Song recognition in the grasshopper Chorthippus biguttulus is not impaired by shortening song signals:: implications for neuronal encoding

The communication signals in many grasshopper species are composed of multiple repetitions of highly stereotyped subunits, and thus provide redundancy. In a behavioural paradigm, we tested the ability of males of the grasshopper Chorthippus biguttulus to recognize shortened versions of the communication signals of conspecific females. Males reliably responded to a three-subunits signal (250 ms), i.e. to a signal of less than a quarter of the natural duration. This performance is remarkable in view of the substantial adaptation and the variability present in the spiking responses of auditory interneurones. These behavioural results will impose constraints for investigating possible encoding mechanisms used by the grasshoppers' auditory system.