10.5061/DRYAD.2SH12
Dutta, Rochishnu
University of Exeter
Tom, Tregenza
University of Exeter
Rohini, Balakrishnan
Indian Institute of Science Bangalore
Data from: Reproductive isolation in the acoustically divergent groups of
Tettigoniid, Mecopoda elongata
Dryad
dataset
2018
katydid
Chirp rate
Bush cricket
Mecopoda elongata
phonotaxis
behavioural isolation
Divergent
song types
Cryptic speciation
2018-11-17T00:00:00Z
2018-11-17T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0188843
10303 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Sympatric divergent populations of the same species provide an opportunity
to study the evolution and maintenance of reproductive isolation. Male
mating calls are important in sexual selection acoustically communicating
species, and they also have the potential to maintain isolation among
species or incipient species. We studied divergent south Indian
populations of the bush cricket Mecopoda elongata which are extremely
difficult to distinguish morphologically, but which exhibit striking
divergence in male acoustic signals. We performed phonotactic experiments
investigating the relative preference of females of the
"Chirper" song type for calls of all 5 of the song types found
in the region (in varying degrees of sympatry). We found that Chirper
females preferred their own song type and were completely unresponsive to
three trilling song types. Chirper females were occasionally attracted to
the call type "Double Chirper" (the call most similar to their
own type), suggesting call preference alone cannot provide a complete
isolating mechanism. To investigate the basis of call preference we
investigated the response of chirper females to variation in chirp rate.
Chirper females responded most frequently to a mean chirp rate
characteristic of their own song type rather than a higher chirp rate
which would be more characteristic of the Double-Chirper song type. This
suggests females drive stabilising selection on male chirp rate, which may
contribute to the maintenance of isolation. Finally, a no-choice mating
experiment using Chirper females and Chirper and Double Chirper males
revealed a significant preference of Chirper females to mate with their
own song type, even without a requirement for phonotaxis. Overall, the
strong specificity of Chirper females for their 'own' song type
provides evidence for behavioural isolation among divergent sympatric
Mecopoda song types being maintained by female preference for both male
song type and subsequent mating probability driven by other cues.
Reproductive isolation in Mecopoda elongataMating Experiment:
ChirperFemales vs ChirperMales_MatingExperiment + ChirperFemales vs
DoubleChirperMales_MatingExperiment, Call Preference Experiment:
ChirperCallPreferenceExperiment, Chirper Chirp Rate Preference Experiment:
ChirperChripRatePreferenceExperiment, Chirper/Double Chirper Chirp
Rate/Chirp Structure Experiment:
Chirper-DoubleChirper_ChirpRate-ChirpStructurePreferenceExperiment_1 +
Chirper-DoubleChirper_ChirpRate-ChirpStructurePreferenceExperiment_2 +
CombinedChirper-DoubleChirper_ChirpRate-ChirpStructurePreferenceExperimentData.zip
India