Internal state transition to switch behavioral strategies in cricket phonotaxis behavior

Abstract

Animals employ multiple behavioral strategies for exploring food and mating partners based on both their internal state and external environment. Here, we examined how cricket phonotaxis, which was considered an innate reactive behavior of females to approach the calling song of conspecific males, depended on these internal and external conditions. Our observation revealed that the phonotaxis process consisted of two distinctive phases: wandering and approaching. In the latter phase, crickets moved straightly and directly toward the sound source. The transition into this phase, referred to as the ‘approach phase’, was based on changes in animal's internal state. Moreover, retention of the approach phase required recognition of the calling song while song loss downregulated cricket mobility and induced frequent stopping. This is a typical movement in local search behaviors. Our results indicate that phonotaxis is not only a reactive response but a complicated process including multiple behavioral strategies.