Male Phonotropism and Answer Calls Elicited by Female Vocalizations in the African Clawed Frog, Xenopus laevis

Wang, Yusheng; Cui, Jianguo; Yu, Xin; Tang, Yezhong

doi:10.1670/09-055.1

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Reptilian calls have been functionally categorized as conspecific communication and interspecific interaction (FRANKENBERG & WERNER 1984;HARTDEGEN et al 2001;TANG et al 2001). Unlike frogs and birds in which males call loudly while females, if not completely mute, tend to produce low intensity and simple calls WANG et al 2010), males, females and even juvenile lizards can produce vocalizations associated with many behaviors including territorial defense, nest guarding, mate attraction, offspring protection and parental care (MARCELLINI 1974;FRANKENBERG 1975FRANKENBERG , 1982MILTON & JENSSEN 1979;FRANKENBERG & WERNER 1984). The advertisement calls of geckos usually consist of multiple notes or clicks and have been proposed to serve as an adaptation to nocturnal environments in which visual cues are not available for mate selection (WEVER et al 1963;MARCELLINI 1977b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geographic variation in the advertisement calls ofGekko geckoin relation to variations in morphological features: implications for regional population differentiation

Peng

Aowphol

et al. 2011

Ethology Ecology & Evolution

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geographic variation in the advertisement calls ofGekko geckoin relation to variations in morphological features: implications for regional population differentiation

Peng

Aowphol

et al. 2011

Ethology Ecology & Evolution

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“…Observed male responses to female calls include positive phonotaxis and changes in male vocalization rate ( Emerson & Boyd, 1999 ; Shen et al, 2008 ; Cui et al, 2010 ; Wang et al, 2010 ), suggesting that female vocalization is important in mate location and recognition. In this and other Nyctibatrachus species, calling males are often located in difficult to reach locations (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A unique mating strategy without physical contact during fertilization in Bombay Night Frogs (Nyctibatrachus humayuni) with the description of a new form of amplexus and female call

Willaert¹,

Suyesh

Garg

et al. 2016

PeerJ

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Anurans show the highest diversity in reproductive modes of all vertebrate taxa, with a variety of associated breeding behaviours. One striking feature of anuran reproduction is amplexus. During this process, in which the male clasps the female, both individuals’ cloacae are juxtaposed to ensure successful external fertilization. Several types of amplexus have evolved with the diversification of anurans, and secondary loss of amplexus has been reported in a few distantly related taxa. Within Nyctibatrachus, a genus endemic to the Western Ghats of India, normal axillary amplexus, a complete loss of amplexus, and intermediate forms of amplexus have all been suggested to occur, but many species remain unstudied. Here, we describe the reproductive behaviour of N. humayuni, including a new type of amplexus. The dorsal straddle, here defined as a loose form of contact in which the male sits on the dorsum of the female prior to oviposition but without clasping her, is previously unreported for anurans. When compared to known amplexus types, it most closely resembles the form of amplexus observed in Mantellinae. Furthermore, we prove that, opposed to the situation in most anurans, male semen release happens before egg deposition. We hypothesize that the male ejaculates on the female’s dorsum and that sperm subsequently runs from her back and hind legs before fertilizing the eggs. A second feature characterizing anuran breeding is the advertisement call, mostly produced solely by males. Despite recent descriptions of several new Nyctibatrachus species, few studies have explored their vocal repertoire. We describe both the male advertisement call and a female call for N. humayuni. The presence of a female call has not been reported within Nyctibatrachidae, and has been reported in less than 0.5% of anuran species. Altogether, our results highlight a striking diversity and several unique aspects of Nyctibatrachus breeding behaviour.

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“…In birds, sounds are used by females to attract mates [ 44 – 46 ], to defend territories [ 47 – 49 ], to ensure male parental care [ 50 ], and to maintain intrapair contact and coordinate breeding activities [ 51 – 54 ]. Previous studies have shown that female anurans produce sounds to incite male-male competition [ 55 , 56 ], to stimulate male vocalization [ 57 , 58 ], and to attract males [ 59 , 60 ]. In spiders, females of some species produce stridulatory sound signals to induce changes in male genitalic movements during copulation [ 13 ], and to inform males of sexual receptivity [ 14 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stridulatory Sound-Production and Its Function in Females of the Cicada Subpsaltria yangi

Luo

2015

PLoS ONE

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Acoustic behavior plays a crucial role in many aspects of cicada biology, such as reproduction and intrasexual competition. Although female sound production has been reported in some cicada species, acoustic behavior of female cicadas has received little attention. In cicada Subpsaltria yangi, the females possess a pair of unusually well-developed stridulatory organs. Here, sound production and its function in females of this remarkable cicada species were investigated. We revealed that the females could produce sounds by stridulatory mechanism during pair formation, and the sounds were able to elicit both acoustic and phonotactic responses from males. In addition, the forewings would strike the body during performing stridulatory sound-producing movements, which generated impact sounds. Acoustic playback experiments indicated that the impact sounds played no role in the behavioral context of pair formation. This study provides the first experimental evidence that females of a cicada species can generate sounds by stridulatory mechanism. We anticipate that our results will promote acoustic studies on females of other cicada species which also possess stridulatory system.

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Male Phonotropism and Answer Calls Elicited by Female Vocalizations in the African Clawed Frog, Xenopus laevis

Cited by 10 publications

References 19 publications

Geographic variation in the advertisement calls ofGekko geckoin relation to variations in morphological features: implications for regional population differentiation

Geographic variation in the advertisement calls ofGekko geckoin relation to variations in morphological features: implications for regional population differentiation

A unique mating strategy without physical contact during fertilization in Bombay Night Frogs (Nyctibatrachus humayuni) with the description of a new form of amplexus and female call

Stridulatory Sound-Production and Its Function in Females of the Cicada Subpsaltria yangi

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