Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology最新文献

{"title":"Spatial and spectrotemporal features of noise alter female responses to costly male signals in Cope's gray treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis).","authors":"Jessica L Ward, Norman Lee, Lata Kalra, Mark A Bee","doi":"10.1007/s00359-026-01812-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-026-01812-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In anuran choruses, where many males call simultaneously, females must identify attractive conspecific signals amid high levels of background noise. We tested whether spatial separation between signals and noise (spatial release from masking, SRM) and spectrotemporally correlated amplitude fluctuations in noise (comodulation masking release, CMR) influence mate choice behavior and help females maintain preferences for energetically costly calls under noisy conditions. Using two-alternative phonotaxis tests with Cope's gray treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis), we measured response probability, the calling effort of chosen males, and response latency in the absence of noise and in six noise treatments that factorially varied the location of the noise and its amplitude modulation pattern. Signals and noise were either colocated or spatially separated, and noise envelopes either lacked modulations (unmodulated) or had modulations that were correlated (i.e., comodulated) or uncorrelated across the frequency spectrum. Females responded in nearly all trials, but selected stimuli with lower calling effort and took longer to choose in the presence of noise. Responses rates were lowest and latencies longest when noise was unmodulated and colocated with signals. Spatially separating noise from signals improved performance across all measures. Introducing amplitude modulations generally yielded higher response rates and shorter latencies, but the impacts of modulation on stimulus selection were more varied, and there was limited evidence that comodulation improved performance. These findings indicate that spatial and spectrotemporal features of noise impact female responses to costly male signals and highlight perceptual mechanisms that may shape the evolution of communication in acoustically complex social environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"793-807"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13642462/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148058370","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correction: Neural correlates of spatial orientation in a territorial frog Allobates femoralis.","authors":"Andrius Pašukonis, Eva K Fischer, Lauren A O'Connell","doi":"10.1007/s00359-026-01849-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-026-01849-7","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"1023-1024"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13642468/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149066112","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Echolocating free-tailed bats use vision and hearing but not magnetoreception when navigating a maze.","authors":"Katherine Lemus, Rachel Meyers, Samuel Ellis, Eugenia Belova, Samantha Nichols, Trinity Reagan, Connor Hastcoat, Cara Webster, Michael Smotherman","doi":"10.1007/s00359-026-01813-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-026-01813-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Insectivorous bats navigate mainly by echolocation, but may also use visual, olfactory, and magnetic cues when travelling long distances. Parsing the relative contributions of different senses for navigation is difficult in wild bats. In the lab, spatial navigation in rodents is often studied using different maze assays, including the widely employed multiple T-mazes. Here, we trained crawling Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) to navigate a multiple T-maze within an artificial magnetic field and then manipulated the sensory environment to quantify the relative importance of vision, hearing and magnetic field cues on their navigation performance. We predicted that in addition to echolocation, visual and geomagnetic sensory cues might provide significant contributions to bat navigation performance. We hypothesized that (1) randomly reversing the polarity of the magnetic field, (2) changing color or removing light from the arena, or (3) presenting an acoustic jamming stimulus would increase mean maze travel times. Results showed that reversing the magnetic field had no significant impact on maze travel times under any conditions. However, in total darkness, mean travel times increased by 75% relative to both broad spectrum white light and red light. Travel times under red light were longer but not significantly different from white light. Playing an acoustic jamming stimulus mimicking the pulses of other bats significantly increased mean travel times by ~ 50%. These results show that insectivorous bats supplement biosonar with visual cues during navigation, but we found no evidence of a contribution from magnetoreception.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"985-993"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147823602","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Directionality of midbrain auditory neuronal responses in two frogs that communicate with calls of different temporal and spectral structure.","authors":"Mario Penna, José Bravo, Andrea Cuéllar, Valentina Rojas","doi":"10.1007/s00359-026-01824-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-026-01824-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Studies in ranid frogs have shown clear patterns of responses to sound direction in midbrain auditory neurons, in consonance with the ability of males and females to locate sound sources. To explore the diversity and extent of such neuronal mechanisms, we recorded directional single-unit responses of torus semicircularis auditory neurons in the leptodactylid frogs Pleurodema thaul and Eupsophus calcaratus which produce amplitude modulated and tonal advertisement calls, respectively. In both species the largest proportion of neurons respond preferentially to contralateral sound source locations. Directionality proportions were calculated from differences in spike counts produced by individual neurons to stimuli broadcast from different azimuth angles. E. calcaratus, but not P. thaul, gives higher directional responses to stimuli built with noise carrier relative to stimuli built with tone carrier. In addition, E. calcaratus gives higher directional responses to tonal and noise stimuli relative to P. thaul, however no difference in directionality occur in response to stimuli designed after the conspecific advertisement calls. The larger directionality of responses of E. calcaratus to noisy relative to tonal stimuli aligns with a general ability of vertebrates to localize better sounds containing broad spectra. The larger directionality of neuronal responses of E. calcaratus relative to P. thaul could relate to the sharper contrast between the noisy stimuli and the tonal structure of the advertisement call of this frog. These results expand the knowledge on neuronal sound localization ability of frogs, as studies on this issue had so far been restricted to a few ranid species.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"887-900"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148537695","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Do running frogs (Kassina fusca) exhibit hyperextended variation in the sound pressure level of advertisement calls?","authors":"T Ulmar Grafe","doi":"10.1007/s00359-026-01827-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-026-01827-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Acoustic distance estimation in vocal species is fundamental for effective decision-making for territory defense, mate attraction, and eavesdropping predators and parasites. The most straightforward distance cue is sound pressure level. However, variation in sound pressure level within individuals is not well documented, even less the call-by-call variation that may occur within individuals, even though modulation of call amplitude will promote responses to fluctuating ecological contexts and challenges. In this study, I report on the variable and unpredictable pattern of sound pressure levels in the advertisement calls of individual running frogs, Kassina fusca. The sound pressure levels of all advertisement calls within a single calling bout were recorded for nine males. Median peak SPL between males varied between 89.5 and 98.4 dB and showed highly significant differences between males. Furthermore, the maximum change in SPL between successive calls of a male ranged between 1.7 and 12.7 dB. Run charts of each male indicated random patterns of variation in SPL's during the recorded call bout. The results of this study are best explained as a mechanism to interfere with accurate distance estimation, either by competitors, parasites, or predators.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"845-853"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148632973","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Testosterone and estradiol predict male calling performance, but not performance-related tradeoffs, in competitive signaling environments in Cope's gray treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis).","authors":"Alexander T Baugh, Megan K Freiler, Liam N Halstead, Alexandra Kozak, Mark A Bee","doi":"10.1007/s00359-026-01807-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-026-01807-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Acoustic signals in anurans are classic models for understanding how endocrine mechanisms regulate courtship behavior. However, our understanding of how steroids influence male calling performance remains limited because most studies examine single hormones or isolated call traits. Here we quantified three plasma steroids-testosterone (T), estradiol (E₂), and corticosterone (CORT)-from male Cope's gray treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis) recorded in natural male-male calling pairs, relating these concentrations to multiple calling components including call rate, duration, and effort. We used principal components analysis to describe a male's overall calling performance and his calling strategy, defined here as a male's allocation along the tradeoff between producing longer calls versus faster call rates at similar overall effort. We analyzed these relationships at the population level and within male pairs using multiple regressions including all three hormones as predictors. At the population level, T and E₂ positively correlated with calling performance, whereas calling strategy was unrelated to hormones. Within male pairs, differences in T also positively correlated with differences in calling performance. Despite their positive covariance, both T and E₂ retained independent partial associations with calling performance. CORT showed no association with calling performance or strategy at either level. These results show that gonadal steroid state predicts asymmetries in calling performance between competitors while remaining unrelated to performance-related tradeoffs. By revealing strong positive correlations between gonadal hormones and energetic investment in calling, this study demonstrates how female preferences for high-performing callers can impose sexual selection on endocrine mechanisms regulating courtship behavior.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"753-764"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13642399/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147846301","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Neural correlates of spatial orientation in a territorial frog Allobates femoralis.","authors":"Andrius Pašukonis, Eva K Fischer, Lauren A O'Connell","doi":"10.1007/s00359-026-01820-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-026-01820-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The brain regions supporting spatial navigation are well studied in mammals, but their function in the spatial behavior of other vertebrates is poorly understood, especially in field conditions. Here, we measured the behavior and neural correlates of the initial stages of navigation in a territorial rainforest frog, Allobates femoralis, in its natural environment. Frogs were released in familiar, unfamiliar, or home areas. Only frogs released in a familiar area, but outside their home territory, showed significant orientation towards home and spent more time on elevated structures, presumably orienting in space. In contrast, frogs released back in their home territory tended to move little, whereas those released in an unfamiliar area tended to move more, possibly exploring unfamiliar sites to find familiar landmarks. Contrary to our prediction, the amphibian homolog of the hippocampus (medial pallium) did not show a selective response to the navigational task. When accounting for behavioral differences, most measured pallial and subpallial regions showed increased neural activity during frog orientation home from a familiar environment. Interestingly, despite the behavioral differences, there were few differences in brain activity between the frogs released directly back home and those released in an unfamiliar area. Overall, we find that wild poison frogs respond selectively to environmental familiarity and that most measured brain regions have more translationally-active neurons when challenged to navigate a familiar setting. Our findings support the hypothesis that, in amphibians, brain regions homologous to mammalian centers of spatial processing exhibit more task-general responses.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"1009-1022"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13642395/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148537776","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Social deprivation weakens sender-receiver coupling in mother-infant acoustic communication by altering pup vocal development in Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus).","authors":"Ryo Nishibori, Yume Kinoshita, Naoki Matsumoto, Harutaka Nakagawa, Kazuki T Shin'ya, Yuki Ito, Yuta Tamai, Kohta I Kobayasi","doi":"10.1007/s00359-026-01839-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-026-01839-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In rodent pups, ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) are thought to function as contact signals in mother-infant communication, but it remains unclear whether early disruption of the social environment alters their communicative effectiveness. Using the Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus), we examined whether early social deprivation (SD), consisting of 24-h individual isolation of a subset of pups from each litter from the dam and from physical interaction with littermates, alters pup USVs and maternal responses to them. Isolation-induced USVs were recorded longitudinally from 54 pups from 9 litters at postnatal days P7, P9, and P10, and acoustic features based on peak-frequency trajectories were quantified. In addition, a two-choice playback experiment was conducted in lactating dams using stimuli derived from P10 control and SD pups. SD affected both the quantity and acoustic structure of pup USVs. In particular, group differences became most evident at P10, when SD pups emitted fewer calls and showed reduced frequency-modulation related acoustic features. In the playback test, maternal approach-related responses were stronger to control-derived stimuli than to SD-derived stimuli. These findings suggest that early social deprivation alters pup vocal development and reduces the effectiveness of pup USVs in eliciting maternal responses, supporting the presence of experience-dependent plasticity in sender-receiver coupling in mammalian acoustic communication.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"725-736"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148851663","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Frogs, filters, and faraway lands: honoring the inimitable neuroethology of Peter Narins.","authors":"Andrea Megela Simmons, Mark A Bee","doi":"10.1007/s00359-026-01846-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-026-01846-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This Special Issue of the Journal of Comparative Physiology A continues the journal's tradition of recognizing pioneering neuroethologists by honoring Peter M. Narins. A former Associate Editor of the Journal and an influential colleague to researchers worldwide, Peter has profoundly shaped the field. The 21 papers collected here - authored by collaborators, friends, and former students - highlight how his signature integrative and evolutionary approach to the study of animal communication continues to inspire neuroethological research on anurans and other model species.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"711-723"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148882567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cut through the noise: vocal signals and auditory processing vary along an urbanization gradient in Pacific treefrogs.","authors":"Carolyn F Schwartz, Tarah R Haslett, Alejandro Vélez","doi":"10.1007/s00359-026-01840-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00359-026-01840-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>From dense assemblages of vocalizing organisms in neotropical rainforests, to fast-flowing streams and waterfalls in the Old World, Peter Narins' work has been instrumental to our understanding of how animals, particularly frogs, communicate in noisy environments. With increasing levels of human-generated noise, there has been an explosion of studies on how vocal signals and signaling behaviors change in urban soundscapes. Surprisingly, we know little about changes in sensory-processing mechanisms of receivers. We asked whether vocal signals, hearing sensitivity, and the ability to extract signals from noise of Pacific treefrogs (Pseudacris regilla) vary in ways that facilitate communication among sites with different levels of urbanization and noise. We show that males from sites with high levels of urbanization and noise produce calls at higher rates and lower frequencies. Auditory brainstem responses obtained in the presence and absence of noise reveal that, at frequencies present in the vocalizations, subjects from urbanized and noisy sites are less sensitive and experience reduced masking. Our results suggest that lower auditory sensitivity may function as a gain-reduction mechanism that improves the signal-to-noise ratio in sites with high levels of ambient noise. We discuss our results considering Narins' contributions to anuran auditory neuroethology.</p>","PeriodicalId":54862,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology","volume":" ","pages":"809-834"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13642404/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148857803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}