Department of Biotechnology, National Kaohsiung Normal University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Department of English, National Kaohsiung Normal University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Behav Processes. 2022 Apr;197:104626. doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2022.104626. Epub 2022 Mar 23.
In chorusing species, sound frequency has been suggested as a decisive cue for male body size in female mate choice. However, few studies on the female choice of male song frequency have been conducted in cicadas, in which males of most species sing in chorusing groups to attract females for mating. In this study, we investigated female mate choice for song frequency and body size of males of a chorusing cicada, Mogannia formosana, by phonotaxis experiments using two-choice tests and field observation, respectively. The choice proportion of effective responses and the proximity to the stimulus were used to assess the phonotaxis preference. In the field, two types of males (copulating vs. random) were caught, and their body sizes were compared. In phonotaxis experiments, the results revealed that females showed a preference for low-frequency song by approaching the low-frequency stimuli to a significantly greater proximity. By comparing the body sizes of copulating vs. random males, no significant differences were found. However, the copulating males had significantly different body shapes, as expressed by pronotum width regression by body length, from those of random males. We concluded that the sound frequency of male songs and male body shape in M. formosana can be used as cues of mate quality during female mate choice within a chorus. Additionally, we suggest that females of this species might use multiple cues for mate choice in different ranges of communication and that body size might not be the sole criterion of mate quality.
在合唱物种中，声音频率被认为是雌性在选择配偶时对雄性体型的决定性线索。然而，在蝉类中，对雌性选择雄性歌声频率的研究很少，因为大多数物种的雄性都是通过合唱群体来唱歌吸引雌性进行交配。在这项研究中，我们通过二选一测试的声向实验和实地观察，分别研究了合唱蝉 Mogannia formosana 的雌性对雄性歌声频率和体型的选择。有效反应的选择比例和接近刺激的程度用于评估声向偏好。在野外，捕捉到两种类型的雄性（交配对随机），并比较它们的体型。在声向实验中，结果表明，雌性通过接近低频刺激来显著增加接近低频刺激的程度，表现出对低频歌声的偏好。通过比较交配对和随机雄性的体型，发现没有显著差异。然而，交配雄性的前胸宽度与体长的回归形状与随机雄性有显著差异。我们得出结论，在 M. formosana 中，雄性歌声的频率和雄性体型可以作为雌性在合唱中选择配偶时的交配质量线索。此外，我们认为该物种的雌性可能在不同的通讯范围内使用多种线索来选择配偶，而体型可能不是交配质量的唯一标准。
