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The effect of perceived intruder proximity and resident body size on the aggressive responses of male green frogs, Rana clamitans (Anura: Ranidae)

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Abstract

We examined variation in aggressive responses within and among individuals in the green frog, Rana clamitans. We tested the hypothesis that resident males respond in a graded fashion to changes in perceived intruder proximity (stimulus intensity). We also investigated how response level varied with responder body size. We found that green frogs differentially alter aggressive responses (increasing movement and calling rates while decreasing the duration and dominant frequency of their calls) with an increase in stimulus intensity. Body size did not appear to be a significant influence on most response levels. We suggest that aggressive responses are graded, and advertisement and aggressive calls represent opposite ends of a continuum. Green frogs do not exhibit clearly defined thresholds for responses like those reported for some other frogs. By using graded responses rather than discrete “all-or-nothing” responses, males may reduce the potential costs of aggressive encounters.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the town of Brooklyn, CT, for access to the study site and C. Smith for assistance in the field. We would also like to thank K. Wells, K. Schwenk, E. Adams, M. Bee, J. Christensen-Dalsgaard, and two anonymous reviewers for criticism and comments on this manuscript. L. LaPlante, E. Schultz, and J. Glaz provided additional advice on statistical methods. Financial support for this work was provided by the Ralph M. Wetzel Fund for Vertebrate Biology and a University of Connecticut Graduate School research fellowship to P. Owen. This study complied with the laws of the United States and adhered to the Guidelines for the Treatment of Animals in Behavioral Research and Teaching of the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour/Animal Behavior Society and the Guidelines for Use of Live Amphibians and Reptiles in Field and Laboratory Research of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, 75 N. Eagleville Rd. Storrs, CT, 06269-3043, USA

    Patrick C. Owen & Noah M. Gordon

  2. Present Address: Biology Department, The Ohio State University at Lima, 4240 Campus Dr. Lima, OH, 45804, USA

    Patrick C. Owen

  3. Division of Biological Sciences, 213 Tucker Hall University of Missouri Columbia, MO, 65211, USA

    Noah M. Gordon

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  1. Patrick C. Owen
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Correspondence to Patrick C. Owen.

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Communicated by J. Christensen-Dalsgaard

Appendix

Appendix

Table A Responses for each individual ordered according to stimulus intensity for variables with significant linear changes. Means and standard deviations (SD) are displayed
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Owen, P.C., Gordon, N.M. The effect of perceived intruder proximity and resident body size on the aggressive responses of male green frogs, Rana clamitans (Anura: Ranidae). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 58, 446–455 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-005-0961-3

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