Thesis Colloquium at CES on 10 July 2015 at 11:00 am titled "CES: 10th July 2015: Investigating pattern recognition and bi-coordinate sound localization in the tree cricket species Oecanthus henryi" by Monisha Bhattcharya from CES, IISc Bangalore
An acoustic communication system consists of a sender, a receiver and a signal. In my thesis I have focused on the receiver. The model system I chose was the tree cricket species, Oecanthus henryi. In a cricket mating system, usually the male calls and the female recognizes and responds to the call. A female in a cricket mating system is thus faced with three kinds of issues: recognizing the conspecific call, localizing the call and discriminating among conspecific males based on individual differences in the calls. My thesis objectives are focused upon these three broad themes. I have examined the role of call carrier frequency in maintaining sender-receiver match thus aiding conspecific recognition. I have also explored the role of carrier frequency in discrimination among conspecific males. O. henryi is found in sympatry with a congeneric calling tree cricket species, O. indicus. I studied reproductive isolation between the two based on calls. Finally since O. henryi is found on bushes, the males and females are separated in azimuth as well as in elevation; hence I studied the mechanism of 3D sound localization in these insects.