calls in two species of katydids, Neoconocephalus ensiger and Amblycorypha oblongifolia. J Exp Biol 211:2431–2441

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • ter Hofstede HM, Ratcliffe JM, Fullard JH (2008) The effectiveness of katydid (Neoconocephalus ensiger) song cessation as antipredator defence against the gleaning bat Myotis septentrionalis. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 63:217–226

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trivers RL (1972) Parental investment and sexual selection. In: Campbell B (ed) Sexual selection and the descent of man. Aldine Publishing Company, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Tuckerman JF, Gwynne DT, Morris GK (1992) Reliable acoustic cues for female mate preference in a katydid (Scudderia curvicauda, Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae). Behav Ecol 4:106–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tuttle MD, Ryan MJ (1981) Bat predation and the evolution of frog vocalizations in the neotropics. Science 214:677–678

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weinbeer M, Kalko EKV (2007) Ecological niche and phylogenetic constraint: the highly complex echolocation behavior of the long-legged bat, Macrophyllum macrophyllum. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 61:1337–1348

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson DE (1973) Bat faunas: a trophic comparison. Syst Zool 22:14–29

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank the staff at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute facilities at Barro Colorado Island for their logistical support and assistance, especially Oris Acevedo and Belkys Jiménez. Thanks also to Rachel Page for joint work on the foraging behaviour of Trachops cirrhosus, from which we obtained the echolocation recordings, Peter Wall for the custom MATLAB application, and Negin Amin for data analysis. Funding for this study was provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (discovery grant to J.H.F and postgraduate scholarship to H.M.tH.) and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (short term fellowship to H.M.tH.). Holger Goerlitz and Brock Fenton provided helpful comments on the manuscript. Experiments described here comply with the “Principles of animal care” publication No. 86-23, revised 1985, of the National Institute of Health, and also with the current laws of the country in which the experiments were performed.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol, BS8 1UG, UK

    Hannah M. ter Hofstede

  2. Institute of Experimental Ecology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany

    Elisabeth K. V. Kalko

  3. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Republic of Panama

    Elisabeth K. V. Kalko

  4. Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada

    James H. Fullard

Authors
  1. Hannah M. ter Hofstede
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Elisabeth K. V. Kalko
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. James H. Fullard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hannah M. ter Hofstede.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

ter Hofstede, H.M., Kalko, E.K.V. & Fullard, J.H. Auditory-based defence against gleaning bats in neotropical katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae). J Comp Physiol A 196, 349–358 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-010-0518-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-010-0518-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation