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Insects perceive local sex ratio in the absence of tactile or visual sex-specific cues |
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| Authors: | Chang S Han Chang-Ku Kang Hong-Sup Shin Jeong-Hyun Lee Mi-Rye Bae Sang-Im Lee Piotr G Jablonski |
| Institution: | 1. Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia 2. Laboratory of Behavioral Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea 3. Laboratory of Behavior and Ecology, Division of EcoScience, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea 4. Institute of Advanced Machinery and Design, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea 5. Center for Ecological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Dziekanow Lesny, 05 092, Lomianki, Poland |
| Abstract: | Numerous studies have demonstrated adaptive behavioral responses of males and females to changes in operational sex ratio (the ratio of potentially receptive males to receptive females; OSR), and theory often assumes that animals have perfect instantaneous knowledge about the OSR. However, the role of sensory mechanisms in monitoring the local sex ratio by animals and whether animals can perceive local sex ratio in a manner consistent with model assumptions have not been well addressed. Here, we show that mating water striders Gerris gracilicornis respond to local sex ratio even when visual and physical contact with other individuals were experimentally prohibited. Our study shows that insects are able to estimate local population's sex ratio and adjust their behavior based on nonvisual cues perceived at a distance or released to the habitat. Hence, the frequent theoretical assumption that individuals have knowledge about their local sex ratio regardless of their direct behavioral interactions may be an acceptable approximation of reality. |
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