Bittersweet Love Songs

The love songs of male túngara frogs have an unintended consequence of enticing pesky parasites and predators, finds a new study published in the March issue of the American Naturalist.

Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute explored the mechanisms behind the mating-call side effects.

Male túngara frogs produce two types of calls to attract females: simple calls called whines and complex calls that consist of whines followed by short, secondary components called chucks. Female túngara frogs prefer the complex sing-songs over the simple calls, and when in ear's reach the females come a'hopping. The complex calls also woo unintended lurkers, such as frog-eating bats and blood-sucking flies.

The scientists tested whether bats and flies prefer complex calls because they indicate higher quality males or higher male density. Call complexity was not linked with the frogs' physical health but did indicate higher male abundance. The authors suggest that increased effectiveness of attack could underlie the preference for complex calls in eavesdroppers.

--      LiveScience Staff

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Credit: Ximena E. Bernal