Spectral overlap and temporal avoidance in a tropical savannah frog community

Allen‐Ankins, Slade; Schwarzkopf, Lin

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.07.024

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Sugai, et al 22 and Tobias, et al 21 used much longer time scales (1 h and 10 min respectively) than we did (20–60 secs), to determine whether species were signaling together. We found that time-scale is critical to this question, as amphibians partition activity on very fine scales, but tend to aggregate at longer scales, for example aggregating at nightly and seasonal scales 7 , 27 , 30 , 31 . Additionally, the assemblages studied in both Tobias, et al 21 and Sugai, et al 22 were from small geographic areas compared to our study; perhaps restricted study locations captured a limited range of environmental conditions and were not representative of broad patterns of partitioning of the acoustic space in these animal groups.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Frogs often call for extensive periods, and form choruses in which hundreds of individuals may be vocalizing on the same night 25 . They also rely on similar ecological conditions for breeding (e.g., rainfall) which may limit the ability for temporal and spatial avoidance 26 , 27 . Additionally, the ability to achieve acoustic niche partitioning through signal divergence may be limited by the strong relationship between call frequency and body size 28 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Using citizen science to test for acoustic niche partitioning in frogs

Allen‐Ankins

Schwarzkopf

2022

Sci Rep

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The acoustic niche hypothesis proposes that to avoid interference with breeding signals, vocal species should evolve to partition acoustic space, minimising similarity with co-occurring signals. Tests of the acoustic niche hypothesis are typically conducted using a single assemblage, with mixed outcomes, but if the process is evolutionarily important, a pattern of reduced acoustic competition should emerge, on average, over many communities. Using a continental-scale dataset derived from audio recordings collected by citizen scientists, we show that frogs do partition acoustic space. Differences in calls were predominately caused by differences in spectral, rather than temporal, features. Specifically, the 90% frequency bandwidths of observed frog assemblages overlapped less than expected, and there was greater distance between dominant frequencies than expected. To our knowledge, this study is the first to use null models to test for acoustic niche partitioning over a large geographic scale.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using citizen science to test for acoustic niche partitioning in frogs

Allen‐Ankins

Schwarzkopf

2022

Sci Rep

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“…The lack of acoustic partitioning in 1 h bins may be explained by environmental factors unrelated to hornbill acoustic competition, such as rainfall. Indeed, these factors may be more important for predicting calling behavior than temporally available acoustic space (Allen‐Ankins & Schwarzkopf, 2021). The calling period for these diurnal hornbills is about 13 h, and in the rain forests of SE Asia, this time period is often punctuated with rainfall.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, acoustic overlap and reduced communication effectiveness may be avoided by both species by limiting calling events to the hours where environmental conditions are optimal. The avoidance of direct call overlap in these species may sufficiently reduce acoustic interference and promote successful communication, such that both species can call during the hours that have optimal environmental conditions (Allen‐Ankins & Schwarzkopf, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To estimate the expected temporal overlap, we generated a null distribution by creating a series of dates and times (in 1 s increments) and randomly sampled from this series to create a series of random start times within the calling period for the calls in our dataset. We limited the randomization times for each date to those times when calls were actually observed in our dataset, following the approaches used in Masco et al (2016) and Allen‐Ankins and Schwarzkopf (2021). For example, if we only observed calls between 13:00 h and 15:00 h LT on February 15th, then our randomization start and end times were limited to the range of those hours.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evidence for acoustic niche partitioning depends on the temporal scale in two sympatric Bornean hornbill species

et al. 2023

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Understanding niche partitioning of closely related sympatric species is a fundamental goal in ecology. Acoustic communication space can be considered a resource, and the acoustic niche hypothesis posits that competition between species may lead to partitioning of communication space. Here, we compare the calling behavior of two sympatric Bornean hornbill species—the rhinoceros hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros) and the helmeted hornbill (Rhinoplax vigil)—to test for evidence of acoustic niche partitioning. Both hornbill species emit calls heard over many kilometers and have similar habitat preferences which is predicted to result in interspecific competition. We collected acoustic data on sympatric populations of both hornbill species using 10 autonomous recording units in Danum Valley Conservation Area, Sabah, Malaysia. We found that there was substantial spectral overlap between the calls of the two species, indicating the potential for competition for acoustic space. To test for evidence of acoustic niche partitioning, we investigated spatial and temporal patterns of calling in each species. Both hornbills were strictly diurnal and called throughout the day, and we were equally likely to detect both species at each of our recorders. We did not find evidence of temporal acoustic avoidance at a relatively coarse timescale when we divided our dataset into 1 h bins, but we did find evidence of temporal acoustic avoidance at a finer timescale when we used null models to compare the observed duration of overlapping calls to the expected amount of overlap due to chance. Abstract in Malay is available with online material.

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Isochrony in barks of Cape fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) pups and adults

Osiecka,

Fearey,

Ravignani

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Animal vocal communication often relies on call sequences. The temporal patterns of such sequences can be adjusted to other callers, follow complex rhythmic structures or exhibit a metronome‐like pattern (i.e., isochronous). How regular are the temporal patterns in animal signals, and what influences their precision? If present, are rhythms already there early in ontogeny? Here, we describe an exploratory study of Cape fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) barks—a vocalisation type produced across many pinniped species in rhythmic, percussive bouts. This study is the first quantitative description of barking in Cape fur seal pups. We analysed the rhythmic structures of spontaneous barking bouts of pups and adult females from the breeding colony in Cape Cross, Namibia. Barks of adult females exhibited isochrony, that is they were produced at fairly regular points in time. Instead, intervals between pup barks were more variable, that is skipping a bark in the isochronous series occasionally. In both age classes, beat precision, that is how well the barks followed a perfect template, was worse when barking at higher rates. Differences could be explained by physiological factors, such as respiration or arousal. Whether, and how, isochrony develops in this species remains an open question. This study provides evidence towards a rhythmic production of barks in Cape fur seal pups and lays the groundwork for future studies to investigate the development of rhythm using multidimensional metrics.

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Spectral overlap and temporal avoidance in a tropical savannah frog community

Cited by 8 publications

References 60 publications

Using citizen science to test for acoustic niche partitioning in frogs

Using citizen science to test for acoustic niche partitioning in frogs

Evidence for acoustic niche partitioning depends on the temporal scale in two sympatric Bornean hornbill species

Isochrony in barks of Cape fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) pups and adults

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