Female choice scores and Peak Frequency and Duration in calls from Wood frog chorus recordings

A limitation in bioacoustic studies has been the inability to differentiate individual sonic contributions from group-level dynamics. We present a novel application of acoustic-camera technology to investigate how individual wood frogs calls influence chorus properties, and how variation influences mating opportunities. We recorded mating calls and used playback trials to gauge preference for different chorus types in the laboratory. Males and females preferred chorus playbacks with low variance in dominant frequency. Females preferred choruses with low mean peak frequency. Field studies revealed more egg masses laid in ponds where males chorused with low variance in dominant frequency. We also noted a trend towards more egg masses laid in ponds where males called with low mean frequency. Nearest neighbor distances influenced call timing (neighbors called in succession) and distances increased with variance in chorus frequency. Results highlight the potential fitness implications of ind...生物声学研究长期存在的一项核心局限，在于无法区分个体的声学贡献与群体层面的动态变化。本研究创新性地将声学相机（acoustic-camera）技术应用于两项探究：一是个体林蛙的鸣叫如何影响鸣唱群的声学特征，二是声学特征的变异如何影响个体的交配机会。我们录制了林蛙的交配叫声，并在实验室中通过回放实验，评估受试个体对不同类型鸣唱群回放的偏好。研究显示，雄性与雌性个体均更偏好主频（dominant frequency）方差较低的鸣唱群回放；雌性个体则额外偏好平均峰值频率（peak frequency）较低的鸣唱群。野外调查发现，在雄性鸣唱主频方差较低的池塘中，产出的蛙卵团数量更多。我们同时观察到，在雄性平均鸣叫频率较低的池塘中，蛙卵团数量存在增多的趋势。个体间的最近邻距离（nearest neighbor distances）会影响鸣叫时序（相邻个体依次鸣叫），且鸣唱群频率的方差越大，个体间的最近邻距离也越大。本研究结果凸显了鸣唱特征变异对个体适合度潜在的影响……