scholarly journals Behavioural tuning in a tropical amphibian along an altitudinal gradient

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 20170317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastiaan W. F. Meenderink ◽  
Patricia M. Quiñones ◽  
Peter M. Narins
Keyword(s):  
Inner Ear ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Altitudinal Gradient ◽  
Behavioural Response ◽  
Advertisement Call ◽  
Vocal Response ◽  
Vocal Responses ◽  
Response Behaviour ◽  
Altitude Dependence ◽  
Sensitivity Change

Males of the coqui treefrog, Eleutherodactylus coqui , produce a distinct two-note ‘co-qui' advertisement call from sunset to midnight throughout most of the year. Previous work established that both the spectrotemporal aspects of the call and the frequency of highest inner-ear sensitivity change with altitude above sea level. These variations are such that the frequency of the emitted co-note closely matches the frequency to which the inner ear is most sensitive. Given this parallel variation, we expected that the call-evoked behavioural response of male coqui treefrogs would also show an altitude dependence, and hypothesized that males would produce their most robust acoustical territorial response to advertisement calls that match calls from their own altitude. We tested this hypothesis in the field by studying the vocal response behaviour of coquis to playbacks of synthetic, altitude-dependent conspecific calls, and indeed found that the most robust vocal responses were obtained using stimuli closely matching the calls from the same altitude.

scholarly journals Frequency matching of vocalizations to inner-ear sensitivity along an altitudinal gradient in the coqui frog

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 278-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastiaan W. F. Meenderink ◽  
Mirja Kits ◽  
Peter M. Narins
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Inner Ear ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Otoacoustic Emissions ◽  
Altitudinal Gradient ◽  
Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions ◽  
Frequency Range ◽  
Frequency Matching ◽  
Distortion Product ◽  
Sensitivity Change

Acoustic communication involves both the generation and the detection of a signal. In the coqui frog ( Eleutherodactylus coqui ), it is known that the spectral contents of its calls systematically change with altitude above sea level. Here, distortion product otoacoustic emissions are used to assess the frequency range over which the inner ear is sensitive. It is found that both the spectral contents of the calls and the inner-ear sensitivity change in a similar fashion along an altitudinal gradient. As a result, the call frequencies and the auditory tuning are closely matched at all altitudes. We suggest that the animal's body size determines the frequency particulars of the call apparatus and the inner ear.

scholarly journals Altitudinal gradient of mass-balance sensitivity to climatic change from 18 years of observations on glacier d’Argentière, France

1998 ◽  
Vol 44 (146) ◽  
pp. 93-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Vallon ◽  
C. Vincent ◽  
L. Reynaud
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Temperature Variation ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Altitudinal Gradient ◽  
Statistical Study ◽  
Current Model ◽  
Simple Calculation ◽  
Meteorological Station ◽  
Climatic Variations ◽  
Mont Blanc Massif

AbstractAssessment of the contribution of small glaciers to sea-level rise or the reconstruction of past glacial mass balance requires knowledge of mass-balance sensitivity to climatic variations. The aim of this paper is to clarify this relation. The mass-balance fluctuations analyzed from measurements on glacier d’Argentière, Mont Blanc massif, France, between 1850 and 2700 m a.s.l. were compared with climatic variations at a nearby meteorological station. Statistical study of the data shows that: (1) the annual mass-balance fluctuations are dependent on elevation, and (2) the mass-balance sensitivity to temperature decreases with altitude and diverges from current model results. Consequences of a temperature variation of 1°C for global volume variations are significant. A simple calculation on glacier des Bossons, Mont Blanc massif, France, shows that the sensitivity from the model can lead to volume variations twice as high as results compatible with our observations.

Maternal Accommodation in Infant-Directed Speech during Mother's and Twin-Infants' Vocal Interactions

2003 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 481-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katsuko Niwano ◽  
Kuniaki Sugai
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
The Other ◽  
Vocal Response ◽  
Vocal Responses ◽  
Fraternal Twin ◽  
Maternal Speech ◽  
Vocal Interactions ◽  
Vocal Fundamental Frequency ◽  
At Home

In this study a mother's instinctive accommodations of vocal fundamental frequency (f0) of infant-directed speech to two different infants was explored. Maternal speech directed to individual 3-mo.-old fraternal twin-infants was subjected to acoustic analysis. Natural samples of infant-directed speech were recorded at home. There were differences in the rate of infants' vocal responses. The mother changed her f0 and patterns of intonation contour when she spoke to each infant. When she spoke to the infant whose vocal response was less frequent than the other infant, she used a higher mean f0 and a rising intonation contour more than when she spoke to the other infant. The result suggested that the mother's speech characteristic is not inflexible and that the mother may use a higher f0 and rising contour as a strategy to elicit an infant's less frequent vocal response.

Response of clupeid fish to ultrasound: a review

2004 ◽  
Vol 61 (7) ◽  
pp. 1057-1061 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur N. Popper ◽  
Dennis T.T. Plachta ◽  
David A. Mann ◽  
Dennis Higgs
Keyword(s):  
Inner Ear ◽  
Sensory Epithelium ◽  
Sound Level ◽  
Behavioural Response ◽  
American Shad ◽  
Low Intensity ◽  
Blueback Herring ◽  
Sound Levels ◽  
Directional Movement ◽  
Anatomical Evidence

Abstract A number of species of clupeid fish, including blueback herring, American shad, and gulf menhaden, can detect and respond to ultrasonic sounds up to at least 180 kHz, whereas other clupeids, including bay anchovies and Spanish sardines, do not appear to detect sounds above about 4 kHz. Although the location for ultrasound detection has not been proven conclusively, there is a growing body of physiological, developmental, and anatomical evidence suggesting that one end organ of the inner ear, the utricle, is likely to be the detector. The utricle is a region of the inner ear that is very similar in all vertebrates studied to date, except for clupeid fish, where it is highly specialized. Behavioural studies of the responses of American shad to ultrasound demonstrate that they show a graded series of responses depending on the sound level and, to a lesser degree, on the frequency of the stimulus. Low-intensity stimuli elicit a non-directional movement of the fish, whereas somewhat higher sound levels elicit a directional movement away from the sound source. Still higher level sounds produce a “wild” chaotic movement of the fish. These responses do not occur until shad have developed the adult utricle that has a three-part sensory epithelium. We speculate that the response of the American shad (and, presumably, other clupeids that can detect ultrasound) to ultrasound evolved to help these species detect and avoid a major predator – echolocating cetaceans. As dolphins echolocate, the fish are able to hear the sound at over 100 m. If the dolphins detect the fish and come closer, the nature of the behavioural response of the fish changes in order to exploit different avoidance strategies and lower the chance of being eaten by the predators.

scholarly journals Altitudinal gradient of mass-balance sensitivity to climatic change from 18 years of observations on glacier d’Argentière, France

1998 ◽  
Vol 44 (146) ◽  
pp. 93-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Vallon ◽  
C. Vincent ◽  
L. Reynaud
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Temperature Variation ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Altitudinal Gradient ◽  
Statistical Study ◽  
Current Model ◽  
Simple Calculation ◽  
Meteorological Station ◽  
Climatic Variations ◽  
Mont Blanc Massif

AbstractAssessment of the contribution of small glaciers to sea-level rise or the reconstruction of past glacial mass balance requires knowledge of mass-balance sensitivity to climatic variations. The aim of this paper is to clarify this relation. The mass-balance fluctuations analyzed from measurements on glacier d’Argentière, Mont Blanc massif, France, between 1850 and 2700 m a.s.l. were compared with climatic variations at a nearby meteorological station. Statistical study of the data shows that: (1) the annual mass-balance fluctuations are dependent on elevation, and (2) the mass-balance sensitivity to temperature decreases with altitude and diverges from current model results. Consequences of a temperature variation of 1°C for global volume variations are significant. A simple calculation on glacier des Bossons, Mont Blanc massif, France, shows that the sensitivity from the model can lead to volume variations twice as high as results compatible with our observations.

Description of the complex advertisement call of Pseudophilautus popularis (Manamendra-Arachchi & Pethiyagoda, 2005) (Amphibia: Rhacophoridae)

Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 3002 (1) ◽  
pp. 62 ◽  
Author(s):  
DINAL J. S. SAMARASINGHE
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Advertisement Call ◽  
Forest Edges ◽  
Anthropogenic Habitats ◽  
The Family ◽  
Gravid Females ◽  
Wet Zone

In Sri Lanka, the family Rhacophoridae consists of 72 species and 67 of them belong to the genus Pseudophilautus (Laurent) (Meegaskumbura et al. 2010; Meegaskumbura & Manamendra-Arachchi 2011; Meegaskumbura & Manamendra-Arachchi 2005). Pseudophilautus popularis (Manamendra-Arachchi & Pethiyagoda 2005) is a small frog where males would attain snout-vent-lengths between 17.7–21.3 mm and gravid females attaining lengths around 23.0–25.6 mm. It is found in elevations approximately up to 1070 m above sea level (asl). It is a widely distributed species found in many localities within the wet zone. As the name suggests, it is commonly encountered near anthropogenic habitats and forest edges (Manamendra-Arachchi & Pethiyagoda 2005, Karunarathna & Amarasinghe 2010). Pseudophilautus popularis perches on low vegetation, generally on shrubs 0.2–1.5 m above the ground. Here, I describe the complex advertisement call of P. popularis.

A new species of Phyllodytes Wagler, 1830 (Anura, Hylidae) from the Atlantic Forest of southern Bahia, Brazil

Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4238 (1) ◽  
pp. 135 ◽  
Author(s):  
EUVALDO MARCIANO-JR ◽  
AMANDA SANTIAGO F. LANTYER-SILVA ◽  
MIRCO SOLÉ
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Dominant Frequency ◽  
Advertisement Call ◽  
Harmonic Structure ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Southern Bahia ◽  
A New Species ◽  
Northeastern Atlantic

We describe a new species of Phyllodytes from Ilhéus (15º04’S, 39º03’W; 95 m above sea level), south of state of Bahia, in the northeastern Atlantic Forest of Brazil. Phyllodytes megatympanum sp. nov. is diagnosable by the following combination of characters: (1) dorsum of body, arms, and legs uniformly light brown; (2) groin yellow; (3) snout pointed in dorsal view, protruding in profile; (4) tympanum large with a round distinct tympanic annulus; (5) adult males with two anterior large odontoids followed by a series of smaller odontoids on each side of the mandible; (6) well-developed tubercle near tibio-tarsal joint; (7) advertisement call composed of a series of 12 to 19 unpulsed notes, with harmonic structure and (8) mean dominant frequency of 3.98 kHz. 

scholarly journals Suffixation influences receivers' behaviour in non-human primates

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1807) ◽  
pp. 20150265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camille Coye ◽  
Karim Ouattara ◽  
Klaus Zuberbühler ◽  
Alban Lemasson
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Response ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Primate Communication ◽  
Mixed Species ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Vocal Responses ◽  
Cercopithecus Diana ◽  
Cercopithecus Campbelli ◽  
Species Groups ◽  
Mixed Species Groups

Compared to humans, non-human primates have very little control over their vocal production. Nonetheless, some primates produce various call combinations, which may partially offset their lack of acoustic flexibility. A relevant example is male Campbell's monkeys ( Cercopithecus campbelli ), which give one call type (‘Krak’) to leopards, while the suffixed version of the same call stem (‘Krak-oo’) is given to unspecific danger. To test whether recipients attend to this suffixation pattern, we carried out a playback experiment in which we broadcast naturally and artificially modified suffixed and unsuffixed ‘Krak’ calls of male Campbell's monkeys to 42 wild groups of Diana monkeys ( Cercopithecus diana diana ). The two species form mixed-species groups and respond to each other's vocalizations. We analysed the vocal response of male and female Diana monkeys and overall found significantly stronger vocal responses to unsuffixed (leopard) than suffixed (unspecific danger) calls. Although the acoustic structure of the ‘Krak’ stem of the calls has some additional effects, subject responses were mainly determined by the presence or the absence of the suffix. This study indicates that suffixation is an evolved function in primate communication in contexts where adaptive responses are particularly important.

Male and female responses to call playback in the Andean frog Colostethus subpunctatus

2002 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Horst Lüddecke
Keyword(s):  
Repetition Rate ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Initial Rate ◽  
High Repetition Rate ◽  
Advertisement Call ◽  
Vocal Response ◽  
High Repetition ◽  
Female Responses ◽  
Aggressive Signals

AbstractBecause Colostethus subpunctatus males tend to aggregate, it is likely that calling neighbours communicate vocally. Males advertise by producing long series of short notes at regular intervals. Note repetition rates may vary individually. To determine whether the vocal response to playback of an individual's own advertisement call depended mainly on his initial note repetition rate or on temperature, I experimented with 49 isolated calling males under field conditions. Two different responses occurred. The response type was independent of initial note repetition rate and ambient temperature. Twenty-six males maintained the basic pattern of the advertisement call, but irrespective of temperature they significantly increased note repetition rate in correlation to the initial rate. Twenty-three males changed their call pattern by grouping 2-3 notes into a bout with much shorter silent intervals between notes. Bout repetition rate was also correlated with the initial note rate, but it was lower. To interpret the role of different call patterns, phonotaxis behaviour of twelve females was studied in two-choice laboratory experiments. Each female had the opportunity to choose four times between the advertisement call with low and high note repetition rate, and four times between the latter and the bout. Females tended to choose the high repetition rate more often than the low rate or the bout. The study provides support that an increase in note repetition rate gives competitive advantage to the caller in attracting a female. Bouts are probably aggressive signals used by a resident to repel intruders from his calling site.

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