Characteristics Of Courtship Calls Of Different Subspecies Of Hyla Annectans

Many animals usually use courtship calls to attract mates. In amphibians, especially in anurans, males usually use species specific courtship calls to attract females. The differences in living environment and vocal organs could result in the variation in call’s parameters among different anurans. Courtship calls have been considered as one of the most effective ways to identify the species of frogs. Previous studies of anurans’acoustic parameters have been mainly focused on the analysis of species’acoustic spectra. Researches of acoustic differences among subspecies and the influence factors acting on them are still scarce.To explore the differences of acoustic parameters among three subspecies of Hyla annectans and to elaborate the factors effecting on the differences, here, we recorded the courtship calls of male H. annectans and compared seven acoustic parameters using acoustic and statistical software among three subspecies:H. gongshanensis wulingensis, H. gongshanensis chuanxiensis, H. gongshanensis jingdongensis. We further analyzed the influence of morphological characters (body size and weight) and environment factors (altitude and water temperature) on these acoustic parameters. The results are as following.(1) There were significant differences in acoustic temporal parameters including total note duration, single note duration, pulse of single note, rate of pulse and maximal amplitude among the three subspecies. Total note duration in H. gongshanensis jingdongensis were significantly lower than H. gongshanensis wulingensis and H. gongshanensis chuanxiensis. And pulse of single note and rate of pulse in H. gongshanensis wulingensis were significantly higher than H. gongshanensis chuanxiensis. Single note duration and maximal amplitude in H. gongshanensis jingdongensis were significantly higher than the other two subspecies. These differences may be due to the different sexual selection pressure among different populations and this differences could act as a new taxonomy method for this species.(2) The single note duration in H. gongshanensis jingdongensis showed a significantly negative correlation with individuals’size and weight. We consider that the morphological adaptation hypothesis can explain this correlation. In H. gongshanensis wulingensis, the altitude have a significant positive correlations with the single and total note duration, but have a negative correlation with rate of pulses. And we find a positive correlation between water temperature and the dominant frequency. This correlations can supported by the acoustic adaptation hypothesis.