Developmental temperature alters the thermal sensitivity of courtship activity and signal-preference relationships, but not mating rates

Abstract Mating behaviors are sensitive to novel or stressful thermal conditions, particularly for ectothermic organisms. One way to deal with changes in thermal conditions is developmental plasticity, whereby the thermal sensitivity of mating behaviors depend on developmental conditions. We tested how developmental temperature affects the thermal sensitivity of courtship behavior and mating rates, as well as mating signal-preference relationships. To do so, we rear treehoppers under two temperature regimes and then test the expression of mating behaviors across a range of ambient temperatures for males and females. We find that developmental temperatures affect the thermal sensitivity of courtship behavior and mating signals for males, but not females. The sex-specific plasticity did not alter the thermal sensitivity of mating rates, but did disrupt signal-preference coupling across certain ranges of ambient temperature. We discuss the implications of signal-preference decoupling for sexual selection, how reversible acclimation may drive sex-specific results, and the potential for mismatches between developmental and mating thermal environments under future climate change predictions.