Trait-specific responses to repeated stressor exposure in wild crickets

Habituation allows animals to reduce their responsiveness to repeated, non-threatening stimuli. While well-studied in vertebrates, little is known about how wild insects adjust their behaviour to repeated stressors in natural settings. This study tested whether wild field crickets (Gryllus campestris) habituate or sensitise to repeated simulated predator attacks, and whether these effects vary with threat intensity. Crickets showed limited evidence of habituation. Emergence time increased slightly over repeated exposures, consistent with modest sensitisation, while post-emergence distance also increased, suggesting a modest habituation effect. Escape speed remained stable. Our results suggest trait-specific behavioural plasticity, as only some response measures changed across repeated exposures while others remained stable. Crickets ranged further from the burrow in response to the stronger stimulus, suggesting greater comfort or reduced perceived risk, though emergence latency and escape speed were unaffected by stimulus intensity. Contrary to our predictions, individual crickets did not respond consistently across the two stimulus types. While some increased their emergence time or post-emergence distance more under one stimulus than the other, others showed little or no change. These patterns suggest that only certain behaviours were flexible, and that individuals varied in how strongly they adjusted these behaviours. Escape speed, by contrast, remained stable. Together, these results indicate limited habituation, trait-specific flexibility, and substantial individual variation in how crickets respond to repeated disturbance, highlighting the diverse strategies animals may use to manage risk in unpredictable environments.