University of New Hampshire
McNair Scholar, 2020
Major: Neuroscience & Behavior
Mentor: Dr. Daniel Howard, Department of Biological Sciences
Research Title: An Analysis of Signal Qualities of Acheta domesticus Calls Produced During Exposure to Noise Perceived Via Different Sensory Pathways
An Analysis of Signal Qualities of Acheta domesticus Calls Produced During Exposure to Noise Perceived Via Different Sensory Pathways
Communication is critical for all organisms for the sake of their survival and chances of reproduction. Animals use many ways to communicate, including using airborne sound, substrate- borne vibration, chemical signals, and visual signals. Sensory systems to detect communication signals are complex, but there are chances that the critical messages in signals become obstructed or masked due to interference. Communication is critical for all organisms for the sake of their survival and chances of reproduction. Animals use many ways to communicate, including using airborne sound, substrate- borne vibration, chemical signals, and visual signals. Sensory systems to detect communication signals are complex, but there are chances that the critical messages in signals become obstructed or masked due to interference. Signal interference can also occur due to anthropogenic noise, which is human caused noise that can influence animal behavior. The interference by noise can cause many problems to an organism’s ability to communicate, whether it be in accessing food, seeking mates for reproduction, or avoiding predators. Noise can even influence habitat selection and space use, and can result in signal modification. The cricket is an example of an organism that exhibits an easily measurable communication behavior with their sensory systems. This experiment will examine behavioral plasticity, which is the ability of an individual to alter behavior in response to changing conditions, in response to noise by studying the calls of common house crickets, Acheta domesticus, that have been previously recorded in both quiet control and noisy experimental conditions to test whether structural qualities of the male signal are altered during periods of noise exposure.
