Summary
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1.
The call-timing algorithm of the white-lipped frog,Leptodactylus albilabris, was studied in the field using playback of conspecific advertisement calls (‘chirps’) recorded with a digital electronic device developed for these studies.
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2.
A call refractory period is present. The interval between the onsets of successive chirps from one individual is always greater than this period of time.
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3.
Call timing is characterized further by a delayed, post-stimulus inhibition period during which a subject does not initiate a chirp. The calling gap produced by this delayed inhibition seems to be necessary for continued chorusing, and thus may be an important component of intraspecific communication in this species.
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4.
Calling males show spontaneous chirp interval distributions that suggest an underlying periodic call oscillator with noise or random variability.
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5.
Call timing was investigated also in one individual ofLeptodactylus melanonotus. Data from this frog suggest that call timing in this species also involves a noisy periodic call oscillator, a refractory period, and delayed, post-stimulus inhibition.
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Moore, S.W., Lewis, E.R., Narins, P.M. et al. The call-timing algorithm of the white-lipped frog,Leptodactylus albilabris . J. Comp. Physiol. 164, 309–319 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00612991
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00612991