Male Crickets Research Articles

Identification of Albopleistophora grylli n. gen. n. sp. (Microsporidia) and its impact on crickets (Gryllus spp.) in food-and-feed culture systems

This study provides a comprehensive taxonomic description of a microsporidian parasite infecting crickets, Gryllus bimaculatus and G. assimilis. Our analysis includes gross pathology, histopathology, spore ultrastructure, parasite development cycle, single gene phylogenies, and phylogenomic comparisons. We introduce a new taxon, Albopleistophora grylli n. gen. n. sp., characterised by its unique developmental stages within a sporophorous vesicle, leading to the formation of mature spores measuring 5.7 × 2.8 µm. Although prevalent in commercial cricket cultures, this parasite seemed to have limited effects on cricket survival. Indeed, microsporidia exposure and density assays with the host G. bimaculatus, only revealed density as a significant factor affecting the crickets’ survival. Nevertheless, exposure showed significant effect on the crickets’ emergence time, where exposed crickets emerged as adults earlier than unexposed individuals. Moreover, exposure to the parasite increased the faeces production and weight gain in cricket males. However, neither exposure nor density significantly impacted the females’ fecundity. The absence of spores in non-exposed cricket groups suggested a horizontal transmission, highlighting the importance of controlled rearing practices to eliminate this microsporidium in control groups. The well-known anti-microsporidian drug ‘fumagillin’ was studied with a higher microsporidia dose of exposure to evaluate any improvement in cricket survival, without showing any significant differences between exposed and unexposed groups. Our findings underscore the nuanced dynamics of host-microsporidia interactions and emphasise the need for ecological context in understanding microsporidian impacts. Even if non-dangerous for its host, monitoring of this parasite seems crucial due to its potential zoonotic transmission by its close phylogenomic relation to human-infecting microsporidia species.

Age-dependent body mass changes in adult blackfield crickets Teleogryllus commodus (Walker) (Orthoptera: Gryllidae)

Body mass should not be regarded as constant during an adult insect's life span. To investigate this hypothesis in blackfield crickets Teleogryllus commodus (Walker, 1869), the mean body mass (mg) of a cohort of adult male (n=20) and single-mated female (n=20) crickets was measured daily for 60 days from adult moult to late senescence. Both male and female crickets increased in body mass during the first 20 days and then showed a continuous decrease in body mass. Whilst any body mass gained between prematurity (P) (first 5 days) and sexual maturity (SM) (day 6 to 40) phases was not statistically significant in either sex, body mass loss between sexual maturity and senescence (S) (day 41 till death) was statistically significant.

Temperature effects on interspecific eavesdropping in the wild

Abstract Mating signals are targets of conspecific signal recognition and sexual selection, but are also subject to abiotic temperature effects and to biotic interspecific eavesdroppers. In crickets, the male calling song becomes faster at warmer temperatures, and female crickets’ recognition of male song tracks temperature in a coordinated manner, termed ‘temperature coupling.’ But female crickets are not the only ecologically relevant listeners: some cricket species are parasitized by Ormia ochracea, a parasitoid fly which finds its cricket hosts by eavesdropping on male cricket song. How temperature affects parasitoid fly phonotaxis to song is largely unexplored, with only one previous study conducted under field conditions. Here we explore six possible patterns of thermal effects on fly responses to cricket song, including temperature coupling, using field playbacks of synthetic Gryllus lineaticeps songs designed to be species-typical at various temperatures. We find that temperature does affect fly response, but that the temperature deviation of songs from ambient does not impact numbers of flies caught. We extend this finding by comparing the temperatures of the air (where flies search for their hosts) and the ground (where their host crickets signal) to show that temperature coupling is unlikely to be effective given microhabitat variation and differential rates of cooling in the evening hours when flies are most active. Our results can be interpreted more broadly to suggest (i) temperature effects on intraspecific communication systems may be more tightly coupled than are effects on interspecific eavesdropping, and (ii) variation in thermal microhabitats in the field make it difficult to translate laboratory physiological responses to natural selection in the wild.

Incidence and risk factors for symptomatic lumbar bone stress injury in female and male youth cricket bowlers

Incidence and risk factors for symptomatic lumbar bone stress injury in female and male youth cricket bowlers

The pre-season variation in physical performance of an elite level female cricket squad

Cricket is as an endurance sport comprising intermittent bursts of speed and power. The introduction of new formats of varying duration and intensity means the physical demands of cricket can vary. Regardless of format, it is agreed that the high-intensity efforts involved in elite level cricket require high levels of lower-body strength and power, and upper-body strength and rotational power (Herridge et al., 2020, J Strength Cond Res, 34, 2285-2293). Previous research has demonstrated that physical qualities can vary throughout seasonal periods (Herridge et al., 2020; Carr et al., 2017, Int J Sports Phys Perf, 12, 50-55) due to training effects. Based on this small body of research, physical performance in common performance tests seem to plateau or decrease across a season, whereas performance tends to increase in the off- and pre-season. This suggests that the off- and pre-season are key phases whereby practitioners can positively influence physical qualities of cricketers. However, despite the growth of the female format, the only studies to have explored the variations in physical qualities have been focused on male cricket. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the pre-seasonal variation in the physical performance of female cricket players. 10 elite level female cricketers (age = 23 ± 4 years, stature = 166 ± 7 cm, mass = 71 ± 7 kg) performed a testing battery at 3 points during the pre-season (October – Time point (TP) 1, December – TP 2, February – TP 3). Three trials of bilateral countermovement jumps (CMJ), unilateral CMJ (UCMJ), squat jump (SJ), 10/5 repeated jump test (RJT), Nordic hamstring test (NHT), and isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP). Data were analysed via a repeated measure ANOVA with post-hoc analysis where appropriate. Improvements (P < 0.005) were evident in peak CMJ and mean jump height, right UCMJ peak jump height, and peak and mean force in the left and right leg in the NHT. Non-significant improvements were seen in several other metrics across time points. The ES for differences in physical tests between T1 and T2 ranged from ES = −0.09 to 0.61, T1 and T3 ranged from ES = −0.05 to 1.04, and T2 and T3 ranged from ES = −0.03 to 0.83. The results of this study showed select strength-power metrics in elite female cricketers significantly changed across time points during the pre-season, suggesting desirable adaptations to strength-based training phases.

Exploring the impact of sleep on emotional and physical well-being in professional cricketers: a cohort study over an in-season training period.

Professional athletes navigate a multitude of unique challenges associated to sport-specific factors (e.g., training, travel and competition) and non-sport factors (e.g., performance pressure, stress and anxiety) that can interfere with healthy sleep behaviors. Sleep plays a key role in proper biopsychosocial development as well as short- and long-term biological, physical, psychological, and cognitive health. As poor sleep quality is known to impair proper brain function, this study aimed to investigate the effect of sleep quality on a professional athlete's ability to train, recover, and perform, as well as their overall emotional and physical well-being. A cohort study was performed in 40 professional male cricket athletes from the Dutch national cricket team (mean age 26.5 ± 5.1 years). The athletes were monitored across a 22 weeks in-season training period. Sleep quality and overall emotional and physical well-being were assessed using daily sleep diaries and questionnaires which scored the readiness to train, stress levels, fatigue, muscle soreness and flu symptoms respectively. Quality of sleep and subsequent association with the consecutive elements of the well-being questionnaire were assessed through statistical using the student t-test and clinical differences with the methodology of Osoba and colleagues: <5% "no change", 5%-10% "little change"; 10%-20% "moderate change"; and >20% "very much change". The results demonstrated that the professional athletes assessed their sleep quality as average with a mean score of 3.4 out of 5. Lower perceived quality of sleep (<75th percentile) was correlated with a decreased readiness to train (mean score 3.2 [IQR: 3.0-4.0] vs. 3.5 [IQR: 3.0-5.0]; P < 0.001) and increased extent of muscle soreness (2.7 [IQR: 2.0-3.0] vs. 2.3 [IQR: 2-3]; P < 0.001), stress level (mean score 2.3 [IQR: 2.0-3.0] vs. 1.9 [IQR: 1.0-2.0]; P < 0.001) and perceived fatigue (mean score 2.9 [IQR: 2.0-3.0] vs. 2.3 [IQR: 2.0-3.0]; P < 0.001). Likewise, in patients with lower perceived quality of sleep, the proportion of players presenting with flu symptoms increased over 4-fold (4.1% vs. 17%; P < 0.001). This study highlights that good sleep quality positively influences the overall emotional and physical well-being of professional athletes. Our results emphasize the importance of targeted sleep interventions to improve sleep quality and subsequently optimize psychological and physiological wellness.

Spatial structure could explain the maintenance of alternative reproductive tactics in tree cricket males.

Trait polymorphisms are widespread in nature, and explaining their stable co-existence is a central problem in ecology and evolution. Alternative reproductive tactics, in which individuals of one or more sex exhibit discrete, discontinuous traits in response to reproductive competition, represent a special case of trait polymorphism in which the traits are often complex, behavioural, and dynamic. Thus, studying how alternative reproductive tactics are maintained may provide general insights into how complex trait polymorphisms are maintained in populations. We construct a spatially explicit individual-based model inspired from extensively collected empirical data to address the mechanisms behind the co-existence of three behavioural alternative reproductive tactics in males of a tree cricket (Oecanthus henryi). Our results show that the co-existence of these tactics over ecological time scales is facilitated by the spatial structure of the landscape they inhabit, which serves to equalise the otherwise unequal mating benefits of the three tactics. We also show that this co-existence is unlikely if spatial aspects of the system are not considered. Our findings highlight the importance of spatial dynamics in understanding ecological and evolutionary processes and underscore the power of integrative approaches that combine models with empirical data.

House cricket males reared at different perceived acoustic population densities differ in adult behaviour but not physiology

Abstract If environments stay relatively constant over an individual's lifetime, a juvenile that accurately perceives environmental conditions, like population density, may adjust adult traits to better match their environment, thereby increasing success. While previous studies have explored how adult exposure to population density affects physiological and behavioural plasticity, the influence of juvenile density experience on adult traits is less studied. Using the common house cricket, Acheta domesticus, we explored whether perceived acoustic population density during development affected adult physiology and behaviour. We simulated high‐ and low‐densities using live ambient male song. Upon maturation, we measured metabolic (resting respiration) rate, reproductive investment (testes and accessory gland masses), calling song characteristics and aggressive behaviours from pairwise contests between males from different densities. Male rearing density did not affect resting metabolic rates or reproductive organ masses. However, high‐density males had significantly faster, longer chirps, with more pulses—known to be preferred by females—and higher dominant frequency. Low‐density males won more aggressive contests and sang the aggressive song more. Initiation of aggressive behaviours or song and singing more aggressive song were the only other significant predictors of contest outcome. These results suggest that males may plastically adjust calling song characteristics and aggressive behaviour, but not physiology, based on perceived density during development. We hypothesize that alternative mating tactics—that is, territory guarding versus attractive song production—may underlie these observed patterns. Overall, our study highlights the significant influence of early‐life biotic environments on adult behavioural decisions to enhance success in diverse environments.

CORRELATION OF Q ANGLE WITH NAVICULAR HEIGHT IN CRICKET PLAYERS

Background:Cricket is an intermittent sport, with intervals of high-intensity movements like bowling and batting alternating with long stretches of low-intensity action. The lower extremity being a biomechanical column affects the entire lower extremity kinetic chain, if any segment of the lower extremity deviates from normal. This study aimed to find a correlation of Q angle with navicular height in cricket players. Methodology: 50 male cricket players between the ages of 18-25 years and with more than 3 years of experience were recruited. Demographic details were noted which included name, age, gender, dominance, height, weight, and years of experience, previous history of trauma, or any recent injury. The participants were assessed for Q-angle and navicular height measurement. Results: Spearmans correlation showed a significant correlation between the Q angle and Navicular height of the dominant side (α = 0.297, p = 0.036) and left side (α = 0.382, p = 0.006). There was no significant correlation on right side (α = 0.265, a p = 0.063). Conclusion:The study concludes that there is a significant correlation between Q angle and Navicular height of cricket players. The correlation is seen in the left and the dominant leg whereas the right leg did not show a significant correlation.

Studying the Impact of High-Intensity Resistance Training on the Physical Fitness of Cricket Players in Government College of Physical Education, Quetta

This study investigated the impact of a 12-week high-intensity resistance training (HIRT) program on cricket players' physical fitness at the Government College of Physical Education in Quetta, Pakistan. The study included twenty male cricket gentleman's (mean age 23.5 years, SD 3.1). Participants were divided into two groups: The group performing the experiment (EG, n = 10) went through the HIRT program, while the control group (CG, n = 10) did not engage in any specific training. Physical fitness assessments were conducted pre- and post-intervention, including tests for muscular strength, power, agility, and endurance. Results showed significant improvements (p &lt; .05) in muscular strength, power, and agility in the EG compared to the CG. However, no significant differences were found in endurance. These results suggest that HIRT can be a successful technique to enhance fitness levels in cricketers.

When night becomes day: Artificial light at night alters insect behavior under semi-natural conditions

Light is the most important Zeitgeber for temporal synchronization in nature. Artificial light at night (ALAN) disrupts the natural light-dark rhythmicity and thus negatively affects animal behavior. However, to date, ALAN research has been mostly conducted under laboratory conditions in this context. Here, we used the field cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus, to investigate the effect of ALAN on insect behavior under semi-natural conditions, i.e., under shaded natural lighting conditions, natural temperature and soundscape. Male crickets were placed individually in outdoor enclosures and exposed to ALAN conditions ranging from <0.01 to 1500 lx intensity. The crickets' stridulation behavior was recorded for 14 consecutive days and nights and their daily activity patterns were analysed. ALAN impaired the crickets' stridulation rhythm, evoking a change in the crickets' naturally synchronized daily activity period. This was manifested by a light-intensity-dependent increase in the proportion of insects demonstrating an intrinsic circadian rhythm (free-run behavior). This also resulted in a change in the population's median activity cycle period. These ALAN-induced effects occurred despite the crickets' exposure to almost natural conditions. Our findings provide further validity to our previous studies on ALAN conducted under lab conditions and establish the deleterious impacts of ALAN on animal behavioral patterns. TeaserArtificial light at night alters cricket behavior and desynchronizes their stridulation even under near-natural conditions.

Heatwaves inflict reproductive but not survival costs to male insects.

Climate change is having a dramatic effect on the environment, with rising global temperatures and more frequent extreme climatic events, such as heatwaves, that can hamper organisms' biological functions. Although it is clear that sudden and extreme temperatures can damage reproductive processes, there is limited understanding of the effects of heatwaves on male mating behaviour and reproductive success. We tested for the effects of heat stress induced by ecologically relevant heatwaves (33°C and 39°C for five consecutive days) on the mating behaviour, reproductive success, body mass and survival of male field crickets Gryllus bimaculatus, paired with untreated females. We predicted life-history and reproductive costs would increase with increasing heatwave intensity. Consistent with our expectations, males exposed to the highest heatwave temperature produced the fewest offspring, while having to increase courtship effort to successfully mate. Males also gained relatively more weight following heatwave exposure. Given that we found no difference in lifetime survival, our results suggest a potential trade-off in resource allocation between somatic maintenance and reproductive investment. Taken together, our findings indicate that sublethal effects of heatwaves could reduce the growth and persistence of animal populations by negatively impacting reproductive rates. These findings highlight the need for considering thermal ecologies, life history and behaviour to better understand the consequences of extreme climatic events on individuals and populations.

Surviving the serenade: how conflicting selection pressures shape the early stages of sexual signal diversification.

Understanding how the early stages of sexual signal diversification proceed is critically important because these microevolutionary dynamics directly shape species trajectories and impact macroevolutionary patterns. Unfortunately, studying this is challenging because signals involve complex interactions between behavior, morphology, and physiology, much of which can only be measured in real-time. In Hawaii, male Pacific field cricket song attracts both females and a deadly parasitoid fly. Over the past two decades, there has been a marked increase in signal variation in Hawaiian populations of these crickets, including novel male morphs with distinct mating songs. We capitalize on this rare opportunity to track changes in morph composition over time in a population with three novel morphs, investigating how mate and parasitoid attraction (components of sexual and natural selection) may shape signal evolution. We find dramatic fluctuation in morph proportions over the three years of the study, including the arrival and rapid increase of one novel morph. Natural and sexual selection pressures act differently among morphs, with some more attractive to mates and others more protected from parasitism. Collectively, our results suggest that differential protection from parasitism among morphs, rather than mate attraction, aligns with recent patterns of phenotypic change in the wild.

The Effect of age on the performance of teenage male cricket players in regional India

The purpose of the study is to determine the effect of age on teenage male cricket players in regional India. Age is a significant predictor of outcomes in athletes. It has been previously studied in the sport of cricket, but hasn’t been researched in India. The study aimed to examine the age of the teenage male cricket players and whether they are willing to go professional in the future. A Survey was conducted to collect the data related to age and desire to go professional. A chi-square test was used to compare the data at various age categories with the hypothesis that the ages 17 years -18 years will have a higher desire of playing a higher level including professional compared to their juniors. The research was based on data of male cricket players between the age of 15 years to 18 years. These age groups were chosen because they are the most promising age category the selectors look at for building a balanced team for the future.

Comparison of Ladder Training Versus Plyometric Training on Agility &amp; Speed among Vadodara Cricket Players: An Experimental Study

Background: Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world, right behind football, and it is played between 105 nations that are members of the ICC. In cricket, speed plays an essential role as the faster the speed generation the more the number of singles taken &amp; saved during fielding. Agility is required in the infield of cricket because fielders are closer to the batsmen and have less time to react.Ladder drills improve footwork &amp; coordination in players performance level which makes players easy to catch, strike or block or tackle. In Agility Ladder, jumps are performed without obstacles &amp; in multidirectional ways with fast ground contact time. Aim: To compare the effect of Ladder Training versus Plyometric Training on agility &amp; speed among cricket players. Method: 38 male cricket players (under -19) were selected by convenient sampling. Participants who met the inclusion criteria were randomly allocated into two equal groups: Ladder Training group and Plyometric Training group. Baseline data was collected by Illinois agility test &amp; 40m Sprint test. The training duration was 3 sessions/week for 6 weeks. Results:The data was analyzed using paired – t test for within group and Unpaired – t test for between group. Results showed that both the training methods produced significant improvement in agility &amp; speed performance but ladder training method showed statistically significant difference in agility (p&lt;0.0001) &amp; speed (p&lt;0.0002) than plyometric training. Conclusion: The present study concludes that Ladder training has an added advantageous effect for improving speed and agility in cricket players over plyometric training.

Effectiveness of Yoga Sana practice on balance and overall playing ability among junior male cricket players

Effectiveness of Yoga Sana practice on balance and overall playing ability among junior male cricket players

Annual incidence and prevalence of injuries in elite male academy cricketers: A 4-year prospective cohort study

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology of injuries; time-loss and non-time loss, in elite male academy cricket. DesignProspective cohort analysis. MethodsAnnual injury incidence and prevalence from all cricket related injuries were calculated for 348 male academy players (under-13 to under-18) from the 18 First-Class County Cricket clubs in England and Wales across four years (2017/18, 2018/19, 2020/21 and 2021/22), in accordance with the updated consensus statement for injury surveillance methods in cricket. ResultsThe average annual injury incidence was 115.0 injuries/100 players/year, with similar rates between time-loss (59.7 injuries/100 players/year) and non-time loss injury incidence (55.3 injuries/100 players/year). On average, 8.5 ​% of players were unavailable on any given day of the year due to injury. Match injury incidence (48.8 injuries/100 players/year) was higher than cricket-based training (25.2 injuries/100 players/year), gym-based training, illness, and ‘other’ injury incidences. Match bowling was the activity associated with the highest total (17.7 injuries/100 players/year), time-loss (10.3 injuries/100 players/year) and non-time loss (7.4 injuries/100 players/year) injury incidence. The lumbar spine was the body location most frequently injured (15.3 injuries/100 players/year) and was the most prevalent body location injured (2.9 ​% of players). ConclusionsThe findings from this study provide, robust evidence of the extent of the injury problem in elite male academy cricketers. Bowling poses the greatest risk to players and the lumbar spine is the most common and prevalent injury location.

Experimental evolution under varying sex ratio and behavioral plasticity in response to perceived competitive environment independently affect calling effort in male crickets.

The operational sex ratio (OSR) is a key component influencing the magnitude of sexual selection driving the evolution of male sexual traits, but males often also retain the ability to plastically modulate trait expression depending on the current environment. Here we employed an experimental evolution approach to determine whether the OSR affects the evolution of male calling effort in decorated crickets, a costly sexual trait, and whether plasticity in calling effort is altered by the OSR under which males have evolved. Calling effort of males from 2 selection regimes maintained at different OSRs over 18-20 generations (male vs. female biased) was recorded at 2 different levels of perceived competition, in the absence of rivals or in the presence of an experimentally muted competitor. The effect of the OSR on the evolution of male calling effort was modest, and in the opposite direction predicted by theory. Instead, the immediate competitive environment strongly influenced male calling effort as males called more in the presence of a rival, revealing considerable plasticity in this trait. This increased calling effort came at a cost, however, as males confined with a muted rival experienced significantly higher mortality.

Effect of plyometric versus complex training on core strength, lower limb, and upper limb power in male cricketers: a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundComplex training is found effective in improving physical performance in various sports. There is a paucity of research evidence comparing the efficacy of complex vs. plyometric training in cricket players. The study aimed to compare the efficacy of complex and plyometric training on physical performance parameters in cricket players.MethodsParticipants (n = 42 Male; age group = 18–26 years) were randomly allocated into three groups, complex training group (CTG) (n = 14; BMI = 20.51 ± 2.23), plyometric training group (PTG) (n = 14; BMI = 20.57 ± 2.82), and control group (CG) (n = 14; BMI = 20.51 ± 2.23). CTG and PTG received their respective training twice weekly, and CG received routine training for four weeks. Pre and post-intervention assessments of core muscle strength (CM), multistage fitness (MF), push-up (PU), lateral cone jump (LCJ), and stationary vertical jump (SVJ) were performed. This study has been registered in clinicaltrials.gov (ID: NCT05646914, on 05/12/2022).ResultsA significant difference was observed between CTG vs. CG for CM (p ≤ 0.01), LCJ (p < 0.05), and SVJ (p ≤ 0.01), similarly in PTG vs. CG for CM (p-value), LCJ (p ≤ 0.05) and SVJ (p ≤ 0.01). However, No significant difference was found between PTG vs. CTG for any variables (p ≥ 0.05). Also, No significant difference in MF and PU was found between the groups (p ≥ 0.05).ConclusionsComplex training has been found to have effects similar to plyometric training alone. Therefore, either of the two strategies can be used to improve the performance of male cricket players.

Effects of Isolated and Combined Strength and Yogic Programme on Corporeal, Physiological and Skill Performance Variables Among College Cricket Players

Cricket performance is known to be influenced by skills to overall development. Present, training sessions typically involve fielding-specific drills and conditioning exercises. Scientific evidence for inclusion of a comprehensive yoga involvement in daily training and exercise sessions remains unknown. The present explored the effects of isolated and combined strength and yogic programme on corporeal, physiological and skill performance in cricket players. The study were conducted among60 male college cricket player aged 18 to 25 years. The fitness and skill performance was evaluated to physical fitness variables as speed, physiological variables VO2 Max Skill Performance Skills cricket batting before the training and after 8 weeks of training. The subjects were randomly assigned into four groups, namely strength training group, yogic training group, combined strength and yogic training and control group. Statistically significant improvements in baseline scores in speed, physiological variables VO2 Max Skill Performance Skills cricket batting were comparable between the three groups of college cricket players. Speed improved by 6.68 in strength group, 6.83 in the yoga group 6.78 combined strength and yoga group 73.26in the control group. VO2 Max improved by 74.03in strength group, 72.20in the yoga group 6.78 combined strength and yoga group 69.89in the control group. Batting ability improved by 8.05in strength group, 6.28in the yoga group 7.33 combined strength and yoga group 4.98in the control group additional research on long-duration intervention in elite players may help to establish the role of yoga in conventional cricket-batting ability for training.&#x0D;