Abstract

Social experience, particularly aggression, is considered a major determinant of consistent inter-individual behavioural differences between animals of the same species and sex. We investigated the influence of pre-adult aggressive experience on future behaviour in male, last instar nymphs of the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus. We found that aggressive interactions between male nymphs are far less fierce than for adults in terms of duration and escalation. This appears to reflect immaturity of the sensory apparatus for releasing aggression, rather than the motor system controlling it. First, a comparison of the behavioural responses of nymphs and adults to mechanical antennal stimulation using freshly excised, untreated and hexane-washed antennae taken from nymphs and adults, indicate that nymphs neither respond to nor produce sex-specific cuticular semiochemicals important for releasing aggressive behaviour in adults. Second, treatment with the octopamine agonist chlordimeform could at least partially compensate for this deficit. In further contrast to adults, which become hyper-aggressive after victory, but submissive after defeat, such winner and loser effects are not apparent in nymphs. Aggressive competition between nymphs thus appears to have no consequence for future behaviour in crickets. Male nymphs are often attacked by adult males, but not by adult females. Furthermore, observations of nymphs raised in the presence, or absence of adult males, revealed that social subjugation by adult males leads to reduced aggressiveness and depressed exploratory behaviour when the nymphs become adult. We conclude that social subjugation by adults during pre-adult development of nymphs is a major determinant of consistent inter-individual behavioural differences in adult crickets.

Highlights

  • We investigate the influence of pre-adult agonistic experience in male, last instar nymphs of the field cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus, which has advanced to a model system for studying the neurochemical control of aggression [3]

  • Since antennal fencing is required to initiate fighting [26], and the mandible threat pre-adult aggression in crickets display signals aggressive intent, while lunging with physical engagement (“attack”) is a clearly aggressive action, we based this analysis on these three behaviours (Fig 1)

  • In this paper we analysed the consequences of pre-adult agonistic experiences in crickets, Gryllus bimaculatus, which have become a model system for investigating the neurochemical control of aggression [3]

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Summary

Introduction

Experiencing aggression, social subjugation (social defeat stress), is recognised as a major factor inducing depression and depression-like symptoms in humans and animals [1] Accumulating evidence points to links between aggression and consistent inter-individual behavioural differences, that had been described in many vertebrates and invertebrates, and is generally referred to as animal personality [2]. Pre-adult aggression in crickets dfg.de/en/) to PAS, Grant Nr. STE 714/5-1. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

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