THE ENERGETIC COST OF CALLING IN THE VARIABLE FIELD CRICKET, GRYLLUS LINEATICEPS

Female preferences for conspicuous male calls have been documented in many groups. However, relatively few studies have examined the metabol ic costs associated with the production of call types preferred by fem ales. We measured the oxygen consumption of calling male Gryllus linea ticeps Stal crickets using closed chamber respirometry. Calling song w as recorded concurrently. The average increase in mass-specific oxygen consumption during calling was 2.7 times basal rates of oxygen consum ption, and calling males consumed approximately 1.2mlO(2)g(-1)h(-1). O xygen consumption increased with increasing chirp rate and pulse durat ion, but not with increasing chirp duration. Females of this species p refer higher chirp rates, thus some call types that increase the male' s attractiveness to females require more metabolic energy to produce.