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Intraspecific scaling in frog calls: the interplay of temperature, body size and metabolic condition

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Abstract

Understanding physiological and environmental determinants of strategies of reproductive allocation is a pivotal aim in biology. Because of their high metabolic cost, properties of sexual acoustic signals may correlate with body size, temperature, and an individual’s energetic state. A quantitative theory of acoustic communication, based on the metabolic scaling with temperature and mass, was recently proposed, adding to the well-reported empirical patterns. It provides quantitative predictions for frequencies, call rate, and durations. Here, we analysed the mass, temperature, and body condition scaling of spectral and temporal attributes of the advertisement call of the treefrog Hypsiboas pulchellus. Mass dependence of call frequency followed metabolic expectations (f~M −0.25, where f is frequency and M is mass) although non-metabolic allometry could also account for the observed pattern. Temporal variables scaled inversely with mass contradicting metabolic expectations (d~M 0.25, where d is duration), supporting instead empirical patterns reported to date. Temperature was positively associated with call rate and negatively with temporal variables, which is congruent with metabolic predictions. We found no significant association between temperature and frequencies, adding to the bulk of empirical evidence. Finally, a result of particular relevance was that body condition consistently determined call characteristics, in interaction with temperature or mass. Our intraspecific study highlights that even if proximate determinants of call variability are rather well understood, the mechanisms through which they operate are proving to be more complex than previously thought. The determinants of call characteristics emerge as a key topic of research in behavioural and physiological biology, with several clear points under debate which need to be analysed on theoretical and empirical grounds.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude to Gabriel Laufer and Indigena Private Wildlife Reserve for allowing this study on their land, and for lending their facilities during fieldwork. Laura Montes de Oca lent her car and gave assistance during field trips, and Mauro Berazategui helped us during fieldwork. The contributions by three anonymous reviewers helped to substantially improve this manuscript. This work was funded by Agencia Nacional de Investigación e Innovación of Uruguay through a studentship to L. Z. (BE_POS_2010_2502), and received support from PEDECIBA Biología (L. Z.; Doctoral Programme, Uruguay). M. A. was funded by a Fondo Clemente Estable grant (FCE_2_2011_1_7117).

Author contribution statement

L. Z., M. A. and F. B. formulated the original idea; M. A. and L. Z. developed the methodology; L. Z. conducted the fieldwork; M. A. and L. Z. performed the statistical analyses; L. Z., M. A. and F. B. wrote the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. PDU Biodiversidad, Centro Universitario Regional Este (CURE), Maldonado, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay

    Lucia Ziegler & Matías Arim

  2. Departamento de Ecología y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay

    Matías Arim

  3. Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, 6513677, Chile

    Francisco Bozinovic

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  1. Lucia Ziegler
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  2. Matías Arim
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  3. Francisco Bozinovic
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Correspondence to Lucia Ziegler.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. All applicable institutional and/or national guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

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Communicated by Jean-François Le Galliard.

Student statement

The present work addresses the energetics of anuran advertisement calls from a novel perspective, integrating empirical patters with more recent metabolic ecology theory. We examined the effect of three call determinants that are also linked to metabolic capacity: mass, temperature and body condition. Additive to the main role of these variables on the call structure in anurans, the significance and pervasiveness of interactions between them appears as a potential determinant of individuals’ allocation to reproduction and the display of different tactics.

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Ziegler, L., Arim, M. & Bozinovic, F. Intraspecific scaling in frog calls: the interplay of temperature, body size and metabolic condition. Oecologia 181, 673–681 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-015-3499-8

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