Ximena Bernal, xbernal@mail.utexas.edu, University of Texas at Austin, Section of Integrative Biology, CO930, Austin, TX
In many animals males use conspicuous signals to attract mates. To accomplish that goal, mating signals are species specific and are often easy to localize. These traits, however, also make the signal vulnerable to eavesdropping by predators and parasites. In this study I report that the acoustically orienting blood-sucking flies of the genus Corethrella are attracted to the calls of sympatric, as well as allopatric, frog species. In some cases the calls of frogs that are sympatric with the flies showed to be as attractive as the calls of allopatric species, while less attractive in others. In addition, phonotaxis to calls produced by insects and birds was also found. These reports increase the potential range of prey items that could be exploited by Corethrella flies. The results of the study suggest a flexible acoustic template for recognizing prey items in these flies, and support the idea of loose evolution between predator and prey in this system.
Species 1: Diptera Corethrellidae
Corethrella peruvianaSpecies 2: Diptera Corethrellidae
Corethrella edwardsiSpecies 3: Diptera Corethrellidae
Corethrella blandaKeywords: eavesdropper, acoustic template
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