The importance of spectral and temporal properties in species and call recognition in a neotropical treefrog with a complex vocal repertoire

Abstract

Hyla microcephala males use both single and multi-note advertisement and aggressive calls. Aggressive call introductory notes are more variable and have higher pulse repetition rates than those of advertisement calls. In two-choice experiments, female H. microcephala preferred synthetic conspecific advertisement calls to synthetic calls with pulse repetition rates characteristic of H. ebraccata and H. phlebodes advertisement calls and conspecific aggressive calls. Additional experiments indicated that spectral cues are also sufficient for species discrimination, but temporal information may be more important. Secondary notes of both advertisement and aggressive calls have pulse repetition rates similar to primary notes of advertisement calls. During vocal interactions, males add secondary notes to both advertisement and aggressive calls, and females preferred such complex calls to single-note calls. Hence, males can continue to give calls which will attract females even during aggressive interactions.