(Abstracts below)
De Souza, LR, MM Kasumovic & KA Judge (2011) Communicating male size by
tremulatory vibration in a Columbian rainforest katydid, Gnathoclita
sodalis (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae). Behaviour 148: 341-357.
Baker, MC (2011) Geographic variation of three vocal signals in the
Australian ringneck (Aves: Psittaciformes): Do functionally similar
signals have similar spatial distributions? Behaviour 148: 373-402.
Erdtmann, LK, PI Simoes, AC Mello& AP Lima (2011) Do natural differences in
acoustic signals really interfere in conspecific recognition in the
pan-Amazonian frog Allobates femoralis? Behaviour 148: 485-500.
Tobias, ML (2011) Evolution of advertisement calls in African clawed
frogs. Behaviour 148: 519-549.
Abstracts
De Souza, LR, MM Kasumovic & KA Judge (2011) Communicating male size by
tremulatory vibration in a Columbian rainforest katydid, Gnathoclita
sodalis (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae). Behaviour 148: 341-357.
In the South American rainforest katydid/Gnathoclita sodalis/
(Orthoptera, Tettigonidae), bouts of acoustic (airborne) and vibratory
(substrate-borne) signals occur in the context of male agonistic
interactions. We characterized the physical form for both sound and
substrate signals and evaluated their role in male-male interactions. In
a tournament design larger males retained sites against smaller
opponents: the probability of winning was predicted by both male size
and the incidence of tremulating vibrations. Substrate signaling by
longbodied rainforest katydids is a widespread and important modality of
communication which embraces both female attraction and male rivalry.
Baker, MC (2011) Geographic variation of three vocal signals in the
Australian ringneck (Aves: Psittaciformes): Do functionally similar
signals have similar spatial distributions? Behaviour 148: 373-402.
In many animal species, chiefly birds and some marine mammals, the
repertoire of acoustic communication signals represents learned features
of the behavioural phenotype, acquired and transmitted across
generations as cultural traditions. These signals often are found to
vary spatially among sub-species or local populations (e.g., dialects),
as well as among smaller social groupings (colonies, flocks, pods,
clans). Moreover, within the whole repertoire of different vocal signals
of a species there can be differences in the patterns of spatial
variation from one type of vocalization to another. A previous study of
birdsong, for example, showed that males had two different kinds of
song, functionally differing and with discordant patterns of geographic
variation. This, and other studies describing spatial distributions of
different elements of a learned vocal repertoire, suggests a general
hypothesis that functional differences among an ensemble of cultural
traits may be manifest as differences in spatial variation. My extension
of this hypothesis is that among such a suite of cultural traits those
of similar function will tend to co-vary spatially. In this report, I
use three vocalizations of a parrot species to test this hypothesis. I
recorded vocalizations of the Australian ringneck (/Platycercus/
(=/Barnardius/)/zonarius/), at 49 sites across three subspecies
distributions and quantified variation in the acoustic features of their
vocal signals. Two of the vocal signals have similar function and,
according to the hypothesis, should follow similar patterns of spatial
variation, whereas the third signal has a differing function and is not
expected to vary spatially in concordance with the other two signals.
These predicted patterns were substantially upheld.
Erdtmann, LK, PI Simoes, AC Mello& AP Lima (2011) Do natural differences in
acoustic signals really interfere in conspecific recognition in the
pan-Amazonian frog Allobates femoralis? Behaviour 148: 485-500.
The call of the pan-Amazonian frog Allobates femoralis shows wide geographical
variation, and males show a stereotyped and conspicuous phonotactic response to
playback of conspecific calls. We evaluated the capacity of males of A.
femoralis and a closely related species A. hodli to respond aggressively to
natural conspecific and heterospecific calls varying in number of notes, by
means of field playback experiments performed at two sites in the Brazilian
Amazon. The first site, Cachoeira do Jirau (Porto Velho, Rondônia), is a
parapatric contact zone between A. femoralis that use 4-note calls, and A.
hodli with 2-note calls, where we performed cross-playbacks in both focal
populations. The second site, the Reserva Florestal Adolpho Ducke (Manaus,
Amazonas), contained only A. femoralis with 4-note calls. There, we broadcast
natural stimuli of 2-note A. hodli, 3-note and 4-note A. femoralis, and 6-note
A. myersi. We found that the phonotactic behaviour of A. femoralis and A. hodli
males did not differ toward conspecific and heterospecific stimuli, even in
parapatry. Our results indicated that the evolutionary rates of call design and
call perception are different, because the geographical variation in calls was
not accompanied by variation in the males' aggressive behaviour.
Tobias, ML (2011) Evolution of advertisement calls in African clawed frogs.
Behaviour 148: 519-549.
For most frogs, advertisement calls are essential for reproductive success,
conveying information on species identity, male quality, sexual state and
location. While the evolutionary divergence of call characters has been
examined in a number of species, the relative impacts of genetic drift or
natural and sexual selection remain unclear. Insights into the evolutionary
trajectory of vocal signals can be gained by examining how advertisement calls
vary in a phylogenetic context. Evolution by genetic drift would be supported
if more closely related species express more similar songs. Conversely, a poor
correlation between evolutionary history and song expression would suggest
evolution shaped by natural or sexual selection. Here, we measure seven song
characters in 20 described and two undescribed species of African clawed frogs
(genera Xenopus and Silurana) and four populations of X. laevis. We identify
three call types — click, burst and trill — that can be distinguished by click
number, call rate and intensity modulation. A fourth type is biphasic,
consisting of two of the above. Call types vary in complexity from the
simplest, a click, to the most complex, a biphasic call. Maximum parsimony
analysis of variation in call type suggests that the ancestral type was of
intermediate complexity. Each call type evolved independently more than once
and call type is typically not shared by closely related species. These results
indicate that call type is homoplasious and has low phylogenetic signal. We
conclude that the evolution of call type is not due to genetic drift, but is
under selective pressure.
Baker, MC (2011) Geographic variation of three vocal signals in the
Australian ringneck (Aves: Psittaciformes): Do functionally similar
signals have similar spatial distributions? Behaviour 148: 373-402.
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Frank Veit
Calle Carabeo 27
29780 Nerja, Málaga
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