Does traffic noise alter calling time in frogs and toads? A case study of anurans in Eastern Ontario, Canada

Vargas‐Salinas, Fernando; Cunnington, Glenn M.; Amézquita, Adolfo; Fahrig, Lenore

doi:10.1007/s11252-014-0374-z

Cited by 35 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Our results for B. japonica fall within the variation of previously reported anuran responses to traffic noise, which includes both increases and decreases in calling rate and effort (Cunnington & Fahrig, ; Sun & Narins, ; Vargas‐Salinas, Cunnington, Amézquita, & Fahrig, ), call duration (Caorsi et al, ; Grace & Noss, ), and dominant frequency (Hoskin & Goosem, ; Lukanov, Simeonovska‐Nikolova, & Tzankov, ; Nelson et al, ; Parris et al, ) across different species. Until now, however, only the responses of single call types have been examined for a given species.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…The same species ( H. arborea ), however, did not change calling behavior when examined in a different study (Lukanov et al, ). Similarly, gray treefrogs ( Hyla versicolor ) decreased their calling rates in response to noise in one study (Cunnington & Fahrig, ), but not in another (Vargas‐Salinas et al, ). Overall, these studies highlight the need for more detailed studies addressing within‐species variation in response to traffic noise.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

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Traffic noise differentially impacts call types in a Japanese treefrog (Buergeria japonica)

et al. 2020

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Acoustic noise from automobile traffic impedes communication between signaling animals. To overcome the acoustic interference imposed by anthropogenic noise, species across taxa adjust their signaling behavior to increase signal saliency. As most of the spectral energy of anthropogenic noise is concentrated at low acoustic frequencies, species with lower frequency signals are expected to be more affected. Thus, species with low‐frequency signals are under stronger pressure to adjust their signaling behaviors to avoid auditory masking than species with higher frequency signals. Similarly, for a species with multiple types of signals that differ in spectral characteristics, different signal types are expected to be differentially masked. We investigate how the different call types of a Japanese stream breeding treefrog (Buergeria japonica) are affected by automobile traffic noise. Male B. japonica produce two call types that differ in their spectral elements, a Type I call with lower dominant frequency and a Type II call with higher dominant frequency. In response to acoustic playbacks of traffic noise, B. japonica reduced the duration of their Type I calls, but not Type II calls. In addition, B. japonica increased the call effort of their Type I calls and decreased the call effort of their Type II calls. This result contrasts with prior studies in other taxa, which suggest that signalers may switch to higher frequency signal types in response to traffic noise. Furthermore, the increase in Type I call effort was only a short‐term response to noise, while reduced Type II call effort persisted after the playbacks had ended. Overall, such differential effects on signal types suggest that some social functions will be disrupted more than others. By considering the effects of anthropogenic noise across multiple signal types, these results provide a more in‐depth understanding of the behavioral impacts of anthropogenic noise within a species.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Traffic noise differentially impacts call types in a Japanese treefrog (Buergeria japonica)

et al. 2020

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“…Diverse reactions to confront acoustic interference have also been reported among anuran species exposed experimentally to anthropogenic noises in habitats different from the temperate austral forest (Cunnington & Fahrig, 2010;Kaiser et al, 2011;Sun & Narins, 2005;Vargas-Salinas et al, 2014). Different reactions to road noise have been related to the spectral contents of the signals: Species having relatively low dominant frequencies, within the frequency range of anthropogenic noise, experience reductions in their vocal activity, and species producing high-frequency calls keep their vocal output unaltered (Cunnington & Fahrig, 2010;Vargas-Salinas et al, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Frogs from diverse environments use different strategies to confront interference from natural biotic, abiotic, and anthropogenic origin. Some species augment, while others decrease their vocal output when subjected to prolonged exposures to noises of different kinds (Cunnington & Fahrig, ; Kaiser & Hammers, ; Kaiser et al., ; Lengagne, ; Love & Bee, ; Penna & Hamilton‐West, ; Penna, Pottstock, & Velásquez, ; Sun & Narins, ; Vargas‐Salinas & Amezquita, ; Vargas‐Salinas, Cunnington, Amézquita, & Fahrig, ). In particular, in the temperate austral forest, two frogs of the genus Eupsophus, inhabiting the same microenvironment, respond differently to noise exposures of moderate to high levels under similar test conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Restricted responsiveness to noise interference in two anurans from the southern temperate forest

2017

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Animals adopt different strategies to communicate by means of sound in noisy environments such that some species increase, while others decrease their vocal activity in the presence of interference. Anuran amphibians from diverse latitudes exhibit both kinds of responses. Recent studies have shown that males of Batrachyla taeniata and Batrachyla antartandica from the temperate austral forest do not call in response to the presentation of advertisement calls of sympatric congeneric species. In contrast, Batrachyla leptopus responds to these signals in a similar way as to conspecific calls. The responsiveness of B. taeniata to natural abiotic interference has also been tested and found that noises of such sources produce strong increases in vocal activity. To assess the diversity in responsiveness to acoustic intrusion in this group, we exposed males of B. leptopus and B. antartandica to prolonged pre‐recorded natural abiotic noises of wind, creek, rain, and to a band‐pass noise centered at 2,000 Hz, at 67 dB Sound Pressure Level (SPL). The subjects did not increase their vocal activity significantly when exposed to these sounds and to band‐pass noise at increasing intensities (55–79 dB SPL). These results contrast with the increase in vocal activity observed previously in B. taeniata to continuous abiotic noise and point to the existence of diverse strategies to confront acoustic intrusion among related species. The lack of vocal activation observed also contrasts with the responsiveness of B. leptopus to heterospecific signals, but parallels the lack of response to such sounds in B. antartandica. Furthermore, the results obtained contrast with the responsiveness of these species to synthetic prolonged sounds observed in previous studies, suggesting that the modes of responses to acoustic intrusion may depend on previous experience, rather than having a species‐specific nature.

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“…It is unlikley that the vocal plasticity of anurans documented in Chapters 2 and 3 is unlimited; there likely exists some critical threshold noise level that would result in conditions that cannot be compensated for. Recent work byVargas-Salinas et al (2014) concluded that behavioural alteration of calling activity may become ineffective in areas where traffic noise is continuous. Future work should be directed towards determining levels of traffic noise that represent thresholds beyond which anurans are unable to compensate.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Relationship Between Roads and Amphibians: Effects of Traffic Noise and Mitigation of Road Mortality

Cunnington¹

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Does traffic noise alter calling time in frogs and toads? A case study of anurans in Eastern Ontario, Canada

Cited by 35 publications

References 34 publications

Traffic noise differentially impacts call types in a Japanese treefrog (Buergeria japonica)

Traffic noise differentially impacts call types in a Japanese treefrog (Buergeria japonica)

Restricted responsiveness to noise interference in two anurans from the southern temperate forest

The Relationship Between Roads and Amphibians: Effects of Traffic Noise and Mitigation of Road Mortality

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