Animals communicating by sound face interference from biotic and abiotic sources. Contrasting strategies have been reported in different taxa in the presence of prolonged noise. Some torrent-living frogs of the genera Odorrana and Huia emit ultrasounds to avoid masking by environment noise. That strategy, however, might not be the only mode of acoustic communication for inhabiting along fast-flowing streams. To examine this possibility, we analyzed call structures of two horned toads, Megophrys kuatunensis and M. huangshanensis, which inhabit along streams in eastern China. We investigated variation in call properties within and between the two species and found that the two species show similar call structures but significantly differ in note duration and inter-note interval. Both of the two species concentrate energy on a single, wide harmonic band, and this might be an acoustic strategy against environmental noise.
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1 February 2015
Advertisement Calls of Two Horned Frogs, Megophrys kuatunensis and M. huangshanensis, from China (Anura, Megophryidae)
Rongchuan Xiong,
Masafumi Matsui,
Kanto Nishikawa,
Jianping Jiang
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Current Herpetology
Vol. 34 • No. 1
February 2015
Vol. 34 • No. 1
February 2015
acoustic communication
advertisement calls
Anurans
Horned Frogs
Stream breeding