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Sound pressure levels and radiation patterns of the vocalizations of some North American frogs and toads

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Summary

Sound pressure levels of the vocalizations of 21 species of North American anurans were measured in the field. In most species the peak levels at 50 cm in front of the male exceeded 100 dBre 2×10−4 μbar (Table 2). The sound pressure levels of the calls of most individuals varied by less than 2.5 dB, but intraspecific variation was significantly higher, averaging about 8.5 dB (Tables 1, 2). Sound pressure levels of mating calls were positively correlated with body size in the toad,Bufo americanus (Fig. 2); however, interspecific differences in sound pressure levels were not clearly related to interspecific differences in body size. Measurements of directivity patterns indicated that sound fields around three males ofHyla crucifer were uniform, whereas two males ofH. chrysoscelis represented directional sound sources (Table 3).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA

    H. Carl Gerhardt

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  1. H. Carl Gerhardt
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I am grateful to R. Capranica, B. Martof, A. Niemoeller, W. Sherman, J. Simmons and an anonymous reviewer for their comments and criticisms of the manuscript, but I assume responsibility for all errors. I thank R. Daniel, J. Burger, J. Unger, S. Simon and R. Bodenhamer for assistance in the field. This work was supported by the Research Council of the University of Missouri and NSF GB-41209.

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Gerhardt, H.C. Sound pressure levels and radiation patterns of the vocalizations of some North American frogs and toads. J. Comp. Physiol. 102, 1–12 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00657481

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00657481

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