Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)-Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMdP). Funes 3350, Mar del Plata, 7600, Argentina.
Institute of Anthropic Impact and Sustainability in marine Environment (IAS)-CNR National Research Council Via del Mare 3 91021 Torretta Granitola, Italy.
J Acoust Soc Am. 2019 Nov;146(5):3466. doi: 10.1121/1.5128473.
Very few studies of sound production in the Brachyura have simultaneously identified the type of individuals (e.g., sex) producing acoustic signals, the structures involved in making sound and the social context. The emission and type of sound signals in Neohelice granulata were previously characterized, but the sex and the body structures involved in the sound production mechanism were not determined. In the present study, experiments conducted in the laboratory demonstrated that acoustic signals were produced by males through an up-down movement of the cheliped by rubbing the merus against the pterygostomial area of the carapace. The micromorphology of the merus showed that it has a ridge of tubercles which may act as a plectrum, while the pterygostomial area bears tubercles and might function as the pars stridens. Acoustic signals were displayed more frequently in the presence of receptive females. Agonistic encounters among males also occurred more often in the presence of receptive females. The authors propose that Neohelice granulata males use their chelipeds to produce sound signals in a mating context, probably to attract the receptive female and/or to repel other males when a receptive female is present. Thus, the display might have a reproductive function influencing mate choice.
很少有研究同时确定了产生声学信号的个体类型（例如，性别）、发声结构以及社会背景。先前已经对 Neohelice granulata 的发声和声音信号类型进行了描述，但发声机制涉及的性别和身体结构尚未确定。本研究在实验室进行的实验表明，雄性通过螯肢的上下运动来产生声学信号，即通过将腕节摩擦头胸甲的胸侧板区域来产生声音。腕节的微观形态表明它有一个结节脊，可能起到拨弦的作用，而胸侧板区域有结节，可能起到摩擦片的作用。在有可接受的雌性存在的情况下，雄性会更频繁地发出声音信号。雄性之间的争斗行为在有可接受的雌性存在的情况下也更为常见。作者提出，Neohelice granulata 雄性可能会在交配环境中使用螯肢来产生声音信号，这可能是为了吸引可接受的雌性，或者在有可接受的雌性存在的情况下击退其他雄性。因此，这种表现可能具有影响配偶选择的生殖功能。
