Dissertation Research: Chorus Complexity and Communication: The Consequences of Breeding in a Multi-Species Environment for Signaler and Receiver Behavior in Gray Treefrogs

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This research focuses on how the complex chorus environment influences communication in two closely related species of gray treefrogs. Specific objectives are to determine if there are differences between the species in the frequency with which receivers (females) commit errors under less than ideal communication conditions, and to investigate whether male signaling strategies differ between the species in ways predictable by receiver behavior. These objectives will be addressed by (1) monitoring calling behavior of males and mate choice by females in natural and artificial choruses, (2) exposing females to multiple synthetic call sources presented to mimic chorus complexity, and (3) investigating male signaling interactions with artificial signals varied to represent differing social conditions. How the signals of animals are designed to transfer information to receivers has been of interest to investigators of behavior for some time, but environmental influences on uncertainty in communication have often been ignored. To understand how a communication system may have been evolved, it is necessary to determine how signalers and receivers interact under realistic conditions. Because of their readily observable and stereotyped communication behavior, frogs are ideal for investigating interactions between signalers, receivers and the environment.