DECIPHERING TEMPERATURE-DEPENDENT ACOUSTIC SIGNALLING IN AMPHIBIANS: AN INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL INFLUENCES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69980/2488ff17Keywords:
amphibian bioacoustics, advertisement calls, water temperature, reproductive behaviour, acoustic signallingAbstract
It is acoustic communication that is being used as a critical reproductive tool in the attraction and recognition of mates, and in the coordination of reproduction in amphibians. While temperature effects on the advertisement call characteristics of ectotherms have been shown to affect their vocal behavior the relative importance of environmental and physiological factors is poorly known. This study assessed the effects of water temperature and physiological condition on average call duration and weighted average call rate while also examining interannual variation. A quantitative observational design was applied to 42 observations from 23 Sierran chorus frogs. Descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation, Mann–Whitney U tests, variance inflation factors, and multiple linear regression were performed, with HC3 robust standard errors applied to account for heteroscedasticity. Water temperature was strongly negatively correlated with average call duration (ρ = −0.940, p < 0.001) and positively correlated with weighted average call rate (ρ = 0.859, p < 0.001). Regression analysis showed that each 1°C increase in temperature reduced average call duration by 0.0155 s and increased weighted average call rate by 0.0519 units. Temperature was the only significant predictor in both models, explaining 88.2% and 74.6% of the variance, respectively, whereas frog condition and study year showed no significant effects. These findings demonstrate that amphibian acoustic signalling is strongly temperature dependent, with warmer conditions producing shorter and more frequent advertisement calls. Integrating thermal recordings within bioacoustic monitoring can enhance the understanding of reproductive behavior and bolster ecological monitoring in a dynamic environment.
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