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Age-dependent changes in calling effort in the bell cricket Meloimorpha japonica

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Abstract

We investigated how male age and body weight influence male mating effort in the bell cricket Meloimorpha japonica. We adopted a longitudinal approach to study resource allocation to male mating effort (calling duration during 24 h) in the bell cricket. Calling durations and body weight of each male were measured at 7–8 days (young age), 14–15 days (middle age), and 22–25 days (old age) after the final molt. Calling duration increased between young and middle age. During the period between middle and old age, the amount of change in the calling duration was positively correlated with the body weight. The results suggested that older (i.e., low residual reproductive value) and better quality males invested more resources in mating effort.

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Acknowledgments

We thank our colleagues in the laboratory of ecological science at Kyusyu University for their support and stimulating discussions. We are indebted to T. Masuda for providing the crickets and rearing information. This study was supported in part by the Sasakawa Scientific Research Grant from the Japan Science Society and Fujiwara Natural History Foundation to T.K. and the Grant-in-Aid in Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (nos. 16370013 and 16370045) to E.K. The manuscript was greatly improved by the valuable comments of two anonymous reviewers.

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  1. Takashi Kuriwada

    Present address: Okinawa Prefectural Plant Protection Center, Maji 123, Naha, Okinawa, 902-0072, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Ecological Science, Department of Biology, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

    Takashi Kuriwada & Eiiti Kasuya

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  1. Takashi Kuriwada
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  2. Eiiti Kasuya
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Correspondence to Takashi Kuriwada.

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Kuriwada, T., Kasuya, E. Age-dependent changes in calling effort in the bell cricket Meloimorpha japonica . J Ethol 29, 99–105 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-010-0231-3

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