Variations in male calls and responses to an unfamiliar advertisement call in a territorial breeding anuran, Rana dalmatina: evidence for a "dear enemy" effect

Focusing on the male advertisement call in Rana dalmatina, this study addresses two issues: (i) there is a large variability in call characteristics among males (fundamental frequency range: 571-865 Hz, number of pulses: 8-87) and (ii) males are able to discriminate between neighbouring and unfamili...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ethology, ecology & evolution ecology & evolution, 2002-10, Vol.14 (4), p.287-295
Main Authors: Lesbarreres, D, Lode, T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agile frog
call
tolerance
variability
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Summary:Focusing on the male advertisement call in Rana dalmatina, this study addresses two issues: (i) there is a large variability in call characteristics among males (fundamental frequency range: 571-865 Hz, number of pulses: 8-87) and (ii) males are able to discriminate between neighbouring and unfamiliar conspecifics. In response to an unfamiliar acoustic stimulus, call advertisement presented the longest duration. In contrast, the response to a familiar conspecific call did not show any significant difference from solitary vocalisations. Emphasising the existence of a discrimination, this result may be regarded as a "dear enemy effect". This decremental reply may result from habituation to a neighbour's call, constituting a learning process. Thus, we suggest call familiarity may enhance conspecific tolerance, reducing the expensive energetic cost of defence interactions for this territorial breeding species.
ISSN:0394-9370
1828-7131
DOI:10.1080/08927014.2002.9522731