For most of the last 150 years, evolution was assumed to happen over large time scales, but an increasing number of studies have demonstrated very rapid adaptive evolution in natural populations. Much of my work has centered on understanding the roles of behavior and ecology in rapid evolutionary change, particularly in sexual signaling systems. The topic is particularly timely because rampant anthropogenic influences, ranging from unintentional introductions to climate change, challenge organisms by changing the ecosystems in which they live. How are these changes in ecology and social experience accommodated on contemporary timescales?
Diversification and even speciation are believed to be tied to the evolution of novel communication systems. There is a growing appreciation for the role of sexual selection in speciation processes, but comparisons are necessarily made between closely related species or populations that have differed in sexual signals for many, many generations. We know little about how novel sexual signals arise and the role of sexual selection in speciation remains controversial, in part, because opportunities to observe contemporary signal change and its consequences for divergence and sexual isolation are incredibly rare. Last year, we discovered a new sexual signal in a Hawaiian population of the Pacific field cricket, Teleogryllus oceanicus. This species is well-known for rapid sexual signal evolution. Less than 15 years ago, together with colleagues, I discovered the categorical loss of singing ability in the same cricket and subsequent work revealed the important role that pre-existing and flexible behavior played in the rapid evolutionary spread of silence-causing mutations on the islands of Kauai and Oahu. Learn more about "How the cricket lost its song" by reading my guest blog post (and here) for the Beacon Center for Evolution in Action. More recently, I discovered a previously unknown population of T. oceanicus on the island of Molokai where males produce a unique song reminiscent of a cat’s purr (hereafter purring males). This is an outstanding opportunity to uncover the manner in which initial stages of signal evolution proceed, during which new sounds, colors, and behaviors come to be shaped by choosy conspecifics and eavesdropping natural enemies, and to examine the consequences of sexual signal change for pre-mating isolation. Amongst other things, we have demonstrated that the new purring song differs from the ancestral and silent types in song characteristics (frequency, bandwidth, and amplitude) and underlying wing morphology, and that female conspecifics can hear and use the purring song to locate mates from at least a meter away. Stay tuned! This work is supported by an NSF CAREER grant (2019-2024).
LISTEN TO A FEW PURRING CRICKET SONGS BELOW:
Diversification and even speciation are believed to be tied to the evolution of novel communication systems. There is a growing appreciation for the role of sexual selection in speciation processes, but comparisons are necessarily made between closely related species or populations that have differed in sexual signals for many, many generations. We know little about how novel sexual signals arise and the role of sexual selection in speciation remains controversial, in part, because opportunities to observe contemporary signal change and its consequences for divergence and sexual isolation are incredibly rare. Last year, we discovered a new sexual signal in a Hawaiian population of the Pacific field cricket, Teleogryllus oceanicus. This species is well-known for rapid sexual signal evolution. Less than 15 years ago, together with colleagues, I discovered the categorical loss of singing ability in the same cricket and subsequent work revealed the important role that pre-existing and flexible behavior played in the rapid evolutionary spread of silence-causing mutations on the islands of Kauai and Oahu. Learn more about "How the cricket lost its song" by reading my guest blog post (and here) for the Beacon Center for Evolution in Action. More recently, I discovered a previously unknown population of T. oceanicus on the island of Molokai where males produce a unique song reminiscent of a cat’s purr (hereafter purring males). This is an outstanding opportunity to uncover the manner in which initial stages of signal evolution proceed, during which new sounds, colors, and behaviors come to be shaped by choosy conspecifics and eavesdropping natural enemies, and to examine the consequences of sexual signal change for pre-mating isolation. Amongst other things, we have demonstrated that the new purring song differs from the ancestral and silent types in song characteristics (frequency, bandwidth, and amplitude) and underlying wing morphology, and that female conspecifics can hear and use the purring song to locate mates from at least a meter away. Stay tuned! This work is supported by an NSF CAREER grant (2019-2024).
LISTEN TO A FEW PURRING CRICKET SONGS BELOW:
| mol2_co_26_21.11.17__courtship_purring_.mp3 |
| mol211.1_co_09.02.2018__courtship_purring_.mp3 |
| mol301.1_ca_09.02.2020__calling_purring_.mp3 |
| mol304.1_ca_09.02.2020__calling_purring_.mp3 |
Selected related publications:
Tinghitella, R.M.^, Broder, E.D.^, Gallagher, J.H.*, Wikle, A.*, Zonana, D.M. 2021. Responses of intended and unintended receivers to a novel sexual signal suggest clandestine communication. Nature Communications. 12: 797.
Broder, E.D., Elias, D.O., Rodriguez, R., Rosenthal, G.G., Seymoure, B., Tinghitella, R.M. 2021.Evolutionary novelty in communication between the sexes. Biology Letters. 16: 20200733.
Broder, E.D., Wikle, A.W., Gallagher, J.H., & Tinghitella, R.M. 2021. Substrate-borne vibration in Teleogryllus oceanicus courtship displays. Journal of Orthoptera Research. 30(1): 43-50.
Tinghitella, R.M., Broder E.D., Gurule-Small G.A., Hallagan, C., & Wilson, J. 2018. Purring crickets: The evolution of a novel sexual signal. The American Naturalist. 192(6): 773-782.
Tinghitella, R.M., Zuk, M., Beveridge, M., & Simmons, L.W. 2011. Island hopping introduces Polynesian field crickets to novel environments, genetic bottlenecks, and rapid evolution. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 24(6): 1199-1211.
Tinghitella, R.M. & Zuk, M. 2009. Asymmetric mating preferences accommodated the rapid evolutionary loss of a sexual signal. Evolution. 63: 2087-2098.
Tinghitella, R.M., Wang, J.M. & Zuk, M. 2009. Pre-existing behavior renders a mutation adaptive: flexibility in male phonotaxis and the loss of singing ability in the cricket Teleogryllus oceanicus. Behavioral Ecology. 20: 722-728.
Zuk, M. & Tinghitella, R.M. 2008. Rapid evolution and sexual signals. In: Sociobiology of Communication: an interdisciplinary perspective. Eds: P d’Ettorre & D.P. Hughes. Oxford University Press.
Tinghitella, R.M. 2008. Rapid evolutionary change in a sexual signal: Genetic control of the mutation “flatwing” that renders male field crickets (Teleogryllus oceanicus) mute. Heredity. 100: 261-267.
Zuk, M., Rotenberry, J.T. & Tinghitella, R.M. 2006. Silent Night: Adaptive disappearance of a sexual signal in a parasitized population of field crickets. Biology Letters. 2: 521-524.
Tinghitella, R.M.^, Broder, E.D.^, Gallagher, J.H.*, Wikle, A.*, Zonana, D.M. 2021. Responses of intended and unintended receivers to a novel sexual signal suggest clandestine communication. Nature Communications. 12: 797.
Broder, E.D., Elias, D.O., Rodriguez, R., Rosenthal, G.G., Seymoure, B., Tinghitella, R.M. 2021.Evolutionary novelty in communication between the sexes. Biology Letters. 16: 20200733.
Broder, E.D., Wikle, A.W., Gallagher, J.H., & Tinghitella, R.M. 2021. Substrate-borne vibration in Teleogryllus oceanicus courtship displays. Journal of Orthoptera Research. 30(1): 43-50.
Tinghitella, R.M., Broder E.D., Gurule-Small G.A., Hallagan, C., & Wilson, J. 2018. Purring crickets: The evolution of a novel sexual signal. The American Naturalist. 192(6): 773-782.
Tinghitella, R.M., Zuk, M., Beveridge, M., & Simmons, L.W. 2011. Island hopping introduces Polynesian field crickets to novel environments, genetic bottlenecks, and rapid evolution. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 24(6): 1199-1211.
Tinghitella, R.M. & Zuk, M. 2009. Asymmetric mating preferences accommodated the rapid evolutionary loss of a sexual signal. Evolution. 63: 2087-2098.
Tinghitella, R.M., Wang, J.M. & Zuk, M. 2009. Pre-existing behavior renders a mutation adaptive: flexibility in male phonotaxis and the loss of singing ability in the cricket Teleogryllus oceanicus. Behavioral Ecology. 20: 722-728.
Zuk, M. & Tinghitella, R.M. 2008. Rapid evolution and sexual signals. In: Sociobiology of Communication: an interdisciplinary perspective. Eds: P d’Ettorre & D.P. Hughes. Oxford University Press.
Tinghitella, R.M. 2008. Rapid evolutionary change in a sexual signal: Genetic control of the mutation “flatwing” that renders male field crickets (Teleogryllus oceanicus) mute. Heredity. 100: 261-267.
Zuk, M., Rotenberry, J.T. & Tinghitella, R.M. 2006. Silent Night: Adaptive disappearance of a sexual signal in a parasitized population of field crickets. Biology Letters. 2: 521-524.