Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Vocal competition in male Xenopus laevis frogs

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Male Xenopus laevis frogs produce underwater advertisement calls that attract gravid females and suppress calling by male competitors. Here we explore whether groups of males establish vocal ranks and whether auditory cues alone suffice for vocal suppression. Tests of male–male pairs within assigned groups reveal linear vocal dominance relations, in which each male has a defined rank. Both the duration over which males interact, as well as the number of competitive opportunities, affect linearity. Linear dominance across the group is stable for about 2 weeks; rank is dynamic. Males engage in physical interactions (clasping) while paired but clasping and vocal rank are not correlated. Playbacks of advertisement calls suppress calling and calls from high- and low-ranking males are equally effective. Thus, auditory cues alone suffice to suppress vocal behavior. Playback intensities equivalent to a nearby male advertising effectively suppress calling while low-intensity playbacks are either ineffective or stimulate vocal behavior. X. laevis advertisement calls are biphasic, composed of alternating fast and slow click trills. Approximately half the males tested are more vocally suppressed by all slow than by all fast trills; thus, these males can distinguish between the two phases. The fully aquatic family Pipidae diverged from terrestrial ancestors approximately 170 mya. Vocal suppression in the X. laevis mating system may represent the translation of an ancient anuran social strategy to underwater life.

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

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+
from $39.99 /Month
  • Starting from 10 chapters or articles per month
  • Access and download chapters and articles from more than 300k books and 2,500 journals
  • Cancel anytime
View plans

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles and news from researchers in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.

References

  • Alcock J (1979) Animal Behavior, 2nd edn. Sinauer Associates, Inc, Sunderland

    Google Scholar 

  • Aubin T, Jouventin P (2002) How to vocally identify kin in a crowd: the penguin model. Adv Study Behav 31(31):243–277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bee MA, Gerhardt HC (2002) Individual voice recognition in a territorial frog (Rana catesbeiana). Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences Series B 269:1443–1448

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benedix JHJ, Narins PM (1999) Competitive calling behavior by male treefrogs, Eleutherodactylus coqui (Anura: Leptodactylidae). Copeia 1999:1118–1122

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bosch J, Marquez R (1996) Acoustic competition in male midwife toads Alytes obstetricans and Alytes cisternasii: response to neighbor size and calling rate. implications for female choice. Ethology 102:841–855

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradbury JW, Vehrencamp SL (1998) Principles of animal communication. Sinauer Associates, Inc, Sundlerland

    Google Scholar 

  • Chase ID, Tovey C, Murch P (2003) Two's company, three's a crowd: differences in dominance relationships in isolated versus socially embedded pairs of fish. Behaviour 140:1193–1217

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark FM, Faulkes CG (1997) Dominance and queen succession in captive colonies of the eusocial naked mole rat, Heterocephalus glaber. Proc R Soc Lond 264:993–1000

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark FM, Faulkes CG (1998) Hormonal and behavioral correlates of male dominance and reproductive status in captive colonies of the naked mole-rat, Heterocephalus glaber. Proc R Soc Lond 265:1391–1399

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Czoty PW, Gould RW, Nader MA (2009) Relationship between social rank and cortisol and testosterone concentraions in male Cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis). J Neuroendocrinol 21:68–76

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • de Vries H, Netto WJ, Hanegraaf PLH (1993) Matman: a program for the analysis of sociometric matrices and behavioural transition matrices. Behaviour 125:157–175

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Vries H (1998) Finding a dominance order most consistent with a linear hierarchy: a new procedure and review. Anim Behav 55:827–843

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Elepfandt A (1996) Underwater acoustics and hearing in the clawed frog, Xenopus. In: Tinsley RC, Kobel HR (eds) The biology of Xenopus. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 177–191

    Google Scholar 

  • Fellers GM (1979) Mate selection in the Gray Treefrog, Hyla versicolor. Copeia 1979:286–290

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frank LG (1986) Social organization of the spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta). I. Demography. Anim Behav 34:1500–1509

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gatz AJ (1981) Size selective mating in Hyla versicolor and Hyla crucifer. J Herpetol 15:114–116

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerhardt HC, Tanner SD, Corrigan CM, Walton HC (2000) Female preference functions based on call duration in the gray treefrog (Hyla versicolor). Behav Ecol 11:663–669

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerhardt HC, Huber F (2002) Acoustic communication in Insects and Anurans. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Given MF (1987) Vocalizations and acoustic interactions of the carpenter frog, Rana virgatipes. Herpetologica 43:467–481

    Google Scholar 

  • Given MF (2009) Frequency alteration of the advertisement call in the carpenter frog, Rana virgatipes. Herpetologica 3:304

    Google Scholar 

  • Grafe TU (2003) Synchronized interdigitated calling in the Kuvangu running frog, Kassina kuvangensis. Anim Behav 66:127–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham ME, Herberholz J (2009) Stability of dominance relationships in crayfish depends on social context. Anim Behav 77:195–199

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrison PA, Littlejohn MJ (1985) Diphasy in the advertisement calls of Geocrinia laevis (Anura, Leptodactylidae)—vocal responses of males during field playback experiments. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 18:67–73

    Google Scholar 

  • Jehle R, Arak A (1998) Graded call variation in the Asian cricket frog Rana nicrobariensis. Bioacoustics 9:35–48

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalk M (1960) Climate and breeding in Xenopus laevis. S Afr J Med Sci 11:271–276

    Google Scholar 

  • Korzan WJ, Hoglund E, Wyatt MJ, Forster GL, Oyvind O, Lukkes J, Summers CH (2007) Memory of opponents is more potent than visual sign stimuli after social hierarchy has been established. Behav Brain Res 183:31–42

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Landau HG (1951) On dominance relations and the structure of animal societies: I. Effect of inherent characteristics. Bull Math Biophys 13:1–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Littlejohn MJ, Harrison PA (1985) The functional significance of the diphasic advertisement call of Geocrinia victoriana (Anura, Leptodactylidae). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 16:363–373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lopez PT, Narins PM, Lewis ER, Moore SW (1988) Acoustically induced call modification in the White-Lipped Frog, Leptodactylus albilabris. Anim Behav 36:1295–1308

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marguez R, Pargan JM, Crespo EG (2001) Acoustic competition in male Pelodytes ibericus (Anura: Pelodytidae): interactive playback tests. Copeia 4:1142–1150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin AL, Moore PA (2007) Field observations of agonism in the Crayfish, Orconectes rusticuls: shelter use in a natural environment. Ethology 113:1192–1201

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore PA, Bergman DA (2005) The smell of success and failure: the role of intrinsic and extrinsic chemical signals on the social behavior of crayfish. Integrative and Comparative Biology 45:650–657

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Narins PM, Capranica RR (1976) Sexual differences in auditory system of Tree Frog Eleutherodactylus coqui. Science 192:378–380

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Narins PM, Hodl W, Grabul DS (2003) Bimodal signal requisite for agonistic behavior in a dart-poison frog, Epipedobates femoralis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 100:577–580

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Perrill SA, Magier M (1988) Male mating behavior in Acris crepitans. Copeia 1988:245–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Picker MD (1983) Hormonal induction of the aquatic phonotactic response of Xenopus. Behaviour 84:74–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rose GJ, Brenowitz EA (1997) Plasticity of aggressive thresholds in Hyla regilla: discrete accommodation to encounter calls. Anim Behav 53:353–361

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz JJ, Buchanan B, Gerhardt HC (2002) Acoustic interactions among male gray treefrogs (Hyla versicolor) in a chorus setting. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 53:9–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz JJ (1987) The function of call alternation in anuran amphibians: a test of three hypotheses. Evolution 41:461–471

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz JJ, Wells KD (1984) Interspecific acoustic interactions of the neotropical Treefrog Hyla ebraccata. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 14:211–224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan BK, Leek MR (1986) Acoustic communication in Woodhouses Toad (Bufo woodhousei).1. Response of calling males to variation in spectral and temporal components of advertisement calls. Behaviour 98:305–319

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tobias ML, Barnard C, O'Hagan R, Horng SH, Rand M, Kelley DB (2004) Vocal communication between male Xenopus laevis. Anim Behav 67:353–365

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tobias ML, Viswanathan SS, Kelley DB (1998) Rapping, a female receptive call, initiate male–female duets in the South African clawed frog. Proc Natl Acad Sci 95:1870–1875

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wagner WE (1989a) Social correlates of variation in male calling behavior in Blanchards Cricket Frog, Acris crepitans blanchardi. Ethology 82:27–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagner WEJ (1989b) Graded aggressive signals to Blanchard's cricket frog vocal responses to opponent proximity and size. Anim Behav 38:1025–1038

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wells KD, Schwartz JJ (2007) The behavioral ecology of anuran communication. In: Popper AN, Fay RR (eds) Springer handbook of auditory research. Springer, Philadelphia, pp 44–86

    Google Scholar 

  • Wells KD, Taigen TL (1986) The effect of social interactions on calling energetics in the Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 19:9–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wetzel DM, Kelley DB (1983) Androgen and gonadotropin effects on male mate calls in South-African Clawed Frogs, Xenopus laevis. Horm Behav 17:388–404

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yoshida S, Okanoya K (2009) Naked mole-rat is sensitive to social hierarchy encoded in antiphonal vocalization. Ethology 115:823–831

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research adhered to the legal requirements of the USA and all institutional guidelines. Columbia University IACUC approved protocol #:AAAA5759. This research was supported by NIH NS23684 to DBK. We are grateful to Frances Champagne for statistics advice.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA

    Martha L. Tobias, Anna Corke, David Yin & Darcy B. Kelley

  2. Department of Psychology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, 05753, USA

    Jeremy Korsh

Authors
  1. Martha L. Tobias
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Anna Corke
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jeremy Korsh
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. David Yin
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Darcy B. Kelley
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martha L. Tobias.

Additional information

Communicated by J. Christensen-Dalsgaard

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Tobias, M.L., Corke, A., Korsh, J. et al. Vocal competition in male Xenopus laevis frogs. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 64, 1791–1803 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-010-0991-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-010-0991-3

Keywords