Basic Mechanisms and Evolution of Acoustic Communication

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Research will be conducted to elucidate basic mechanisms and evolution of acoustic communication, using treefrogs as a model system. These animals produce stereotyped vocalizations and respond selectively to playbacks of synthetic signals that contain features that carry information about the species and quality of a potential mate. The goals of this project are: (1) to quantify the degree of selectivity of female treefrogs in the presence and in the absence of a closely-related species with similar calls; (2) to determine the extent to which females avoid a nearby sound source that emits calls of another species in order to reach a distant source of attractive calls of the same species; and (3) to determine if artificially-induced changes in chromosome number affect key features of the calls of males and the selectivity of females for those key features. The last study is aimed at learning if the natural difference in chromosome number in two species of gray treefrogs is responsible, at least in part, for differences in their communication systems. The acoustic communication of treefrogs is easier to study than that of many other kinds of animals, but the general principles that emerge from Dr. Gerhardt's research will contribute to growing scientific understanding of communication systems and how they work in reproduction and survival of a wide range of diverse species. Such understanding is valuable for control of pest species as well as for protection of endangered or economically valuable species.