Meeting Abstract
Secondary sexual displays are important determinants of fitness in animals. Although variation in such displays are of keen interest to evolutionary biologists, the factors driving such variation are often poorly understood. Intrinsic factors such as individual condition, motivational state, or locomotor capacities in the case of dynamic displays could potentially affect aspects of male displays, which in turn can affect the probability of obtaining successful mating outcomes. We manipulated aggression and locomotor capacities in male house crickets, A. domesticus by synthetically blocking the octopamine receptors that influence aggression and skeletal muscle function. We then measured male courtship calls and analyzed the call structure to quantify the differences in the opportunity in selection based on the changes in dominant frequency, pulse duration intervals between chirp and trill in treated vs untreated males. By manipulating the ability of males to produce calls, which are driven by muscular contractions, we were able to reveal the influence of dampened locomotor function on male auditory displays
