Frog’s Call Invites Females for Love and Predators for Dinner
- 10 years ago
A unique situation has been discovered in Central America with one frog’s mating call attracting a specific species of bat through both visual water ripples and audible sound.
Any call in the wild can attract either positive or negative attention. However, a unique situation has been discovered in Central America with one frog’s mating call attracting a specific species of bat through both visual water ripples and audible sound.
From shallow ponds, the male túngara frog enhances the attractiveness of its basic whiny call with lower and louder so-called “chuck” sounds, which cause circular ripples in the surrounding water. They’re not only a way to show off for the ladies, but also scare off the male competition.
The local fringe-lipped bat can also identify the calling frog’s exact spot through its sonar-like echolocation abilities. Through a series of controlled experiments with artificial frogs, sounds, and ripples, scientists found that bats swooped in to kill almost 40 percent more when ripples were created.
Also, the bats have adapted their hearing to their prey’s lower frequencies. Other research confirms the bats even know if a frog’s poisonous by translating the frog’s sounds.
According to co-author Rachel Page, “This study shows how important it is to look at the full picture—perception not only of signals but also of their by-products by different receivers through different sensory channels can generate both costs and benefits.”
Any call in the wild can attract either positive or negative attention. However, a unique situation has been discovered in Central America with one frog’s mating call attracting a specific species of bat through both visual water ripples and audible sound.
From shallow ponds, the male túngara frog enhances the attractiveness of its basic whiny call with lower and louder so-called “chuck” sounds, which cause circular ripples in the surrounding water. They’re not only a way to show off for the ladies, but also scare off the male competition.
The local fringe-lipped bat can also identify the calling frog’s exact spot through its sonar-like echolocation abilities. Through a series of controlled experiments with artificial frogs, sounds, and ripples, scientists found that bats swooped in to kill almost 40 percent more when ripples were created.
Also, the bats have adapted their hearing to their prey’s lower frequencies. Other research confirms the bats even know if a frog’s poisonous by translating the frog’s sounds.
According to co-author Rachel Page, “This study shows how important it is to look at the full picture—perception not only of signals but also of their by-products by different receivers through different sensory channels can generate both costs and benefits.”