The relative effects of mating status and age on the mating behaviour of female field crickets

• Published in: Canadian journal of zoology Vol. 88; no. 2; pp. 219 - 223
• Main Authors: Judge, Kevin A, Tran, Kim-Chi, Gwynne, Darryl T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ottawa National Research Council of Canada 01.02.2010; NRC Research Press; Canadian Science Publishing NRC Research Press
• Subjects: Age; Animal behavior; Animal ethology; Animal reproduction; Biological and medical sciences; Crickets; Effects; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gryllidae; Gryllus pennsylvanicus; Insects; Physiological aspects; Protozoa. Invertebrata; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Sexual behavior; Sexual behavior in animals; Canada; Arthropoda; Insecta; Orthoptera; Sexual behavior; Female; Mate selection; Gryllidae; Invertebrata; Gryllus pennsylvanicus; Age; Mating status
• ISSN: 0008-4301; 1480-3283; 1480-3283; 0008-4301
• DOI: 10.1139/Z09-139

Intrinsic factors such as female age and mating status have been found to affect female choosiness. However, as these factors are often confounded in the wild because mated females are usually older individuals, the relative influence of these two factors on female behaviour is unclear. Using a fully factorial design, we tested the relative effects of age and mating status of female field crickets ( Gryllus pennsylvanicus Burmeister, 1838) on both (i) the probability that she would mate and (ii) her latency to mate. We found that virgin females were both more likely to mate and copulated more quickly than mated females, but female age had no significant effect on either the probability of mating or the latency to copulate. These results clearly show that mating status is more important in determining female mating behaviour than age. We suggest that previous work which showed an age effect on female choosiness in virgins alone might be of reduced relevance if most females do not remain unmated for long.