Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Salientia Communication

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior

Introduction

Animal communication occurs when a sender exchanges information, through a codified signal, with a receiver to the benefit of both. In anurans, communication is notorious during courtship and male-male agonistic interactions. Usually, males advertise their presence and readiness to mate while keeping rival males at bay, whereas females scrutinize chants in order to assess males’ qualities and choose preferable partners (see Vallejos et al. 2017 for an exception). Thus, in most species, signals are primarily produced by males, placing them as senders and receivers, while females act mainly as receivers (Gerhardt and Huber 2002). In this section, we synthesize studies on anuran senders and receivers, what sort of information they exchange, what are the signals, and how they are produced and transmitted in anuran interactions. Moreover, we examine potential communication modalities based on observed sensory cues perception by conspecifics.

Because anurans communicate...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Asay, M. J., Harowicz, P. G., & Su, L. (2005). Chemically mediated mate recognition in the tailed frog (Ascaphus truei). In R. T. Mason, M. P. LeMaster, & D. Müller-Schwarze (Eds.), Chemical signals in vertebrates. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bee, M. A., & Gerhardt, H. C. (2001). Neighbour-stranger discrimination by territorial male bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana): I. Acoustic basis. Animal Behaviour, 62, 1129–1140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bee, M. A., Perrill, S. A., & Owen, P. C. (2000). Male green frogs lower the pitch of acoustic signals in defense of territories: A possible dishonest signal of size? Behavioral Ecology, 11, 169–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belanger, R. M., & Corkum, L. D. (2009). Review of aquatic sex pheromones and chemical communication in anurans. Journal of Herpetology, 43, 184–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brizzi, R., Delfino, G., & Jantra, S. (2003). An overview of breeding glands. In B. G. M. Jamieson (Ed.), Reproductive biology and phylogeny of anura. Enfield: Science Publishers, Inc..

    Google Scholar 

  • Brunetti, A. E., Taboada, C., & Faivovich, J. (2014). The reproductive biology of Hypsiboas punctatus (Anura: Hylidae): Male territoriality and the possible role of different signals during female choice. Salamandra, 50, 215–224.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brunetti, A. E., Lyra, M. L., Melo, W. G. P., Andrade, L. E., Palacios-Rodríguez, P., Prado, B. M., Haddad, C. F. B., Pupo, M. T., & Lopes, N. P. (2018). Symbiotic skin bacteria as a source for sex-specific scents in frogs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(6), 2124–2129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Byrne, P., & Keogh, J. (2007). Terrestrial toadlets use chemosignals to recognize conspecifics, locate mates and strategically adjust calling behaviour. Animal Behaviour, 74, 1155–1162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Luna, A. G., Hödl, W., & Amézquita, A. (2010). Colour, size and movement as visual subcomponents in multimodal communication by the frog Allobates femoralis. Animal Behaviour, 79, 739–745.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Sá, F., Zina, J., & Haddad, C. F. B. (2016). Sophisticated communication in the Brazilian torrent frog Hylodes japi. PLoS One, 11, e0145444.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duellman, W. E., & Trueb, L. (1994). Biology of amphibians. Baltimore: JHU press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dugas, M. (2018). Simple observations with complex implications: What we have learned and can learn about parental care from a frog that feeds its young. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 273, 192–202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forester, D. C., & Thompson, K. J. (1998). Gauntlet behaviour as a male sexual tactic in the American toad (Amphibia: Bufonidae). Behaviour, 135, 99–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forrest, T. G. (1994). From sender to receiver: Propagation and environmental effects on acoustic signals. American Zoologist, 34, 644–654.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerhardt, H. C., & Huber, F. (2002). Acoustic communication in insects and anurans: Common problems and diverse solutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goutte, S., Mason, M. J., Christensen-Dalsgaard, J., Montealegre-Z, F., Chivers, B. D., Sarria-S, F. A., Antoniazzi, M. M., Jared, C., Sato, L. A., & Toledo, L. F. (2017). Evidence of auditory insensitivity to vocalization frequencies in two frogs. Scientific Reports, 7(12121), 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graves, B. M., Summers, C. H., & Olmstead, K. L. (1993). Sensory mediation of aggregation among postmetamorphic Bufo cognatus. Journal of Herpetology, 27, 315–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jungblut, L. D., Pozzi, A. G., & Paz, D. A. (2012). A putative functional vomeronasal system in anuran tadpoles. Journal of Anatomy, 221, 364–372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kam, Y.-C., & Yang, H.-W. (2002). Female-offspring communication in a Taiwanese tree frog Chirixalus eiffingeri (Anura: Rhacophoridae). Animal Behaviour, 64, 881–886.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, J. D., Rollins-Smith, L. A., Nielsen, P. F., John, A., & Conlon, J. M. (2005). Characterization of a peptide from skin secretions of male specimens of the frog, Leptodactylus fallax that stimulates aggression in male frogs. Peptides, 26, 597–601.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kluge, A. G. (1981). The life history, social organization, and parental behavior of Hyla rosenbergi Boulenger, a nest-building gladiator frog. Miscellaneous Publication, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, 160, 1–170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Köhler, J., Jansen, M., Rodríguez, A., Kok, P. J. R., Toledo, L. F., Emmrich, M., Glaw, F., Haddad, C. F. B., Rödel, M. O., & Vences, M. (2017). The use of bioacoustics in anuran taxonomy: Theory, terminology, methods and recommendations for best practice. Zootaxa, 4251(1), 1–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Korbeck, R. G., & McRobert, S. P. (2005). Home area recognition via olfactory cues in the tropical poison frog Dendrobates auratus. Russian Journal of Herpetology, 12, 161–166.

    Google Scholar 

  • Narins, P. M., Hödl, W., & Grabul, D. S. (2003). Bimodal signal requisite for agonistic behavior in a dart-poison frog, Epipedobates femoralis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A., 100, 577–580.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pearl, C. A., Cervantes, M., Chan, M., Ho, U., Shoji, R., & Thomas, E. O. (2000). Evidence for a mate-attracting chemosignal in the dwarf African clawed frog Hymenochirus. Hormones and Behavior, 38, 67–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poth, D., Peram, P. S., Vences, M., & Schulz, S. (2013). Macrolides and alcohols as scent gland constituents of the Madagascan frog Mantidactylus femoralis and their intraspecific diversity. Journal of Natural Products, 76, 1548–1558.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rabb, G. B., & Rabb, M. S. (1963). Additional observations on breeding behavior of the Surinam toad Pipa. Copeia, 1963, 636–642.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rödel, M. O., Kosuch, J., Veith, M., & Ernst, R. (2003). First record of the genus Acanthixalus Laurent, 1944 from the upper Guinean rain forest, West Africa, with the description of a new species. Journal of Herpetology, 37, 43–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, G., Rand, A., & Ryan, M. J. (2004). The vocal sac as a visual cue in anuran communication: An experimental analysis using video playback. Animal Behavior, 68, 55–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, M. J. (1988). Constraints and patterns in the evolution of anuran acoustic communication. In B. Fritzsch, M. J. Ryan, W. Wilczynski, T. E. Hetherington, & W. Walkowiak (Eds.), The evolution of the amphibian auditory system (pp. 637–677). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, M. J. (2001). Anuran communication. Washington, DC/London: Smithsonian Institution Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sazima, I., & Caramaschi, U. (1986). Descrição de Physalaemus deimaticus, sp. nv., e observações sobre o comportamento deimatico em P. nattereri (Steindn.) Anura, Leptodactylidae. Revista de Biologia, 13, 91–101.

    Google Scholar 

  • Searcy, W. A., & Nowicki, S. (2005). The evolution of animal communication. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Starnberger, I., Poth, D., Peram, P. S., Schulz, S., Vences, M., Knudsen, J., Barej, M. F., Rödel, M.-O.,Walzl, M., & Hödl, W. (2013). Take time to smell the frogs: Vocal sac glands of reed frogs (Anura: Hyperoliidae) contain species-specific chemical cocktails. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 110, 828–838.

    Google Scholar 

  • Starnberger, I., Preininger, D., & Hödl, W. (2014a). The anuran vocal sac: A tool for multimodal signalling. Animal Behaviour, 97, 281–288.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Starnberger, I., Preininger, D., & Hödl, W. (2014b). From uni- to multimodality: Towards an integrative view on anuran communication. Journal of Comparative Physiology. A, Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology, 200, 777–787.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stebbins, R. C., & Cohen, N. W. (1995). A natural history of amphibians. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, R. C., Klein, B. A., Stein, J., & Ryan, M. J. (2011). Multimodal signal variation in space and time: How important is matching a signal with its signaler? The Journal of Experimental Biology, 214, 815–820.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Toledo, L. F., Martins, I. A., Bruschi, D. P., Passos, M. A., Alexandre, C., & Haddad, C. F. B. (2015). The anuran calling repertoire in the light of social context. Acta Ethologica, 18, 87–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vallejos, J. G., Grafe, T. U., & Sah, H. H. A. (2017). Calling behavior of males and females of a Bornean frog with male parental care and possible sex-role reversal. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 71, 95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vences, M., Wahl-Boos, G., Hoegg, S., Glaw, F., Spinelli-Oliveira, E., Meyer, A., & Perry, S. (2007). Molecular systematics of mantelline frogs from Madagascar and the evolution of their femoral glands. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 92, 529–539.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitt, L. J., & Caldwell, J. P. (2013). Herpetology: An introductory biology of amphibians and reptiles (4th ed.). London: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wabnitz, P., Bowie, J. H., Tyler, M. J., Wallace, J. C., & Smith, B. (1999). Animal behaviour: Aquatic sex pheromone from a male tree frog. Nature, 401, 444–445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wells, K. D. (2007). The ecology and behavior of amphibians. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Willaert, B., Bossuyt, F., Janssenswillen, S., Adriaens, D., Baggerman, G., Matthijs, S., Pauwels, E., Proost, P., Raepsaet, A., Schoofs, L., Stegen, G., Treer, D., Hoorebeke, L. V., Vandebergh, W., & Bocxlaer, I. V. (2013). Frog nuptial pads secrete mating season-specific proteins related to salamander pheromones. The Journal of Experimental Biology, 216, 4139–4143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woodley, S. (2015). Chemosignals, hormones, and amphibian reproduction. Hormones and Behavior, 68, 3–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Vertebrados, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Manuella Folly

  2. Laboratório de Anfíbios e Répteis, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Fábio Hepp

Authors
  1. Manuella Folly
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Fábio Hepp
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manuella Folly .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University , Rochester, MI, USA

    Jennifer Vonk

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University Department of Psychology, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Khalil Iskarous

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Folly, M., Hepp, F. (2019). Salientia Communication. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1325-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1325-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation