Weiner Ryan, Duke Sarah, Simonelli Gabriella, Bailey Nathan W, Mhatre Natasha
Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.
R Soc Open Sci. 2025 Jul 30;12(7):251005. doi: 10.1098/rsos.251005. eCollection 2025 Jul.
Predicting the function of a biological structure solely from its morphology can be a very powerful tool in several fields of biology, but especially in evolutionary reconstruction. In the field of invertebrate acoustic communication, reconstructing the acoustic properties of sound-producing forewings in crickets has been based on two very divergent methods, finite element modelling (FEM) and vibrometric measurements from preserved specimens. Both methods, however, make strong simplifying assumptions that have not been tested and the reliability of inferences made from either method remains in question. Here, we rigorously test and refine both reconstruction methods using the well-known model system and determine the appropriate conditions required to reconstruct the vibroacoustic behaviour of male forewings. We find that when using FEM it is not necessary to assume simplified boundary conditions if the appropriate parameters are found. When using preserved specimens, we find that the sample needs to be rehydrated for reliable reconstruction; however, it may be possible to accomplish rehydration using FEM. Our findings provide a refined methodology for the reliable reconstruction of cricket songs, whether from fossils or preserved specimens from museums or field collections.
仅从生物结构的形态来预测其功能，在生物学的多个领域，尤其是在进化重建中，可能是一种非常强大的工具。在无脊椎动物声学通讯领域，重建蟋蟀发声前翅的声学特性一直基于两种截然不同的方法，即有限元建模（FEM）和对保存标本的振动测量。然而，这两种方法都做出了未经检验的强烈简化假设，并且从这两种方法得出的推论的可靠性仍存在疑问。在这里，我们使用著名的模型系统对这两种重建方法进行了严格测试和改进，并确定了重建雄性前翅振动声学行为所需的适当条件。我们发现，使用有限元建模时，如果找到合适的参数，就没有必要假设简化的边界条件。当使用保存标本时，我们发现样本需要重新水化才能进行可靠的重建；然而，使用有限元建模可能可以实现重新水化。我们的研究结果为可靠重建蟋蟀歌声提供了一种改进的方法，无论是从化石还是从博物馆或野外采集的保存标本中进行重建。
