Dissertation Research: Predator Assessment of Prey Cues

为了吸引配偶，雄性经常发出显眼的广告信号。一些例子包括许多雄鸟明亮而五颜六色的羽毛，以及雄蛙在夜间大声合唱。虽然这些信号可以有效地吸引雌性，但它们通常也会吸引捕食者。产生吸引人的广告信号的雄性可能会增加繁殖成功率；然而，这往往是以增加被捕食的风险为代价的。因此，一方面是性选择(以及更吸引人的交配信号的进化)，另一方面是自然选择(为了生存而需要对捕食者隐蔽)之间存在冲突。捕食者如何感知、处理和记忆猎物信号对猎物信号的进化至关重要。然而，对窃听猎物的捕食者的研究很少。新热带蝙蝠以青蛙为食，并利用青蛙交配的叫声来探测、定位和评估其猎物。仅凭青蛙的叫声，蝙蝠就能分辨出哪些青蛙是美味的，哪些是有毒的。在巴拿马的巴罗科罗拉多岛(BCI)工作，PI将调查这些窃听蝙蝠如何评估它们猎物的交配信号。该项目包括调查该地区所有青蛙物种发出的叫声的差异，以及食蛙蝙蝠是否以及如何感知和区分美味和有毒青蛙的叫声。实验将包括回放自然和合成的叫声，以确定蝙蝠用来识别美味猎物的叫声参数。该项目将对青蛙的交配叫声进行详细分析，并对选择交配信号和避免捕食之间的权衡进行评估。广泛的影响：该项目将为年轻人、少数民族和女性提供科学教育。来自巴拿马和德克萨斯大学的学生将担任研究助理，并将在实验设计、数据收集以及现场和实验室研究的其他方面进行指导。将向对蝙蝠生物学感兴趣的学校团体和教师进行几次外展演讲。

To attract mates, males often produce conspicuous advertisement signals. A few examples include the bright, colorful plumage of many male birds, and the loud night choruses of male frogs. While these signals can be effective in attracting females, they often attract predators as well. Males that produce attractive advertisement signals may have increased reproductive success; however, this often comes at the cost of increased risk of predation. Hence there is a conflict between sexual selection on the one hand (and the evolution of ever more attractive mating signals) and natural selection on the other (and the need to be inconspicuous to predators in order to survive). How a predator perceives, processes and remembers a prey signal can be critical to the evolution of prey signals. However, there has been little study of predators that eavesdrop on their prey. The neotropical bat feeds on frogs and uses frog mating calls to detect, localize, and assess its prey. On the basis of frog calls alone, bats can tell which frogs are palatable and which are poisonous. Working on Barro Colorado Island (BCI) in Panama, the PIs will investigate how these eavesdropping bats assess the mating signals of their prey. The project includes an investigation of the variance in calls produced by all frog species in the area and if and how frog-eating bats perceive and discriminate among calls of palatable and poisonous frogs. Experiments will involve playbacks of natural and synthesized calls to determine those call parameters bats use to identify palatable prey. The project will provide a detailed analysis of mating calls by frogs and an assessment of tradeoffs between selection for mating signals and avoiding predation.Broader Impacts: The project will provide education in science to youth, minorities, and women. Students from Panama and the University of Texas will serve as research assistants and will be mentored in experimental design, data collection, and other aspects of field and laboratory research. Several outreach presentations will be given to school groups and teachers interested in bat biology.