Does Relatedness Affect Male-Male Aggression in the Field Crickets Gryllus rubens?
Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Senior
Major
Biology, Pre-Medicine
Minor
Chemistry
List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)
Oliver Beckers, PhD
Presentation Format
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Description
Crickets can use cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) to identify relatedness to other crickets. The males in many species engage in intrasexual selection and fight with each other in the context of mate finding. Kin Selection Theory states that behavior changes to promote the reproductive success of relatives, which may reduce aggression in male interactions with siblings that share similar genes and thus fitness if they are able to reproduce. I predict that male crickets utilize the Kin Selection Theory with other males when encountering them in the wild and, if detecting them as “sibling” (similar CHCs), will behave less aggressively with one another than compared to encountering a non-sibling.
Spring Scholars Week 2019 Event
Honors College Senior Thesis
Does Relatedness Affect Male-Male Aggression in the Field Crickets Gryllus rubens?
Crickets can use cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) to identify relatedness to other crickets. The males in many species engage in intrasexual selection and fight with each other in the context of mate finding. Kin Selection Theory states that behavior changes to promote the reproductive success of relatives, which may reduce aggression in male interactions with siblings that share similar genes and thus fitness if they are able to reproduce. I predict that male crickets utilize the Kin Selection Theory with other males when encountering them in the wild and, if detecting them as “sibling” (similar CHCs), will behave less aggressively with one another than compared to encountering a non-sibling.