Data and code for: Dispersing rice-associated arthropods ignore a phantom ultrasonic insect chorus

This upload contains all data and code for "Dispersing rice-associated arthropods ignore a phantom ultrasonic insect chorus", submitted to Open Agriculture Journal. Manuscript abstract is pasted below:

The acoustic environment can provide fitness-enhancing information to dispersing animals, serving as a beacon of profitable habitat and mates, or warning of sub-optimal or dangerous habitat. Irrigated rice ecosystems stretch across tropical Asia and host an exceptionally rich assemblage of sound-producing animals. Here, we experimentally reproduced the ultrasonic chorus of meadow katydids (Tettigoniidae, Conocephalinae, Conocephanini), which are egg predators and produce bat-like ticks that could directly deter ultrasound-detecting rice pests. Indirect effects are also possible through arthropod predators’ response to the chorus. We deployed a 100-speaker array in a newly planted rice field to test whether dispersing aerial arthropods during early growth stages (< 60 days after planting) that are naturally katydid-free respond to a chorus playback that was turned on and off hourly. Aerial arthropods were sampled using intercept traps—one nested within a paddy with the speaker array, and one each in two control paddies. Aerial arthropod samples revealed similar temporal abundance patterns among guilds as prior work documenting canopy-sampled arthropods with detritivores accumulating prior to the arrival of predators and herbivores. However, none of the analyzed arthropod functional guilds or taxonomic families exhibited a response to the phantom chorus, suggesting that the ultrasonic chorus emanating from the rice canopy is either imperceptible to, or not warranting of a behavioral response by, the arthropods present in our study. Alternatively, this lack of response for some taxa may have resulted from our inability to sufficiently replicate the true extent of the natural chorus. A subsequent study at sites and during growth stages with larger populations of ultrasonic-hearing herbivores and employing a more robust playback system is needed to further assess arthropod’s potential response to natural ultrasonic insect choruses. In addition to reporting novel biodiversity data on dispersing arthropods colonizing rice, this work contributes to the growing literature describing animals’ response to environmental sounds and has the potential to inform emerging pest control technologies exploiting the sensory systems of crop pests.