Data from: Anthropogenic noise exposure over development increases baseline auditory activity and decision-making time in adult crickets

Anthropogenic noise negatively affects some animals more so than others
and often in different ways. Female crickets reared in traffic noise are
reported to be faster or slower to locate male song than those reared in
silence depending on species. No study has considered whether observed
differences were due to hearing or decision-making. We reared female
Teleogryllus oceanicus in traffic noise and silence, and adult females
located male song broadcast amidst traffic noise or silence. We recorded
activity of two auditory interneurons in a subset of individuals under
identical acoustic conditions. Regardless of rearing treatment, crickets
were slower to leave their shelter when presented with male song in
silence than in traffic noise, while crickets reared in traffic noise were
also slower to leave overall. Crickets reared in traffic noise also had
higher baseline AN2 activity, but rearing condition did not affect hearing
thresholds or auditory response to male song. Our results demonstrate
behavioural and auditory effects of long-term exposure to anthropogenic
noise. Further, they support the idea that silence itself is a potentially
aversive acoustic condition.