Meeting Abstract
85.2 Tuesday, Jan. 6 Geographical variation in female and male song preference in Chrysoperla lucasina NOH, S; University of Connecticut, Storrs suegene.noh@uconn.edu
Green lacewings in the Chrysoperla carnea species group are morphologically cryptic but clearly distinguishable via substrate-borne vibrational mating signals that both sexes produce. These species-specific mating signals are important in species recognition. Sexual selection upon these signals may have contributed to rapid speciation in the species group, where mating signal evolution seems to have outpaced that of DNA sequences. My objective was to test for evidence of sexual selection within C. lucasina, a member of the carnea group widespread across southern Europe. C. lucasina produces multi-volley signals and responds well to synthesized signals. First generation offspring were reared from individuals collected from three geographical localities (Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia). Individual preferences were measured for synthesized playback signals varying either in volley period or duration. Because both sexes sing, with females typically producing longer calls, I investigated the possibility of mutual mate choice by measuring both male and female preference. The following questions were addressed: (1) is there geographical variation in song preference, and (2) are the selective pressures from male vs. female preference similar in direction? Geographical localities showed different preferences for period but not for duration, with Slovene females preferring signals with slower periods compared to Swiss and Italian females. Male preferences were not different across localities. Overall, females preferred signals with slower periods whereas males preferred signals with faster periods. Males preferred signals with longer durations while female preference was not significant. When compared to measurements of song characters, the correlation or mismatch of preference and song for each sex from different localities could provide insight into the interactions of evolutionary forces acting upon the mating signals.
