Frog call intensities and sound propagation in the South American temperate forest region

Abstract

Sound pressure levels and the spectral structure of the advertisement calls of five species of frogs from the South American temperate austral forest were analyzed. Males of Eupsophus emiliopugini, Batrachyla antartandica and B. leptopus call from the ground in bogs, while males of Hylorina sylvatica and Pleurodema thaul call from the water surface in marshes. Calling males of the species from bogs and marshes spaced at average distances that were shorter and longer than 2 m, respectively. The properties of these habitats for sound propagation were evaluated by broadcasting pure tones, broadband noise and tape-recorded advertisement calls of the three species from bogs and of H. sylvatica. Excess attenuation and spectral degradation were higher for calls broadcast in bogs than in the marsh. The calls of B.␣antartandica and B. leptopus, with dominant frequencies of about 2 kHz, were more affected than those of E.␣emiliopugini and H. sylvatica, with dominant frequencies below 1.5 kHz. These results show the lack of an optimal relationship between properties of habitats for sound transmission and the spectral structure of these anuran calls. Body size imposes an important constraint on call spectra and propagation, which frogs counteract by distribution patterns and auditory capabilities.