Meeting Abstract
Agonistic behavior (i.e., fighting) is an important component of intraspecific competition for many animals. Often, outcomes of agonistic contests serve as an indicators of individual fitness, helping the victors secure critical resources (e.g., territory, food, and/or mating rights). Though several factors affecting aggression have been well-documented across taxa (e.g., variation in age or body size), there have been few studies examining the effects of abiotic factors on aggression and outcomes of agonistic contests. Field crickets have been an ideal model for examining aggression in past studies. Thus, to examine the role of temperature on agonistic behavior, male sand field crickets (Gryllus firmus) were maintained throughout adulthood in a diel temperature cycle mimicking thermal conditions in their native range during the active season (20.5°C – 32°C). A 2 x 2 factorial design of agonistic contests was implemented where agonistic contests were staged between size-matched and sizemismatched pairs of males, and at cool (22°C) and warm (32°C) periods in the diel temperature cycle. Age, wing morphology, and reproductive status were controlled—all males were short-winged, 7-8 day old adults, and virgin. Agonistic encounters were video-recorded and analyzed to determine each individual’s level of aggression (scored using well-established ethograms for Gryllus crickets) and ultimate outcomes (i.e., who won and lost). Our results will elucidate the role of a prominent abiotic factor (temperature) in the modulation of aggression and agonistic outcomes, and future studies will disentangle the effects of photoperiod and temperature.
