Question

Question 19 Not yet answered Marked out of 10.00 Flag question In Panama, male Tungara frogs call females to ponds using a two-part mating vocalization that goes something like "Beeeewww-Chuck”, in which the "Beeeewww" part is a high pitched whine and the "chuck" part is a low-frequency call that is is deeper in larger frogs. Once females arrive at a pond, males fight each other for access to females, and often threaten each other by swallowing air to make their bodies appear bigger. As a result, the pond is often filled with puffed- up males giving their Beeeeww-Chuck calls and pushing each other around. If females are interested in large males with good genes for the local environment, what cue should they use to assess male quality in choosing a mate, and why?

Answer 1

Females prefer low frequency chucks to higher ones and smaller the size of eggs more gets fertilized. females tends to be larger than males so higher rate of fertilization occurs. when females choose males with low frequency chucks they are choosing mates that offer them reproductive advantage.

Closer the male chuck is to tuning of basilar papila, greater the neural excitation of female. Thus on a mechanistic level, slight mismatch bewteen tuning of inner ear organ and dominant frequency of the chuck says about female preffering males with low frequency chucks.

Female frogs attend to sensory cues. The inflated vocal sac is a conspicous signal and can be detected by these females in low light levels. calls that are ususally accompanied by these inflated vocal sac are more attractive to females than without avisual stimulus. In some studies its shown that female frogs had a greater ability to inhibit incorrect responses and leading to an improved learning. These frogs uses visual cues to remember locations in spaces. Males uses egocentric cues instead.