Behavioural phonotaxis (oriented movement in response to sound) is an effective means to quantify auditory perception in acoustically communicating insects. Previous phonotaxis studies on the acoustic parasitoid fly Ormia ochracea (Diptera: Tachinidae) have described stereotyped, reflex-like responses towards auditory stimuli modeled after their preferred cricket hosts, yet their ability to demonstrate plasticity of responses in the context of dynamically changing auditory cues has not previously been described. Using a behavioural sensitization protocol, I compared phonotaxis towards behaviourally irrelevant (non-attractive) test stimuli presented alone, and when preceded with the natural, response-evoking cricket song (attractive). Results demonstrate the cricket song as a sensitizing stimulus mediating phonotaxis towards otherwise non-attractive sounds, and differential walking patterns depending on temporal delay between song offset and test stimulus onset. My findings suggest an ecological purpose of sensitization, allowing flies to maintain orientation towards a cricket host amidst conditions of signal disruption in the environment.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/42994 |
| Date | 29 November 2013 |
| Creators | Koucoulas, Dean |
| Contributors | Mason, Andrew |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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