The Effect of Heterospecific Song and Anthropogenic Sound on the Development of Life History Traits in a Field Cricket

Troy A. Bowers, Susan N. Gershman. 2026. Ethology1–11. DOI: 10.1111/eth.70077

Abstract

Juvenile crickets use sound cues from conspecifics to plastically develop adaptive adult traits. Human-induced rapid environmental change, including anthropogenic sound and introduced species, can cause a mismatch between juvenile and adult environments, resulting in maladaptive phenotypic plasticity. To determine the effects of traffic sound and introduced Velarifictorus micado song on Gryllus pennsylvanicus field cricket development, we raised G. pennsylvanicus crickets in silence, conspecific song, traffic noise, or heterospecific song and measured development time, body size, and lifespan. We did not find an effect of conspecific song or traffic sound on any traits. However, individuals reared with heterospecific song developed more quickly than individuals reared in silence. Rapid development would be beneficial in an adult environment with many conspecifics, but plasticity in response to heterospecific song has no clear benefit. It is possible that V. micado song represents an extreme stimulus that causes G. pennsylvanicus to display potentially maladaptive phenotypic plasticity. Our results underscore the need for more research on the effects of introduced species on acoustically communicating species.