Mating Songs of Frogs
Paragraph 1: The calling or singing of frogs plays an important role in their reproduction—specifically, in helping individuals find and select mates
auditory
visual modality
travel long distances and thus attract distant frogs
travel around large obstacles
be easily localized
Paragraph 3: Frog songs contain several potentially important pieces of information about the calling male.
Paragraph 2: Male frogs do most of the courtship calling
Females can respond to male songs by moving toward the sound source or by selecting certain males as reproductive partners
In some species females also respond to males by calling
attract females
sound amplitude can indicate the size of the individual that is calling
size is a good predictor of relative age
male’s age matters to the female because older frogs have successfully survived the environmental hazards that the offspring they sire will soon be facing.
Amplitude can also convey information on how far away the calling frog is or, for choruses, how many frogs are calling together
particularly favorable breeding site
A very intense sound can indicate an old male at some distance or a younger male that is close. A close, small chorus could be confused with a louder chorus that is farther away
Paragraph 4: Sound frequencies-or pitch-can also convey information about the calling male because the vocal apparatus grows larger as the frog grows older
temperature
small males can mimic the lower pitch of larger, older males by calling from colder locations
Paragraph 4: the length of time that an individual can afford to spend calling is a good indicator of his health
physically demanding behavior
the most energetically expensive behavior yet measured in any vertebrate
Paragraph 5: Sound frequencies and the overall temporal pattern of the song can also reveal the species of the calling male
hybrid offspring will not survive and reproduce