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A Life History Trade-Off Between Flight Ability and Reproductive Behavior in Male Field Crickets (Gryllus texensis)

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Abstract

Male field crickets (Gryllus texensis) that differ in flight ability incur a life history trade-off between flight ability and reproduction, where flight ability comes with a male fitness cost. In courtship trials, flight-capable males produced courtship song, a necessary signal for mating success, with a significantly lower probability than flight-incapable males. The trade-off was evident in young males, and a similar trend occurred in older males. Males that lost the ability to fly through histolysis of flight muscles produced courtship song with a similar probability as males incapable of flight for their entire lives. Time of day did not affect the expression of the trade-off. Neither male morph nor time of day influenced female mating behavior.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Michelle C. Dumoulin, Patrick Sabourin, and Rémi Narbonne for their assistance in the interpretation of the results from this experiment. We also thank Brian McGill for his assistance with our statistical analyses, and Ronald Chase for the use of facilities. We greatly appreciate the contributions of Michelle C. Dumoulin, Rémi Narbonne, Genevieve F. C. Nesbitt, and Ruben P. Martins towards animal care. Funding was provided by NSERC PGS-D and CGS-D2 scholarships to P.A.G. and by an NSERC Discovery Grant to G.S.P.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    Patrick A. Guerra & Gerald S. Pollack

  2. Stewart Biology Building, Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Doctor Penfield Avenue, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3A 1B1

    Patrick A. Guerra

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  1. Patrick A. Guerra
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  2. Gerald S. Pollack
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Correspondence to Patrick A. Guerra.

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Guerra, P.A., Pollack, G.S. A Life History Trade-Off Between Flight Ability and Reproductive Behavior in Male Field Crickets (Gryllus texensis). J Insect Behav 20, 377–387 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-007-9084-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-007-9084-1

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