Do female frogs exploit inadvertent social information to locate breeding aggregations?

2007 ◽  
Vol 85 (9) ◽  
pp. 921-932 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.M. Swanson ◽  
S.M. Tekmen ◽  
M.A. Bee

The advertisement calls of male anurans (frogs and toads) are loud and conspicuous signals, and the sound generated by breeding aggregations of males propagates over long distances. As a by-product of communication within an aggregation, the sounds of a frog chorus constitute a form of inadvertent social information that provides potential long-distance cues about the location and timing of breeding. We investigated whether female American toads ( Bufo americanus Holbrook, 1836) and Cope’s gray treefrogs ( Hyla chrysoscelis Cope, 1880) use the sounds of a chorus to locate breeding aggregations in the absence of other sensory cues. Females of both species approached speakers broadcasting recordings of a chorus made from distances of 0, 20, and 40 m, but not from distances of 80 and 160 m. Female toads also exhibited phonotaxis to a completely artificial chorus sound, but female gray treefrogs did not. We found little evidence to suggest that female American toads and Cope’s gray treefrogs differed substantially in their responses to natural chorus sounds despite potential differences in the predictability and duration of breeding seasons in these two species. Our results suggest that the inadvertent social information of a chorus could be used over short distances to locate breeding aggregations.

2006 ◽  
Vol 103 (11) ◽  
pp. 4293-4298 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kavaliers ◽  
E. Choleris ◽  
A. Agmo ◽  
W. J. Braun ◽  
D. D. Colwell ◽  
...  

1996 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 569 ◽  
Author(s):  
WS Osborne ◽  
RA Zentelis ◽  
M Lau

The extent of divergence in morphology and colour-pattern between allopatric populations of the corroboree frog, Pseudophyrne corroboree, was assessed over three breeding seasons by examination of eggs, tadpoles and adults throughout the distributional range of the species. Advertisement calls of individuals from each of the populations also were recorded and analysed. The mean size of adults was found to vary considerably between years; however, within any one year individuals from the Snowy Mountains (southern form) were significantly larger than individuals from the Brindabella Range and Fiery Range (northern form), with the differences apparently not simply related to environmental influences. Multivariate analysis of quantitative morphological characters and colour-pattern separated the frogs into two distinct geographic groups corresponding with the northern form and southern form. Analysis of advertisement calls indicated that there were slight differences in the structure of the calls of the two forms, with the main differences being in call duration and number of pulses. These results, combined with the previously described genetic differences, support their recognition as separate species. It is recommended that the name P. corroboree be restricted to the southern form and that the northern form be referred to as P. pengilleyi Wells & Wellington.


Oikos ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 119 (2) ◽  
pp. 286-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Hamblin ◽  
Kimberley J. Mathot ◽  
Julie Morand-Ferron ◽  
Joseph J. Nocera ◽  
Guillaume Rieucau ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-François Lamarre ◽  
Gilles Gauthier ◽  
Richard B. Lanctot ◽  
Sarah T. Saalfeld ◽  
Oliver P. Love ◽  
...  

Long-distance migrants are under strong selection to arrive on their breeding grounds at a time that maximizes fitness. Many arctic birds start nesting shortly after snow recedes from their breeding sites and timing of snowmelt can vary substantially over the breeding range of widespread species. We tested the hypothesis that migration schedules of individuals co-occurring at the same non-breeding areas are adapted to average local environmental conditions encountered at their specific and distant Arctic breeding locations. We predicted that timing of breeding site availability (measured here as the average snow-free date) should explain individual variation in departure time from shared non-breeding areas. We tested our prediction by tracking American Golden-Plovers (Pluvialis dominica) nesting across the North-American Arctic. These plovers use a non-breeding (wintering) area in South America and share a spring stopover area in the nearctic temperate grasslands, located >1,800 km away from their nesting locations. As plovers co-occur at the same non-breeding areas but use breeding sites segregated by latitude and longitude, we could disentangle the potential confounding effects of migration distance and timing of breeding site availability on individual migration schedule. As predicted, departure date of individuals stopping-over in sympatry was positively related to the average snow-free date at their respective breeding location, which was also related to individual onset of incubation. Departure date from the shared stopover area was not explained by the distance between the stopover and the breeding location, nor by the stopover duration of individuals. This strongly suggests that plover migration schedule is adapted to and driven by the timing of breeding site availability per se. The proximate mechanism underlying the variable migration schedule of individuals is unknown and may result from genetic differences or individual learning. Temperatures are currently changing at different speeds across the Arctic and this likely generates substantial heterogeneity in the strength of selection pressure on migratory schedule of arctic birds migrating sympatrically.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document