Integration of intra- and inter-sexual selection signaling

Sexual selection can drive the evolution of dramatic morphological and behavioral signals. This selection acts on both specific components of signals and overall signals that combine multiple sources of information. By studying the structure and variability of signals and their components we can improve our understanding of how sexual selection operates. Signal integration can be understood through the lens of classical signaling hypotheses or more recently defined systems approaches. Using crickets (Acheta domesticus), we evaluated competing hypotheses about signal integration and how observed patterns of signal integration fit into both systems approaches and classic signaling hypotheses. We measured three call types of 127 male crickets multiple times for a total of 930 observations. We found evidence for an underlying integrated signaling syndrome from which both intra- and intersexual signals stemmed. This syndrome was also affected by mass, suggesting honest signaling in the species. The presence of an integrated syndrome demonstrates that intra- and intersexual signals are incorporated in a redundant signal strategy in Acheta domesticus. This support for honest and redundant signaling is also consistent with a systems framework description of signals as degenerate and functionally modular--demonstrating one way in which classic hypotheses can be integrated with modern systems approaches.