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Noisy neighbours at the frog pond: effects of invasive cane toads on the calling behaviour of native Australian frogs
journal contribution
posted on 2015-01-01, 00:00 authored by I Bleach, Christa BeckmannChrista Beckmann, C Both, G Brown, R ShineInvasive species can disrupt the communication systems that native biota use for reproductive interactions. In tropical Australia, invasive cane toads (Rhinella marina) breed in many of the same waterbodies that are used by native frogs, and males of both the invader and the native taxa rely on vocal signals to attract mates. We conducted playback experiments to test the hypothesis that calls of toads may influence the calling behaviour of frogs (Limnodynastes convexiusculus and Litoria rothii). Male L. convexiusculus adjusted their calling rate and the variance in inter-call interval in response to a variety of sounds, including the calls of cane toads as well as those of other native frog species, and other anthropogenic noise, whereas L. rothii did not. Within the stimulus periods of playbacks, male L. convexiusculus called more intensely during long silent gaps than during calling blocks. Thus, males of one frog species reduced their calling rate, possibly to minimise energy expenditure during periods of acoustic interference generated by cane toads. In spite of such modifications, the number of overlapping calls (within stimulus periods) did not differ significantly from that expected by chance. In natural conditions, the calls of cane toads are continuous rather than episodic, leaving fewer gaps of silence that male frogs could exploit. Future work could usefully quantify the magnitude of temporal (e.g. diel and seasonal) and spatial overlap between calling by toads and by frogs and the impact of call-structure shifts on the ability of male frogs to attract receptive females.
History
Journal
Behavioral ecology and sociobiologyVolume
69Issue
4Pagination
675 - 683Publisher
SpringerLocation
Weinheim, GermanyPublisher DOI
ISSN
0340-5443eISSN
1432-0762Language
engPublication classification
C Journal article; C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2015, SpringerUsage metrics
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No categories selectedKeywords
Acoustic communicationAnuranBufo marinusInvasive speciesPlayback experimentsScience & TechnologyLife Sciences & BiomedicineBehavioral SciencesEcologyZoologyEnvironmental Sciences & EcologyFEMALE MATE CHOICEBUFO-MARINUSACOUSTIC INTERFERENCETRAFFIC NOISERESPONSESCONSEQUENCESCOMPETITIONPREDATORSMORTALITYTREEFROG
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