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

本研究的重点是复杂的合唱环境如何影响两种近缘关系密切的灰树蛙的交流。具体目标是确定不同物种之间接收者(雌性)在不太理想的交流条件下犯错误的频率是否存在差异，并调查男性信号策略是否在接收者行为可预测的方式上在物种之间存在差异。这些目标将通过(1)监测自然合唱和人工合唱中男性的叫声行为和女性的配偶选择，(2)让女性接触到模拟合唱复杂性的多个合成呼叫源，以及(3)调查男性信号与代表不同社会条件的人工信号的相互作用。动物的信号是如何被设计成将信息传递给接受者的，行为研究人员已经对此感兴趣一段时间了，但环境对交流中不确定性的影响往往被忽视。为了了解通信系统可能是如何演变的，有必要确定信令者和接收者在现实条件下如何相互作用。由于其易于观察和刻板的交流行为，青蛙是研究信号者、接受者和环境之间相互作用的理想对象。

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.