1
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Leavell BC, Pantoja-Sánchez H, Vélez V, Hemingway CT, Wilhite K, Halfwerk W, Bernal XE. Ripple effects in a communication network: anti-eavesdropper defence elicits elaborated sexual signals in rival males. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231910. [PMID: 38113943 PMCID: PMC10730286 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Emitting conspicuous signals into the environment to attract mates comes with the increased risk of interception by eavesdropping enemies. As a defence, a commonly described strategy is for signallers to group together in leks, diluting each individual's risk. Lekking systems are often highly social settings in which competing males dynamically alter their signalling behaviour to attract mates. Thus, signalling at the lek requires navigating fluctuations in risk, competition and reproductive opportunities. Here, we investigate how behavioural defence strategies directed at an eavesdropping enemy have cascading effects across the communication network. We investigated these behaviours in the túngara frog (Engystomops pustulosus), examining how a calling male's swatting defence directed at frog-biting midges indirectly affects the calling behaviour of his rival. We found that the rival responds to swat-induced water ripples by increasing his call rate and complexity. Then, performing phonotaxis experiments, we found that eavesdropping fringe-lipped bats (Trachops cirrhosus) do not exhibit a preference for a swatting male compared to his rival, but females strongly prefer the rival male. Defences to minimize attacks from eavesdroppers thus shift the mate competition landscape in favour of rival males. By modulating the attractiveness of signalling prey to female receivers, we posit that eavesdropping micropredators likely have an unappreciated impact on the ecology and evolution of sexual communication systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian C. Leavell
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Hoover Pantoja-Sánchez
- Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
| | - Viviana Vélez
- Program of Study and Control of Tropical Diseases, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
| | - Claire T. Hemingway
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Kyle Wilhite
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Wouter Halfwerk
- Department of Ecological Science, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ximena E. Bernal
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, Balboa, Ancón, Panamá
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2
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Effect of natural abiotic soil vibrations, rainfall and wind on anuran calling behavior: a test with captive-bred midwife toads (Alytes obstetricans). J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2023; 209:105-113. [PMID: 36508004 PMCID: PMC9742647 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-022-01596-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Anurans are known to detect vibrations, but few studies explore relationships between vibrations and resultant behaviors. We studied the reaction of calling captive-bred male midwife toads (Alytes obstetricans) to the randomized playback of a vibrational crescendo stimulus train. We considered two sources of natural abiotic vibrational stimuli: rainfall and wind. Rainfall was expected to induce calling and wind was expected to inhibit it. Playback experiments with two synthetic tones (200 Hz and 300 Hz) tested the sensitivity to pure tones and could possibly reveal a hearing sensitivity trend between these frequencies. The toads did not increase call rate in response to rainfall vibrations and only one of the five wind stimulus levels caused a significant decrease in call rate. This limited response could be explained, because the tested toads came from a captive population, where emergence may not be mediated by rainfall vibrations. We found that A. obstetricans is highly sensitive to very low frequencies, which could explain the sensitivity observed to vibrational stimuli. Playback of a random crescendo stimulus train proves to be a valid approach for addressing behavioral questions. However, the use of a captive population may have been a limitation in the clarity of the results.
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3
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Caldwell MS, Britt KA, Mischke LC, Collins HI. Beyond sound: Bimodal acoustic calls used in mate-choice and aggression by red-eyed treefrogs. J Exp Biol 2022; 225:276426. [PMID: 35938394 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.244460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Airborne sound signals function as key mediators of mate-choice, aggression, and other social interactions in a wide range of vertebrate and invertebrate animals. Calling animals produce more than sound, however. When displaying on or near a solid substrate, such as vegetation or soil, they also unavoidably excite substrate vibrations due to the physics of sound production and of acoustic propagation, and these vibrations can propagate to receivers. Despite their near ubiquity, these vibrational signal components have received very little research attention, and in vertebrates it is completely unknown whether they are relevant to mate-choice, an important driver of evolutionary divergence. Here we show that female red-eyed treefrogs are more than twice as likely to choose a male mating call when airborne sound is paired with its corresponding substrate vibrations. Furthermore, males of the same species are more aggressive towards and display a greater range of aggressive behaviors in response to bimodal (sound and vibration) versus unimodal (sound or vibration alone) calls. In aggressive contexts, at least, air- and substrate-borne signal components function non-redundantly. These results are a clear demonstration that vibrations produced by a calling animal can function together with airborne sound to markedly enhance the function of a signal. If this phenomenon proves widespread, this finding has the potential to substantially influence our understanding of the function and evolution of acoustic signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael S Caldwell
- Gettysburg College, Department of Biology, 300 N. Washington St., Gettysburg, PA 17325, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Panamá, República de Panamá, USA
| | - Kayla A Britt
- Gettysburg College, Department of Biology, 300 N. Washington St., Gettysburg, PA 17325, USA
| | - Lilliana C Mischke
- Gettysburg College, Department of Biology, 300 N. Washington St., Gettysburg, PA 17325, USA
| | - Hannah I Collins
- Gettysburg College, Department of Biology, 300 N. Washington St., Gettysburg, PA 17325, USA.,University of Connecticut Avery Point, Department of Marine Sciences, 1080 Shennecossett Rd., Groton, CT 06340, USA
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4
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Coss DA, Ryan MJ, Page RA, Hunter KL, Taylor RC. Can you hear/see me? Multisensory integration of signals does not always facilitate mate choice. Behav Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arac061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Females of many species choose mates using multiple sensory modalities. Multimodal noise may arise, however, in dense aggregations of animals communicating via multiple sensory modalities. Some evidence suggests multimodal signals may not always improve receiver decision-making performance. When sensory systems process input from multimodal signal sources, multimodal noise may arise and potentially complicate decision-making due to the demands on cognitive integration tasks. We tested female túngara frog, Physalaemus (=Engystomops) pustulosus, responses to male mating signals in noise from multiple sensory modalities (acoustic and visual). Noise treatments were partitioned into three categories: acoustic, visual, and multimodal. We used natural calls from conspecifics and heterospecifics for acoustic noise. Robotic frogs were employed as either visual signal components (synchronous vocal sac inflation with call) or visual noise (asynchronous vocal sac inflation with call). Females expressed a preference for the typically more attractive call in the presence of unimodal noise. However, during multimodal signal and noise treatments (robofrogs employed with background noise), females failed to express a preference for the typically attractive call in the presence of conspecific chorus noise. We found that social context and temporal synchrony of multimodal signaling components are important for multimodal communication. Our results demonstrate that multimodal signals have the potential to increase the complexity of the sensory scene and reduce the efficacy of female decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Derek A Coss
- Department of Biology, Salisbury University , Salisbury, MD 21801 , USA
| | - Michael J Ryan
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin , Austin, TX 78712 , USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute , Apartado 0843-03092 Balboa, Ancón , Republic of Panama
| | - Rachel A Page
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute , Apartado 0843-03092 Balboa, Ancón , Republic of Panama
| | - Kimberly L Hunter
- Department of Biology, Salisbury University , Salisbury, MD 21801 , USA
| | - Ryan C Taylor
- Department of Biology, Salisbury University , Salisbury, MD 21801 , USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute , Apartado 0843-03092 Balboa, Ancón , Republic of Panama
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5
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Zaffaroni-Caorsi V, Both C, Márquez R, Llusia D, Narins P, Debon M, Borges-Martins M. Effects of anthropogenic noise on anuran amphibians. BIOACOUSTICS 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2022.2070543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Zaffaroni-Caorsi
- Programa de Pós–Graduação em Biologia Animal, Dep. de Zoologia, Inst. de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
- Ambiente, University of TrentoC3A Centro Agricoltura, Alimenti e, Trento, Italy
| | - Camila Both
- Departamento Interdiscipinar, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Tramandaí, RS, Brazil
| | - Rafael Márquez
- Biología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSICFonoteca Zoológica. Dept. de Biodiversidad y, Madrid, Spain
| | - Diego Llusia
- Terrestrial Ecology Group, Departamento de Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Ciudad Universitaria de Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
- Cambio Global, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (CIBC-UAM)Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y , Madrid, Spain
- Comportamento Animal, Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de GoiásLaboratório de Herpetologia e, Goiânia, Brazil
| | - Peter Narins
- Departments of Integrative Biology & Physiology, and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Marina Debon
- Dep. de Zoologia, Inst. de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Márcio Borges-Martins
- Programa de Pós–Graduação em Biologia Animal, Dep. de Zoologia, Inst. de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
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6
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James LS, Halfwerk W, Hunter KL, Page RA, Taylor RC, Wilson PS, Ryan MJ. Covariation among multimodal components in the courtship display of the túngara frog. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:269203. [PMID: 34142696 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.241661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Communication systems often include a variety of components, including those that span modalities, which may facilitate detection and decision-making. For example, female túngara frogs and fringe-lipped bats generally rely on acoustic mating signals to find male túngara frogs in a mating or foraging context, respectively. However, two additional cues (vocal sac inflation and water ripples) can enhance detection and choice behavior. To date, we do not know the natural variation and covariation of these three components. To address this, we made detailed recordings of calling males, including call amplitude, vocal sac volume and water ripple height, in 54 frogs (2430 calls). We found that all three measures correlated, with the strongest association between the vocal sac volume and call amplitude. We also found that multimodal models predicted the mass of calling males better than unimodal models. These results demonstrate how multimodal components of a communication system relate to each other and provide an important foundation for future studies on how receivers integrate and compare complex displays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Logan S James
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panamá
| | - Wouter Halfwerk
- Department of Ecological Science, VU University, Amsterdam 1081 HV, The Netherlands
| | - Kimberly L Hunter
- Department of Biological Sciences, Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD 21801, USA
| | - Rachel A Page
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panamá
| | - Ryan C Taylor
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panamá.,Department of Biological Sciences, Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD 21801, USA
| | - Preston S Wilson
- Applied Research Laboratories and Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78713, USA
| | - Michael J Ryan
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panamá
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7
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Sebastianelli M, Blumstein DT, Kirschel ANG. Higher-pitched bird song towards the coast supports a role for selection in ocean noise avoidance. BIOACOUSTICS 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2021.1879680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniel T. Blumstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Alexander N. G. Kirschel
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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8
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Gone with the wind: Is signal timing in a neotropical katydid an adaptive response to variation in wind-induced vibratory noise? Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02842-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
Wind, a major source of environmental noise, forces invertebrates that communicate with plant-borne vibrations to adjust their signaling when communicating in windy conditions. However, the strategies that animals use to reduce the impact of wind noise on communication are not well studied. We investigated the effects of wind on the production of tremulatory signals in the neotropical katydid Copiphora brevirostris. First, we recorded katydid signaling activity and natural wind variation in the field. Additionally, we exposed katydid couples during their most active signaling time period to artificial wind of different levels, and we recorded the number of tremulations produced by the males. We found that wind levels are at their lowest between 2:00 and 5:00 in the morning, which coincides with peak signaling period for male katydids. Furthermore, we found that males produce significantly fewer tremulations when exposed to wind rather than acoustic noise or silence. Wind velocity significantly affected the number of tremulations produced during the wind treatment, with fewer tremulations produced with higher wind velocities. Our results show that katydids can time their vibratory signaling both in the short- and long-term to favorable sensory conditions, either through behavioral flexibility in response to short-term fluctuations in wind or as a result of an evolutionary process in response to predictable periods of low-wind conditions.
Significance statement
Animal communication can be hampered by noise across all sensory modalities. Most research on the effects of noise and the strategies to cope with it has focused on animals that use airborne sounds to communicate. However, although hundreds of thousands of invertebrates communicate with vibrational signals, we know very little about how noise affects this form of communication. For animals that rely on substrate-borne vibrations, wind represents the major source of environmental noise. Wind velocity levels can be predictable at a long-term scale (hours) but rather unpredictable at a short time scale (seconds). Both scales of variation are important for communication. Using a combination of field observations and lab experiments, we investigated the strategies used by a neotropical katydid Copiphora brevirostris to cope with vibrational noise induced by wind. Our results demonstrate that C. brevirostris times its signals at the long- and short-term range. Katydids signaled more at the times at night when wind velocity was lowest. Moreover, when exposed to wind gusts during their peak time of activity, katydids signaled more during the wind-free gaps.
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9
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Clink DJ, Hamid Ahmad A, Klinck H. Gibbons aren't singing in the rain: presence and amount of rainfall influences ape calling behavior in Sabah, Malaysia. Sci Rep 2020; 10:1282. [PMID: 31992788 PMCID: PMC6987162 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-57976-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2019] [Accepted: 12/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Early morning calling occurs across diverse taxa, which may be related to optimal conditions for sound transmission. There exists substantial inter- and intra-specific variation in calling time which is influenced by intrinsic, social and/or environmental factors. Here, we investigate environmental predictors of calling in gibbons. We hypothesized that male solos- which occur earlier and tend to be longer than duets-would be more influenced by environmental variables, if earlier, longer calling bouts are energetically costly, and therefore limited by overnight energy expenditure. Our top model for male solo events included amount of rain in the previous 24 hours, and explained 30% of the variance, whereas the top model for duet events (which included presence and amount of rainfall) explained only 5% of the variance. Rain the previous night led to a later start time of male solos (~30 minutes), but our top model for duet start time did not include any reliable predictors. Male solo events appear to be more influenced by environmental factors, and duets may be influenced more by social factors. Our results are in line with previous studies that show that changes in overnight conditions -which may alter energy expenditure -can influence early morning calling behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dena J Clink
- Center for Conservation Bioacoustics, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA.
| | - Abdul Hamid Ahmad
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Holger Klinck
- Center for Conservation Bioacoustics, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA
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10
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Caorsi V, Guerra V, Furtado R, Llusia D, Miron LR, Borges-Martins M, Both C, Narins PM, Meenderink SWF, Márquez R. Anthropogenic substrate-borne vibrations impact anuran calling. Sci Rep 2019; 9:19456. [PMID: 31857629 PMCID: PMC6923410 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-55639-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2019] [Accepted: 11/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Anthropogenic disturbance is a major cause of the biodiversity crisis. Nevertheless, the role of anthropogenic substrate vibrations in disrupting animal behavior is poorly understood. Amphibians comprise the terrestrial vertebrates most sensitive to vibrations, and since communication is crucial to their survival and reproduction, they are a suitable model for investigating this timely subject. Playback tests were used to assess the effects of substrate vibrations produced by two sources of anthropogenic activity– road traffic and wind turbines– on the calling activity of a naïve population of terrestrial toads. In their natural habitat, a buried tactile sound transducer was used to emit simulated traffic and wind turbine vibrations, and changes in the toads’ acoustic responses were analyzed by measuring parameters important for reproductive success: call rate, call duration and dominant frequency. Our results showed a significant call rate reduction by males of Alytes obstetricans in response to both seismic sources, whereas other parameters remained stable. Since females of several species prefer males with higher call rates, our results suggest that anthropogenically derived substrate-borne vibrations could reduce individual reproductive success. Our study demonstrates a clear negative effect of anthropogenic vibrations on anuran communication, and the urgent need for further investigation in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Caorsi
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal, Dep. de Zoologia, Inst. de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves 9500, Porto Alegre, RS, 91540-000, Brazil. .,Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, via Mach 1, S. Michele all'Adige, 38010, TN, Italy. .,Laboratório de Herpetologia e Comportamento Animal, Departamento de Ecologia, Inst. de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brazil.
| | - Vinicius Guerra
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Manejo de Recursos Naturais, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Natureza, Universidade Federal do Acre, Rio Branco, AC, Brazil.,Laboratório de Herpetologia e Comportamento Animal, Departamento de Ecologia, Inst. de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brazil
| | - Raíssa Furtado
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Dep. de Ecologia, Inst. de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, CP 15007, RS, 91501-970, Brazil
| | - Diego Llusia
- Departamento de Ecología, Terrestrial Ecology Group, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), C/Darwin 2, E-28049, Ciudad Universitaria de Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain.,Laboratório de Herpetologia e Comportamento Animal, Departamento de Ecologia, Inst. de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brazil
| | - Lívia Roese Miron
- Curso de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Avenida Roraima, n 1000, 97105-900, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil
| | - Márcio Borges-Martins
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal, Dep. de Zoologia, Inst. de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves 9500, Porto Alegre, RS, 91540-000, Brazil
| | - Camila Both
- Departamento Interdisciplinar, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Campus Litoral Norte, Av. Tramandaí, 976, 95625-000, Imbé, RS, Brazil
| | - Peter M Narins
- Departments of Integrative Biology & Physiology, and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, 621 Charles E. Young Drive S., Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | | | - Rafael Márquez
- Fonoteca Zoológica. Dept. de Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC, José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain
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11
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Virant-Doberlet M, Kuhelj A, Polajnar J, Šturm R. Predator-Prey Interactions and Eavesdropping in Vibrational Communication Networks. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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12
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Geipel I, Smeekes MJ, Halfwerk W, Page RA. Noise as an informational cue for decision-making: the sound of rain delays bat emergence. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 222:jeb.192005. [PMID: 30665972 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.192005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2018] [Accepted: 12/11/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Background noise can have strong negative consequences for animals, reducing individual fitness by masking communication signals, impeding prey detection and increasing predation risk. While the negative impacts of noise across taxa have been well documented, the use of noise as an informational cue, providing animals with reliable information on environmental conditions, has been less well studied. In the tropical rainforest, downpours can be intense and frequent. Strong rainfall may impede efficient orientation and foraging for bats that need echolocation to both navigate and detect prey, and can result in higher flight costs due to increased metabolic rates. Using playback experiments at natural roosts, we tested whether two bat species, differing in their hunting strategies and foraging habitats, use rain noise as a cue to delay emergence from their roosts. We found that both species significantly delayed their emergence time during rain noise playbacks versus silence and ambient noise controls. We conclude that bats can use background noise, here the acoustic component of rainfall, as a reliable informational cue to make informed decisions, in this case about whether to initiate foraging trips or remain in the shelter of their roosts. Our findings suggest that environmental background noise can sometimes be beneficial to animals, in particular in situations where other sensory cues may be absent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inga Geipel
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Panama .,Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, 14193 Berlin, Germany
| | - Marcus J Smeekes
- Forest and Nature Management, Van Hall Larenstein, 6882 CT Velp, The Netherlands
| | - Wouter Halfwerk
- Department of Ecological Science, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Rachel A Page
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Panama
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13
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Starnberger I, Maier PM, Hödl W, Preininger D. Multimodal Signal Testing Reveals Gestural Tapping Behavior in Spotted Reed Frogs. HERPETOLOGICA 2018; 74:127-134. [PMID: 30078848 DOI: 10.1655/herpetologica-d-17-00053.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In the majority of anuran species, acoustic signals are the dominant mode of inter- and intrasexual communication. Male calls are always accompanied by the movement of a more or less conspicuous vocal sac-a potential visual cue. Reed frogs possess a striking vocal sac with a colorful patch of gland tissue clearly visible once the vocal sac is inflated during acoustic signaling. To investigate the visual signal function of vocal sac and gular gland, we presented male Spotted Reed Frogs (Hyperolius puncticulatus) with unimodal and multimodal signal playbacks of conspecific rivals in their natural habitat and recorded their behavioral responses. We found no difference in receiver response to unimodal advertisement call stimuli and to multimodal stimulus presentations of calls combined with visual signals of an artificial vocal sac with or without a gular patch, moving synchronously or asynchronously with the call playback. The inflations of a vocal sac with a colorful gular patch did not alter receiver response and neither increase nor decrease signal salience during male-male communication. Interestingly, males frequently displayed a novel hind and front foot-tapping behavior in response to all playbacks. Comparison of male responses to advertisement and aggressive call playbacks showed that Spotted Reed Frogs approached the sound source less during aggressive call presentations. Tapping behavior was not influenced by either call playback. We suggest that the gestural tapping behavior might act as vibrational signal and discuss its potential signal function in male contests and courtship for females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iris Starnberger
- Department of Integrative Zoology, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, 1090 Wien, Austria
| | - Philipp Martin Maier
- Department of Integrative Zoology, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, 1090 Wien, Austria
| | - Walter Hödl
- Department of Integrative Zoology, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, 1090 Wien, Austria
| | - Doris Preininger
- Department of Integrative Zoology, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, 1090 Wien, Austria
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14
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Rosenthal MF, Wilkins MR, Shizuka D, Hebets EA. Dynamic changes in display architecture and function across environments revealed by a systems approach to animal communication. Evolution 2018; 72:1134-1145. [PMID: 29461638 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2017] [Revised: 01/25/2018] [Accepted: 01/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Animal communication is often structurally complex and dynamic, with signaler and receiver behavior varying in response to multiple environmental factors. To date, studies assessing signal dynamics have mostly focused on the relationships between select signaling traits and receiver responses in a single environment. We use the wolf spider Schizocosa floridana to explore the relationships between courtship display form and function across two social contexts (female presence vs absence) and two light environments (light vs dark). We use traditional analytical methods to determine predictors of copulation success (i.e., signal function) and examine these predictors in a structural context by overlaying them on signal phenotype networks (Wilkins et al. 2015). This allows us to explore system design principles (degeneracy, redundancy, pluripotentiality), providing insight into hypotheses regarding complex signal evolution. We found that both social context and light environment affect courtship structure, although the predictors of mating success remain similar across light environments, suggesting system degeneracy. Contrastingly, the same display traits may serve different functions across social environments, suggesting pluripotentiality. Ultimately, our network approach uncovers a complexity in display structure and function that is missed by functional analyses alone, highlighting the importance of systems-based methodologies for understanding the dynamic nature of complex signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malcolm F Rosenthal
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588.,Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720
| | - Matthew R Wilkins
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588
| | - Daizaburo Shizuka
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588
| | - Eileen A Hebets
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588
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15
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Halfwerk W, Smit JAH, Loning H, Lea AM, Geipel I, Ellers J, Ryan MJ. Environmental conditions limit attractiveness of a complex sexual signal in the túngara frog. Nat Commun 2017; 8:1891. [PMID: 29192162 PMCID: PMC5709490 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02067-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2017] [Accepted: 11/03/2017] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals choosing particular display sites often balance sexual and natural selection pressures. Here we assess how physical properties of display sites can alter this balance by influencing signal production and attractiveness of the túngara frog (Physalaemus pustulosus). Males that call from very shallow water bodies (few mm depth) benefit from reduced predation risk, but by manipulating water levels, we show that this comes at a cost of reduced attractiveness to females. Our data show that calling from shallower water reduces a male’s ability to float, limits the inflation of his vocal sac, and consequently reduces signal conspicuousness in terms of amplitude and complexity. Our results demonstrate that display site properties can set limits on signal production and attractiveness and may hence influence signal evolution. Signallers may shift between sites or engineer their display location, which can play a crucial role in signal divergence and speciation, particularly in a rapidly changing world. Animal sexual signals should be conspicuous to mates but not to enemies. Here, the authors show that call site properties can set limits on the attractiveness of male frogs' advertisement call, but that males may balance sexual success over predation risk by digging deeper puddles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wouter Halfwerk
- Department of Ecological Sciences, VU University, Amsterdam, 1081 HV, The Netherlands. .,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, 0843-03092, Balboa, Republic of Panama.
| | - Judith A H Smit
- Department of Ecological Sciences, VU University, Amsterdam, 1081 HV, The Netherlands
| | - Hugo Loning
- Department of Ecological Sciences, VU University, Amsterdam, 1081 HV, The Netherlands
| | - Amanda M Lea
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Inga Geipel
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, 0843-03092, Balboa, Republic of Panama
| | - Jacintha Ellers
- Department of Ecological Sciences, VU University, Amsterdam, 1081 HV, The Netherlands
| | - Michael J Ryan
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, 0843-03092, Balboa, Republic of Panama.,Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
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