Cricket Song in Sympatry: Species Specificity of Song without Reproductive Character Displacement in Gryllus rubens

Abstract

Previous work with the cryptic sister species pair of field crickets, Gryllus texensis Cade & Otte and Gryllus rubens Scudder, has implicated sexual selection in the speciation process. That study examined reproductive character displacement (RCD) in male song and female preference for song in G. texensis. No evidence of RCD was found. Here, we provide a similar analysis of RCD in G. rubens song and examine the songs of both species from areas of sympatry in an effort to document the species-specificity of song in sympatry and to look for individuals with songs indicative of F1 hybrid status. We 1) find no evidence for RCD in G. rubens song, 2) demonstrate the distinctness of song in sympatry, and 3) document the rarity of songs typical of F1 hybrids.