Review of Aquatic Sex Pheromones and Chemical Communication in Anurans

Belanger, Rachelle M.; Corkum, Lynda D.

doi:10.1670/08-054r1.1

Cited by 59 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Nevertheless, bioacoustic signals seem to be so essential to the social communication of anuran amphibians that other sensory modalities have been largely ignored. However, since the description of the tree frog Litoria splendida aquatic sex pheromone 'splendipherin' a decade ago (Wabnitz et al 1999), anuran chemical communication has become a flourishing area of physiological investigations, and a growing body of evidence suggests that it would be essential in social interactions (Belanger and Corkum 2009;Houck 2009). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Larval development and metamorphosis of the olfactory and vomeronasal organs in the toad Rhinella (Bufo) arenarum (Hensel, 1867)

2010

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Jungblut, L.D., Pozzi, A.G. and Paz, D.A. 2011. Larval development and metamorphosis of the olfactory and vomeronasal organs in the toad Rhinella (Bufo) arenarum (Hensel, 1867). -Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 92: 305-315.The olfactory and the vomeronasal system are the two major chemosensory systems found in terrestrial vertebrates. Among tetrapods, amphibians are unique in having an aquatic larval stage, followed by metamorphosis to a terrestrial adult. In the present work, we studied the histological development of the olfactory and vomeronasal organ and associated multicellular glands of the toad Rhinella (Bufo) arenarum, from early poshatching larva to postmetamorphic toadlets. As in other bufonids, the olfactory epithelium of R. arenarum in larvae is divided into dorsal and ventral branches in the rostral and mid-nasal regions. At metamorphic climax, the larval pattern changes drastically and the adult olfactory configuration develops. Bowman's glands appear in the olfactory epithelium of R. arenarum at the onset of metamorphic climax. The vomeronasal epithelium develops early in larval development in R. arenarum, around the time of operculum development. Interestingly, a novel sensory epithelium develops in the floor of the principal chamber of R. arenarum at metamorphic climax. This novel sensory epithelium resembles larval sensory epithelium lacking Bowman's glands, and suggests that these animals would be able to sense not only air-borne, but also water-borne odors during their adult terrestrial life.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Larval development and metamorphosis of the olfactory and vomeronasal organs in the toad Rhinella (Bufo) arenarum (Hensel, 1867)

2010

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“…Evidence for reproductive isolation can be found through a variety of approaches, including postzygotic hybrid inviability, divergent morphological structure of genitals, or differences in behavioral characters mediating mate recognition. In amphibians, mechanisms of mate recognition and mate choice involve pheromones in salamanders and frogs (Malacarne & Giacoma 1986;Pearl et al 2000;Toyoda et al 2004;Kikuyama et al 2005;Byrne & Keogh 2007;Belanger & Corkum 2009;Poth et al 2012;Starnberger et al 2013;Treer et al 2013), visual signaling such as foot-waving (Hödl & Amézquita 2001;Toledo et al 2007;Boeckle et al 2009), elaborated nuptial displays in newts (Halliday 1977) or inflation of, sometimes colorful, vocal sacs (e.g., Rosenthal et al 2004;Hirschmann & Hödl 2006), water surface waves (Walkowiak & Münz 1985), surface vibrations (Narins 1990;Cardoso & Heyer 1995;Lewis et al 2001;Caldwell et al 2010), acoustic signals (most Sampling rate (R) Number of amplitude measurements taken per second when digitizing a sound wave (e.g., 44.1 kHz sampling rate results in 44,100 samples of amplitude measurement for every second).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of bioacoustics in anuran taxonomy: theory, terminology, methods and recommendations for best practice

Köhler

Jansen

Rodríguez³

et al. 2017

Zootaxa

424

404

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Vocalizations of anuran amphibians have received much attention in studies of behavioral ecology and physiology, but also provide informative characters for identifying and delimiting species. We here review the terminology and variation of frog calls from a perspective of integrative taxonomy, and provide hands-on protocols for recording, analyzing, comparing, interpreting and describing these sounds. Our focus is on advertisement calls, which serve as premating isolation mechanisms and, therefore, convey important taxonomic information. We provide recommendations for terminology of frog vocalizations, with call, note and pulse being the fundamental subunits to be used in descriptions and comparisons. However, due to the complexity and diversity of these signals, an unequivocal application of the terms call and note can be challenging. We therefore provide two coherent concepts that either follow a note-centered approach (defining uninterrupted units of sound as notes, and their entirety as call) or a call-centered approach (defining uninterrupted units as call whenever they are separated by long silent intervals) in terminology. Based on surveys of literature, we show that numerous call traits can be highly variable within and between individuals of one species. Despite idiosyncrasies of species and higher taxa, the duration of calls or notes, pulse rate within notes, and number of pulses per note appear to be more static within individuals and somewhat less affected by temperature. Therefore, these variables might often be preferable as taxonomic characters over call rate or note rate, which are heavily influenced by various factors. Dominant frequency is also comparatively static and only weakly affected by temperature, but depends strongly on body size. As with other taxonomic characters, strong call divergence is typically indicative of species-level differences, whereas call similarities of two populations are no evidence for them being conspecific. Taxonomic conclusions can especially be drawn when the general advertisement call structure of two candidate species is radically different and qualitative call differences are thus observed. On the other hand, quantitative differences in call traits might substantially vary within and among conspecific populations, and require careful evaluation and analysis. We provide guidelines for the taxonomic interpretation of advertisement call differences in sympatric and allopatric situations, and emphasize the need for an integrative use of multiple datasets (bio-acoustics, morphology, genetics), particularly for allopatric scenarios. We show that small-sized frogs often emit calls with frequency components in the ultrasound spectrum, although it is unlikely that these high frequencies are of biological relevance for the majority of them, and we illustrate that detection of upper harmonics depends also on recording distance because higher frequencies are attenuated more strongly. Bioacoustics remains a prime approach in integrative taxonomy of anurans if uncertainty due to possible intraspecific variation and technical artifacts is adequately considered and acknowledged.

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“…During metamorphosis, the transition from water to land, anurans undergo changes in the olfactory system (Belanger & Corkum, 2009) strongly suggesting a difference in odorant access. Recent investigations concerning adaptations of the olfactory organ in one of the most basal anuran species ( A. truei ) denote the ability to receive airborne as well as waterborne odours (Benzekri & Reiss, 2012).…”

Section: Chemical Signalling In Amphibiansmentioning

confidence: 99%

The anuran vocal sac: a tool for multimodal signalling

2014

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Although in anurans the predominant mode of intra- and intersexual communication is vocalization, modalities used in addition to or instead of acoustic signals range from seismic and visual to chemical. In some cases, signals of more than one modality are produced through or by the anuran vocal sac. However, its role beyond acoustics has been neglected for some time and nonacoustic cues such as vocal sac movement have traditionally been seen as an epiphenomenon of sound production. The diversity in vocal sac coloration and shape found in different species is striking and recently its visual properties have been given a more important role in signalling. Chemosignals seem to be the dominant communication mode in newts, salamanders and caecilians and certainly play a role in the aquatic life phase of anurans, but airborne chemical signalling has received less attention. There is, however, increasing evidence that at least some terrestrial anuran species integrate acoustic, visual and chemical cues in species recognition and mate choice and a few secondarily mute anuran species seem to fully rely on volatile chemical cues produced in glands on the vocal sac. Within vertebrates, frogs in particular are suitable organisms for investigating multimodal communication by means of experiments, since they are tolerant of disturbance by observers and can be easily manipulated under natural conditions. Thus, the anuran vocal sac might be of great interest not only to herpetologists, but also to behavioural biologists studying communication systems.

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Review of Aquatic Sex Pheromones and Chemical Communication in Anurans

Cited by 59 publications

References 52 publications

Larval development and metamorphosis of the olfactory and vomeronasal organs in the toad Rhinella (Bufo) arenarum (Hensel, 1867)

Larval development and metamorphosis of the olfactory and vomeronasal organs in the toad Rhinella (Bufo) arenarum (Hensel, 1867)

The use of bioacoustics in anuran taxonomy: theory, terminology, methods and recommendations for best practice

The anuran vocal sac: a tool for multimodal signalling

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