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Good Vibrations: Signal Complexity in Schizocosa Ethospecies

Lallo, Madeline M
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1554215678769319

Abstract Details

2019, MS, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Biological Sciences.
Communication signals have evolved to convey information from a sender to a receiver through different sensory modalities. These signals may vary in their complexity to ensure successful transmission through the environment and enable receiver discrimination. Sibling wolf spider species, Schizocosa ocreata and S. rovneri, have recently diverged and are reproductively isolated by their behavior during courtship. Males of both species court females using multicomponent vibratory signals that vary in their complexity. The vibratory signal of male S. ocreata represents a complex pattern of stridulation and percussion components, compared to that of S. rovneri, which produces a regular pattern of brief pulses of nearly simultaneous (combined) stridulation and percussion components. I examined the role of signal complexity in species recognition and mate preference using vibratory playback via piezoelectric disc benders of separate individual components (percussion and stridulation) from each male signal. Female S. ocreata and S. rovneri were exposed to either conspecific or heterospecific signals within four treatment groups: complete signal, percussion only, stridulation only, or white noise. The number of female receptivity displays varied significantly among treatment groups for both S. ocreata and S. rovneri females, however there was no difference in female receptivity to individual components (stridulation and percussion) compared to complete signals. There were significant differences in the number of female receptivity displays for both S. ocreata and S. rovneri when presented with playback of complete conspecific vs. heterospecific vibration signals as females were more receptive to conspecific signals. Each focal species responded differently to treatment groups, with S. rovneri displaying significantly more receptivity displays compared to S. ocreata. I determined that individual signaling components are redundant and when combined in a complete signal they elicit an equivalent response in terms of number of female receptivity displays. My results show that females of these two ethospecies recognize isolated vibratory signaling components of conspecifics and heterospecifics.
George Uetz, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Elke Buschbeck, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Nathan Morehouse (Committee Member)
51 p.
Biology
communication; Schizocosa ocreata; multicomponent; signal complexity

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Lallo, M. M. (2019). Good Vibrations: Signal Complexity in Schizocosa Ethospecies [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1554215678769319

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Lallo, Madeline. Good Vibrations: Signal Complexity in Schizocosa Ethospecies. 2019. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1554215678769319.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Lallo, Madeline. "Good Vibrations: Signal Complexity in Schizocosa Ethospecies." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1554215678769319

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1554215678769319
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This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.