Chorus Size and Call Intensity: Female Choice in the Painted Reed Frog, Hyperolius Marmoratus

1. In two-choice phonotaxis experiments female painted reed frogs (Hyperolius marmoratus) preferentially chose the stimulus with the greater sound pressure level (SPL) at source when all other call parameters were identical. 2. However, this preference was not apparent when we increased the distance...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behaviour 1995, Vol.132 (9-10), p.721-731
Main Authors: Bishop, Phillip J, Jennions, Michael D, Passmore, Neville I
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amphibia and reptilia
Animal ethology
Binomials
Biological and medical sciences
Broadcasting
Broadcasting industry
Employment discrimination
Female animals
Freshwater
Frogs
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hyperolius marmoratus
Loudspeakers
Male animals
Mating behavior
Phonotaxis
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Vertebrata
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:1. In two-choice phonotaxis experiments female painted reed frogs (Hyperolius marmoratus) preferentially chose the stimulus with the greater sound pressure level (SPL) at source when all other call parameters were identical. 2. However, this preference was not apparent when we increased the distance of the louder stimulus from the female such that the SPL of the two stimuli at the release point was equivalent. This suggests that females simply move up sound gradients ('passive attraction'). 3. Female choice of the loudest stimulus was also affected by the number of speakers. 4. There were significantly fewer responses to the loudest speaker in some four-choice compared to matched two-choice phonotaxis experiments. 5. Together these experimental results may partially account for the absence of a large male mating advantage in the field.
ISSN:0005-7959
1568-539X
DOI:10.1163/156853995X00117