The Conservation of Variation in Gryllodes sigillatus and Closely Related Cricket Species

• Main Author: Dalos, Jeremy David
• Format: Others
• Published: North Dakota State University 2021
• Subjects: (co) variation; behavioral plasticity; behavioral syndromes; quantitative biology; variation
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10365/31789

The ability to adjust behaviors to a particular environment has been well documented across taxa. Our understanding of behavioral plasticity is largely based on experiments in which individuals have a single exposure to an environment. Observed behavioral changes are then traditionally measured in small windows of responsiveness in a single population or species. In this project I investigated the effects of prolonged exposure to predator cues in Gryllodes sigillatus and also tested for the presence of trans-generational effects of this prolonged exposure. I found there were no differences in anti-predator behaviors when measured in subsequent assays compared to control individuals. These results were paired with a comparison of differences in average expressions of behaviors, differences in variances, and behavioral correlations of five closely related cricket species, including G. sigillatus. Our results showed that species differ in average behaviors and plasticity but did not significantly differ in behavioral correlations.