The following new bioacoustic article can be found in the latest issue of
Naturwissenschaften.
Ryo Nakano, Yukio Ishikawa, Sadahiro Tatsuki, Annemarie Surlykke, Niels
Skals, Takuma Takanashi (2006): Ultrasonic courtship song in the Asian corn
borer moth, Ostrinia furnacalis. Naturwissenschaften 93(6), 292-296
DOI: 10.1007/s00114-006-0100-7
Abstract Although sex pheromone communication in the genus Ostrinia
(Lepidoptera: Crambidae) has been studied intensively, acoustic
communication in this genus has not been explored. In this study, we report
that male-produced ultrasound serves as a courtship song in the Asian corn
borer moth, O. furnacalis. Upon landing close to a pheromone-releasing
female, a male showed a series of courtship behaviors involving emission of
ultrasound. The sounds were produced when the wings were vibrated quickly in
an upright position. The male song was composed of chirps, i.e., groups of
pulses (duration of a chirp = 58.9 ms, 8.8 pulses/chirp), with a broadband
frequency of 25-100 kHz. In flight tunnel experiments, deaf and hearing
females showed a significant difference in the incidence of three behavioral
responses to courting males, i.e., immediate acceptance, acceptance after
walking, and rejection. Deaf females showed more 'rejection' and less
'acceptance after walking' than hearing females, indicating that the
detection of male-produced ultrasound plays an important role in the
acceptance of a male. The findings are discussed in the context of
exploitation of receiver bias and mate choice.
Enjoy!
Sonja Amoser
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University of Vienna, Dept. of Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology
Sonja Amoser
PhD Student, Research Associate
Althanstrasse 14
1090 Vienna
Austria
tel: +43 (1) 4277 54467
fax: +43 (1) 4277 54506
mobile: +43 (664) 500 61 06
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