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. 2022 Dec 27;70(2):253-261.
doi: 10.1093/cz/zoac104. eCollection 2024 Apr.

Network analysis reveals context-dependent structural complexity of social calls in serrate-legged small treefrogs

Affiliations

Network analysis reveals context-dependent structural complexity of social calls in serrate-legged small treefrogs

Ke Deng et al. Curr Zool. .

Abstract

Vocal communication plays an important role in survival, reproduction, and animal social association. Birds and mammals produce complex vocal sequence to convey context-dependent information. Vocalizations are conspicuous features of the behavior of most anuran species (frogs and toads), and males usually alter their calling strategies according to ecological context to improve the attractiveness/competitiveness. However, very few studies have focused on the variation of vocal sequence in anurans. In the present study, we used both conventional method and network analysis to investigate the context-dependent vocal repertoire, vocal sequence, and call network structure in serrate-legged small treefrogs Kurixalus odontotarsus. We found that male K. odontotarsus modified their vocal sequence by switching to different call types and increasing repertoire size in the presence of a competitive rival. Specifically, compared with before and after the playback of advertisement calls, males emitted fewer advertisement calls, but more aggressive calls, encounter calls, and compound calls during the playback period. Network analysis revealed that the mean degree, mean closeness, and mean betweenness of the call networks significantly decreased during the playback period, which resulted in lower connectivity. In addition, the increased proportion of one-way motifs and average path length also indicated that the connectivity of the call network decreased in competitive context. However, the vocal sequence of K. odontotarsus did not display a clear small-world network structure, regardless of context. Our study presents a paradigm to apply network analysis to vocal sequence in anurans and has important implications for understanding the evolution and function of sequence patterns.

Keywords: Kurixalus odontotarsus; call network; centrality; vocal repertoire; vocal sequence.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Illustrations of oscillogram (top) and spectrogram (bottom) for 7 call types (a–g) and a calling male Kurixalus odontotarsus (h, photo by K.D.). An advertisement call consisting of 6 A notes (A), an aggressive call consisting of 11 B notes (B), an encounter calls consisting of 11 C notes (C), a compound call consisting of 2 A notes plus 3 B notes (D), a compound call consisting of 1 A note plus 5 C notes (E), a compound call consisting of 2 C notes plus 3 B notes (F), and a compound call consisting of 6 A notes, 1 B note plus 9 C notes (G).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The variations in (A) call rate (N = 50), (B) the number of emitted call phenotypes (N = 50), and (C) percentage of call types (N = 58 for before and during, and N = 50 for after the playback period) among periods.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Call networks of 3 male Kurixalus odontotarsus before, during, and after the playback of advertisement calls (A–C). Nodes represent call phenotypes, and size of nodes is proportional to degree centrality. Colors represent call types: calls containing only A notes (blue), calls containing only B notes (yellow), calls containing only C notes (red), calls consisting of A and B notes (green), calls consisting of A and C notes (purple), and calls consisting of B and C notes (orange). Thickness of the edges represents the frequency of connections and the arrows represent transitions between call phenotypes.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Comparison of degree, closeness, and betweenness centrality among periods (N = 58 for before and during, and N = 50 for after the playback of advertisement calls). Different superscript letters indicate significant differences (P < 0.05) as determined by linear mixed model.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Call networks of male Kurixalus odontotarsus before (N = 58), during (N = 58), and after (N = 50) the playback of advertisement calls. Nodes represent call phenotypes, and colors represent call types: calls containing only A notes (blue), calls containing only B notes (yellow), calls containing only C notes (red), calls consisting of A and B notes (green), calls consisting of A and C notes (purple), calls consisting of B and C notes (orange), and calls consisting of A, B, and C notes (black). Thickness of the edges represents the frequency of connections and the arrows represent transitions between call phenotypes.

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