The development of sexual behavior in túngara frogs (Physalaemus pustulosus).
We examined the emergence of a critical component of sex, response to sexual signals-phonotaxis-in male and female túngara frogs (Physalaemus pustulosus). We determined the ontogenetic trajectories of phonotactic responses as animals developed from metamorphic froglets to reproductive adults. The results demonstrated that species-typical phonotaxis emerges quite early during postmetamorphic development, well before sexual maturity, suggesting that a developmentally early bias in the auditory system for species-typical signals might be a more general phenomenon than previously thought, and that the neural circuits responsible for processing and responding to conspecific advertisement signals in a species-typical manner might develop long before the coordinated behavior is demanded of the organism.
Baugh
Alexander T
AT
Section of Integrative Biology, and Institute for Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA. alex.baugh@gmail.com
Ryan
Michael J
MJ
D000818:Animals; D001001:Anura / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D015509:Developmental Biology; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D046709:Pattern Recognition, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D014828:Vocalization, Animal / Q000502:physiology