DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Neighbor Recognition Between Territorial Bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana): The Behavioral Ecology of a Psychological Phenomenon

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In nature, animals recognize their neighbors. This research will examine the foundation of how psychological mechanisms of recognition play a role in this widespread phenomenon. Territorial male bullfrogs recognize their nearby neighbors by the distinctive properties of their acoustic communication signals, or songs. Three acoustic playback experiments will address four unanswered questions about neighbor recognition: 1) Does the perceived fighting ability of new neighbor's affect the establishment of new territorial borders? 2) What is the relative importance of locational and acoustic cues in mediating recognition of neighbors? 3) How important are physical interactions during the establishment of territorial borders? 4) What is the role of memory in recognizing a neighbor?The experiments will extend previous investigations to more focused and interesting questions about the psychological mechanisms of recognition, providing an opportunity to gain deeper insight into the operation of these mechanisms in nature. The results will provide a foundation for future studies examining the precise nature of the learning experience involved in neighbor recognition. Because much is known about the processing of acoustic signals by the frog nervous system, the behavioral experiments in this proposal can form the basis for future neurophysiological investigations of neighbor recognition. This proposal continues a recent and important trend toward integrating behavioral, ecological and psychological approaches in the study of animal behavior.