Mating and reproduction behaviors and strategies are fundamental aspects of an organism’s evolutionary and ecological success. In locusts, intra- as well as inter-phase reproductive interactions among gregarious and solitarious locust populations have a major impact on the locust population dynamics. However, practically all previous work on locust sexual behavior has been limited to the gregarious phase. Here we provide a first detailed description of pre-copulatory behavior of solitarious desert locusts. We compare our findings with those of previous reports of pre-copulatory behavior of gregarious locusts, focusing on the behavioral elements that serve in inter-sex signaling and communication. We also studied inter-phase (mixed pairs) reproductive interactions. Solitarious males were found to invest more in pre-copulatory courtship and signaling compared to their gregarious counterparts; and solitarious females played a more dominant role in the inter-sex communication than gregarious females. The solitarious females were also less likely to demonstrate rejection-related behavioral patterns than gregarious females. As a consequence of the particular characteristic behavior of each phase, the most successful among intra- and inter-phase pairs were gregarious males with solitary females. Least successful were solitary males paired with gregarious females, indicating a strong asymmetry in inter-phase reproductive interactions.

中文翻译：

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沙漠蝗虫在相内和相间相互作用中的性行为

交配和繁殖行为和策略是生物体进化和生态成功的基本方面。在蝗虫中，群居和独居蝗虫种群之间的相内和相间繁殖相互作用对蝗虫种群动态有重大影响。然而，几乎所有以前关于蝗虫性行为的工作都仅限于群居阶段。在这里，我们首次详细描述了独居沙漠蝗虫的交配前行为。我们将我们的发现与之前关于群居蝗虫交配前行为的报告进行了比较，重点关注在性别信号和交流中发挥作用的行为要素。我们还研究了相间（混合对）生殖相互作用。与群居的雄性相比，独居的雄性在交配前的求爱和信号方面投入更多；和群居的雌性相比，独居的雌性在两性间的交流中发挥了更大的主导作用。与群居女性相比，独居女性也不太可能表现出与拒绝相关的行为模式。由于每个阶段的特定特征行为，阶段内和阶段间配对中最成功的是群居雄性和独居雌性。最不成功的是孤独的雄性与群居的雌性配对，这表明相间生殖相互作用存在强烈的不对称性。与群居女性相比，独居女性也不太可能表现出与拒绝相关的行为模式。由于每个阶段的特定特征行为，阶段内和阶段间配对中最成功的是群居雄性和独居雌性。最不成功的是孤独的雄性与群居的雌性配对，这表明相间生殖相互作用存在强烈的不对称性。与群居女性相比，独居女性也不太可能表现出与拒绝相关的行为模式。由于每个阶段的特定特征行为，阶段内和阶段间配对中最成功的是群居雄性和独居雌性。最不成功的是孤独的雄性与群居的雌性配对，这表明相间生殖相互作用存在强烈的不对称性。