Acoustic communication is the most important form of communication in anuran amphibians. To understand the acoustic characteristics of male Babina adenopleura, we recorded advertisement calls and analyzed their acoust...Acoustic communication is the most important form of communication in anuran amphibians. To understand the acoustic characteristics of male Babina adenopleura, we recorded advertisement calls and analyzed their acoustic parameters during the breeding season. Male B. adenopleura produced calls with a variable number of notes（1–5）, and each note contained harmonics. Although 6% of call notes did not exhibit frequency modulation（FM）, two call note FM patterns were observed：（1） upward FM;（2） upward–downward FM. With the exception of 1- and 5- note calls, the duration of successive notes decreased monotonically. With the exception of 1 note calls, the fundamental frequency of the first note was lowest, then increased; the greatest change in the fundamental frequency was always between notes 1 and 2. The dominant frequency varied between calls. For example for the first call note the dominant frequency occurred in some cases in the first harmonic（located in the 605.320 ± 64.533 Hz frequency band）, the second harmonic（918 ± 9 Hz band）, the fourth harmonic（1712 ± 333 Hz band）, the sixth harmonic（the 2165 ± 152 Hz band）, the seventh harmonic（the 2269 ± 140 Hz band）, the eighth harmonic（the 2466 ± 15 Hz band） or the ninth harmonic（the 2636 ± 21 Hz band）. Although male B. adenopleura advertisement calls have a distinctive structure, they have similar characteristics to the calls of the music frog, B. daunchina.展开更多
Anurans often have species-specific vocalizations. To quantify and compare the characteristics of anuran calls in Gutianshan National Nature Reserve, Zhejiang Province, we recorded the advertisement calls of eight spe...Anurans often have species-specific vocalizations. To quantify and compare the characteristics of anuran calls in Gutianshan National Nature Reserve, Zhejiang Province, we recorded the advertisement calls of eight species belonging to four families （Ranidae, Microhylidae, Megophryidae and Bufonidae） from June to September 2012 using Sony ICD-FX8 IC recorders. All recordings were analyzed using the ＂Praat＂ software. Five acoustics parameters were measured, including temporal traits （call duration, number of notes or pulse number/call） and spectral traits （fundamental frequency, the first three formants and dominant frequency）. The characteristic parameters of Microhyla ornate and Fejervarya limnocharis calls were different as were the calls of some populations of the same species recorded in different regions. The advertisement calls of the eight species were specific. Our study has provided a useful reference for identifying the calls of some common Chinese anurans.展开更多
Brain systems engage in what are generally considered to be among the most complex forms of information processing. In the present study, we investigated the functional complexity of anuran auditory processing using t...Brain systems engage in what are generally considered to be among the most complex forms of information processing. In the present study, we investigated the functional complexity of anuran auditory processing using the approximate entropy（Ap En） protocol for electroencephalogram（EEG） recordings from the forebrain and midbrain while male and female music frogs（Babina daunchina） listened to acoustic stimuli whose biological significance varied. The stimuli used were synthesized white noise（reflecting a novel signal）, conspecific male advertisement calls with either high or low sexual attractiveness（reflecting sexual selection） and silence（reflecting a baseline）. The results showed that 1） Ap En evoked by conspecific calls exceeded Ap En evoked by synthesized white noise in the left mesencephalon indicating this structure plays a critical role in processing acoustic signals with biological significance; 2） Ap En in the mesencephalon was significantly higher than for the telencephalon, consistent with the fact that the anuran midbrain contains a large well-organized auditory nucleus（torus semicircularis） while the forebrain does not; 3） for females Ap En in the mesencephalon was significantly different than that of males, suggesting that males and females process biological stimuli related to mate choice differently.展开更多
基金financially supported by the National Science and Technology Project (2008BAC39B02–11)the National Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program (201310351015)the Zhejiang Province "Xinmiao" Project (2012R 424021)
文摘Acoustic communication is the most important form of communication in anuran amphibians. To understand the acoustic characteristics of male Babina adenopleura, we recorded advertisement calls and analyzed their acoustic parameters during the breeding season. Male B. adenopleura produced calls with a variable number of notes（1–5）, and each note contained harmonics. Although 6% of call notes did not exhibit frequency modulation（FM）, two call note FM patterns were observed：（1） upward FM;（2） upward–downward FM. With the exception of 1- and 5- note calls, the duration of successive notes decreased monotonically. With the exception of 1 note calls, the fundamental frequency of the first note was lowest, then increased; the greatest change in the fundamental frequency was always between notes 1 and 2. The dominant frequency varied between calls. For example for the first call note the dominant frequency occurred in some cases in the first harmonic（located in the 605.320 ± 64.533 Hz frequency band）, the second harmonic（918 ± 9 Hz band）, the fourth harmonic（1712 ± 333 Hz band）, the sixth harmonic（the 2165 ± 152 Hz band）, the seventh harmonic（the 2269 ± 140 Hz band）, the eighth harmonic（the 2466 ± 15 Hz band） or the ninth harmonic（the 2636 ± 21 Hz band）. Although male B. adenopleura advertisement calls have a distinctive structure, they have similar characteristics to the calls of the music frog, B. daunchina.
基金This study was financially supported by the National Science and Technology Project （2008BAC39B02-11）, the National Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program and the Zhejiang Province ＂Xinmiao＂ Project （2012R 424021 ）. Acknowledgements： We would like to thank Dr. Ron Moorhouse for revising the English. We would also especially like to thank two anonymous reviewers for correcting some of the English expressions and giving suggestions for improving this manuscript.
文摘Anurans often have species-specific vocalizations. To quantify and compare the characteristics of anuran calls in Gutianshan National Nature Reserve, Zhejiang Province, we recorded the advertisement calls of eight species belonging to four families （Ranidae, Microhylidae, Megophryidae and Bufonidae） from June to September 2012 using Sony ICD-FX8 IC recorders. All recordings were analyzed using the ＂Praat＂ software. Five acoustics parameters were measured, including temporal traits （call duration, number of notes or pulse number/call） and spectral traits （fundamental frequency, the first three formants and dominant frequency）. The characteristic parameters of Microhyla ornate and Fejervarya limnocharis calls were different as were the calls of some populations of the same species recorded in different regions. The advertisement calls of the eight species were specific. Our study has provided a useful reference for identifying the calls of some common Chinese anurans.
基金supported by the grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31372217 and No. 31672305) to Guangzhan Fang
文摘Brain systems engage in what are generally considered to be among the most complex forms of information processing. In the present study, we investigated the functional complexity of anuran auditory processing using the approximate entropy（Ap En） protocol for electroencephalogram（EEG） recordings from the forebrain and midbrain while male and female music frogs（Babina daunchina） listened to acoustic stimuli whose biological significance varied. The stimuli used were synthesized white noise（reflecting a novel signal）, conspecific male advertisement calls with either high or low sexual attractiveness（reflecting sexual selection） and silence（reflecting a baseline）. The results showed that 1） Ap En evoked by conspecific calls exceeded Ap En evoked by synthesized white noise in the left mesencephalon indicating this structure plays a critical role in processing acoustic signals with biological significance; 2） Ap En in the mesencephalon was significantly higher than for the telencephalon, consistent with the fact that the anuran midbrain contains a large well-organized auditory nucleus（torus semicircularis） while the forebrain does not; 3） for females Ap En in the mesencephalon was significantly different than that of males, suggesting that males and females process biological stimuli related to mate choice differently.
