Take time to smell the frogs: vocal sac glands of reed frogs (Anura: Hyperoliidae) contain species-specific chemical cocktails
(2013) In Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 110(4). p.828-838- Abstract
- Males of all reed frog species (Anura: Hyperoliidae) have a prominent, often colourful, gular patch on their vocal sac, which is particularly conspicuous once the vocal sac is inflated. Although the presence, shape, and form of the gular patch are well-known diagnostic characters for these frogs, its function remains unknown. By integrating biochemical and histological methods, we found strong evidence that the gular patch is a gland producing volatile compounds, which might be emitted while calling. Volatile compounds were confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in the gular glands in 11 species of the hyperoliid genera Afrixalus, Heterixalus, Hyperolius, and Phlyctimantis. Comparing the gular gland contents of 17 specimens of... (More)
- Males of all reed frog species (Anura: Hyperoliidae) have a prominent, often colourful, gular patch on their vocal sac, which is particularly conspicuous once the vocal sac is inflated. Although the presence, shape, and form of the gular patch are well-known diagnostic characters for these frogs, its function remains unknown. By integrating biochemical and histological methods, we found strong evidence that the gular patch is a gland producing volatile compounds, which might be emitted while calling. Volatile compounds were confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in the gular glands in 11 species of the hyperoliid genera Afrixalus, Heterixalus, Hyperolius, and Phlyctimantis. Comparing the gular gland contents of 17 specimens of four sympatric Hyperolius species yielded a large variety of 65 compounds in species-specific combinations. We suggest that reed frogs might use a complex combination of at least acoustic and chemical signals in species recognition and mate choice.(c) 2013 The Authors. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Linnean Society of London. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/4318700
- author
- Starnberger, Iris ; Poth, Dennis ; Peram, Pardha Saradhi ; Schulz, Stefan ; Vences, Miguel ; Knudsen, Jette LU ; Barej, Michael F. ; Roedel, Mark-Oliver ; Walzl, Manfred and Hoedl, Walter
- organization
- publishing date
- 2013
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Afrixalus, Amphibia, chemical communication, Heterixalus, histology, Hyperolius, gular gland anatomy, pheromones, Phlyctimantis
- in
- Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
- volume
- 110
- issue
- 4
- pages
- 828 - 838
- publisher
- Oxford University Press
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000330183200009
- scopus:84888040382
- pmid:24277973
- ISSN
- 0024-4066
- DOI
- 10.1111/bij.12167
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 64c4c714-b411-464d-a8b3-72bf07412d56 (old id 4318700)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 10:34:54
- date last changed
- 2022-04-27 23:26:31
@article{64c4c714-b411-464d-a8b3-72bf07412d56,
abstract = {{Males of all reed frog species (Anura: Hyperoliidae) have a prominent, often colourful, gular patch on their vocal sac, which is particularly conspicuous once the vocal sac is inflated. Although the presence, shape, and form of the gular patch are well-known diagnostic characters for these frogs, its function remains unknown. By integrating biochemical and histological methods, we found strong evidence that the gular patch is a gland producing volatile compounds, which might be emitted while calling. Volatile compounds were confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in the gular glands in 11 species of the hyperoliid genera Afrixalus, Heterixalus, Hyperolius, and Phlyctimantis. Comparing the gular gland contents of 17 specimens of four sympatric Hyperolius species yielded a large variety of 65 compounds in species-specific combinations. We suggest that reed frogs might use a complex combination of at least acoustic and chemical signals in species recognition and mate choice.(c) 2013 The Authors. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Linnean Society of London.}},
author = {{Starnberger, Iris and Poth, Dennis and Peram, Pardha Saradhi and Schulz, Stefan and Vences, Miguel and Knudsen, Jette and Barej, Michael F. and Roedel, Mark-Oliver and Walzl, Manfred and Hoedl, Walter}},
issn = {{0024-4066}},
keywords = {{Afrixalus; Amphibia; chemical communication; Heterixalus; histology; Hyperolius; gular gland anatomy; pheromones; Phlyctimantis}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{4}},
pages = {{828--838}},
publisher = {{Oxford University Press}},
series = {{Biological Journal of the Linnean Society}},
title = {{Take time to smell the frogs: vocal sac glands of reed frogs (Anura: Hyperoliidae) contain species-specific chemical cocktails}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bij.12167}},
doi = {{10.1111/bij.12167}},
volume = {{110}},
year = {{2013}},
}