Acoustic Communication in Woodhouse's Toad (Bufo Woodhousei)

AbstractWe investigated changes in calling behavior of individual male Bufo woodhousei in response to playback of natural and synthetic acoustic stimuli. Males lowered their call rates and avoided acoustic overlap with all stimuli centered at 1.4 kHz; only a high frequency (3.8 kHz) stimulus was ineffective. Even filtered noise centered at 1.4 kHz was an effective inhibitor of calling activity. Variation in rate of amplitude modulation of acoustic stimuli had no apparent effect on male calling behavior. These results are discussed in relation to species recognition in bufonids, and acoustic competition between male anurans in general.

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Acoustic Communication in Woodhouse's Toad (Bufo Woodhousei)

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/156853987x00242 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 103 (1-3) ◽

pp. 16-26 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Brian K. Sullivan ◽

Marjorie R. Leek

Keyword(s):

Pulse Rate ◽

Species Recognition ◽

Acoustic Stimulus ◽

Dominant Frequency ◽

Advertisement Call ◽

Acoustic Stimuli ◽

Bufo Woodhousei ◽

Species Specific ◽

Filtered Noise ◽

Toad Bufo

AbstractWe tested the hypothesis that acoustic stimuli must be similar to the species-typical advertisement call in both dominant frequency and pulse rate to attract female Woodhouse's toads (Bufo woodhousei) in discrimination trials. Using synthetic advertisement calls we determined that females always preferred a synthetic call with the species-specific pulse rate and frequency over synthetic calls in which only pulse rate or frequency was within the range for the species. However, appropriately pulsed, narrow-band filtered noise was a sufficient acoustic stimulus to attract 20% of the females in one-quarter of their discrimination trials. These results are discussed in light of species recognition in bufonids.

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Seasonal Climate Impacts on Vocal Activity in Two Neotropical Nonpasserines

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d13070319 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (7) ◽

pp. 319

Author(s):

Cristian Pérez-Granados ◽

Karl-L. Schuchmann

Keyword(s):

Air Temperature ◽

Daily Rainfall ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Dry Season ◽

Climate Impacts ◽

Calling Behavior ◽

Wet Season ◽

Focal Species ◽

Calling Activity ◽

Vocal Activity

Climatic conditions represent one of the main constraints that influence avian calling behavior. Here, we monitored the daily calling activity of the Undulated Tinamou (Crypturellus undulatus) and the Chaco Chachalaca (Ortalis canicollis) during the dry and wet seasons in the Brazilian Pantanal. We aimed to assess the effects of climate predictors on the vocal activity of these focal species and evaluate whether these effects may vary among seasons. Air temperature was positively associated with the daily calling activity of both species during the dry season. However, the vocal activity of both species was unrelated to air temperature during the wet season, when higher temperatures occur. Daily rainfall was positively related to the daily calling activity of both species during the dry season, when rainfall events are scarce and seem to act as a trigger for breeding phenology of the focal species. Nonetheless, air temperature was negatively associated with the daily calling activity of the Undulated Tinamou during the wet season, when rainfall was abundant. This study improves our understanding of the vocal behavior of tropical birds and their relationships with climate, but further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms behind the associations found in our study.

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