Kiflawi M, Gray D A
Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.
Proc Biol Sci. 2000 Nov 7;267(1458):2157-61. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2000.1263.
Male sexual displays provide females with information that is crucial to their reproductive decisions. That same information is available to eavesdroppers, with potential consequences for both signaller and receiver. We present empirical evidence for size-dependent responses to intersexual communication by conspecific rivals. Acoustic features of a male house cricket's (Acheta domesticus) mating call are positively associated with its size, with females preferring the calls of larger males. In order to investigate whether conspecific males make use of the information content of mating calls, we examined their phonotactic responses to call recordings that differ in attractiveness to females. Males of all sizes exhibited positive phonotaxis, with smaller males showing a clear preference for female-preferred calls. Smaller males were also less likely to seek contact with the speaker playing their chosen call. We discuss possible explanations for this size-dependent male behaviour.
雄性的求偶展示为雌性提供了对其生殖决策至关重要的信息。同样的信息也会被偷听者获取，这对信号发送者和接收者都可能产生潜在影响。我们提供了实证证据，证明同种竞争者对两性间交流存在大小依赖型反应。雄性家蟋蟀（Acheta domesticus）求偶鸣叫的声学特征与其体型呈正相关，雌性更偏好体型较大雄性的鸣叫。为了研究同种雄性是否利用求偶鸣叫的信息内容，我们检查了它们对不同雌性吸引力的鸣叫录音的趋声反应。所有体型的雄性都表现出正向趋声性，体型较小的雄性对雌性偏爱的鸣叫表现出明显的偏好。体型较小的雄性也不太可能寻求与播放它们所选鸣叫的扬声器接触。我们讨论了这种大小依赖型雄性行为的可能解释。
