Long-term exposure to substrate-borne vibrations and the behavioral response of field crickets (Gryllidae)

Abstract

Anthropogenic noise is a present in most landscapes, with a variety of impacts documented across taxa. Much of the research investigating the impact of anthropogenic noise on animals in terrestrial ecosystems has focused primarily on airborne sound, with little attention to substrate borne vibrations. Many invertebrates rely on substrate borne signals and cues to communicate and detect predators or prey, but little is understood about the impact of substrate-borne vibrational noise on invertebrate behavior. We designed an experiment to determine if wild populations of field crickets (Gryllus pennsylvanicus and G. veletis) that occupy habitats close to heavily trafficked roadways typified by high levels of substrate-borne vibrational noise displayed a lower response to substrate-borne cues compared to populations in quiet locations. Low frequency substrate-borne vibrational stimuli (100–1000 Hz bandpass brown noise) was played back to singing males in the field to determine behavioral thresholds to vibration. Populations at roadside sites were exposed to substrate vibrations of 0.36–0.40 mm/s peak to peak while crickets at quiet sites were exposed to 0.29–0.30 mm/s peak to peak. Behavioral threshold responses of each population are presented.