Of walls and floors: How Experimental Landscape Structures Affect Mating Song Identification in Stridulating Orthopterans

By experimentally introducing floors and walls into open-field settings, we demonstrated that such structural changes can either enhance or hinder sound propagation and song identification, depending on species-specific acoustic traits.

Song identification probability increased for Nemobiinae species, likely due to improved sound reflection or behavioral attraction to the structures. Conversely, identification of Conocephalinae species decreased in the presence of these structures, suggesting adverse effects on habitat quality and signal transmission. Phaneropterinae species showed no clear response, likely owing to their long-range song propagation from elevated positions.