Revisiting the drivers of acoustic similarities in tropical anuran assemblages

Author(s)

Sugai, Larissa Sayuri Moreira ^{[1, 2]} ; Llusia, Diego ^{[3, 2, 4]} ; Siqueira, Tadeu ^[1] ; Silva, Thiago S. F. ^{[1, 5]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Estadual Paulista UNESP, Inst Biociencias, BR-13506900 Rio Claro, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Autonoma Madrid, Fac Ciencias, Dept Ecol, Terr Ecol Grp TEG, Ciudad Univ Cantoblanco, C Darwin 2, Edificio Biol, Madrid 28049 - Spain

^[3] Univ Fed Goias, Inst Ciencias Biol, Dept Ecol, Lab Herpetol & Comportamento Anim, Campus Samambaia, BR-74001970 Goiania, Go - Brazil

^[4] Univ Autonoma Madrid, Ctr Invest Biodiversidad & Cambio Global, Ciudad Univ Cantoblanco, C Darwin 2, E-28049 Madrid - Spain

^[5] Univ Stirling, Fac Nat Sci, Biol & Environm Sci, Stirling - Scotland

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: ECOLOGY; v. 102, n. 7 JUN 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 1

Abstract

Acoustic signaling is key in mediating mate choice, which directly impacts individual fitness. Because background noise and habitat structure can impair signal transmission, the acoustic space of mixed-species assemblages has long been hypothesized to reflect selective pressures against signal interference and degradation. However, other potential drivers that received far less attention can drive similar outputs on the acoustic space. Phylogenetic niche conservatism and allometric constraints may also modulate species acoustic features, and the acoustic space of communities could be a side-effect of ecological assembly processes involving other traits (e.g., environmental filtering). Additionally, the acoustic space can also reflect the sorting of species relying on public information through extended communication networks. Using an integrative approach, we revisit the potential drivers of the acoustic space by addressing the distribution of acoustic traits, body size, and phylogenetic relatedness in tropical anuran assemblages across gradients of environmental heterogeneity in the Pantanal wetlands. We found the overall acoustic space to be aggregated compared with null expectations, even when accounting for confounding effects of body size. Across assemblages, acoustic and phylogenetic differences were positively related, while acoustic and body size similarities were negatively related, although to a minor extent. We suggest that acoustic partitioning, acoustic adaptation, and allometric constraints play a minor role in shaping the acoustic output of tropical anuran assemblages and that phylogenetic niche conservatism and public information use would influence between-assemblage variation. Our findings highlight an overlooked multivariate nature of the acoustic dimension and underscore the importance of including the ecological context of communities to understand drivers of the acoustic space. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 19/04033-7 - Metacommunity persistence in highly-variable ecosystems
• Grantee: Tadeu de Siqueira Barros
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• FAPESP's process: 17/15772-0 - The acoustic dimension of biological communities: Evolutionary and Ecological structuring processes
• Grantee: Larissa Sayuri Moreira Sugai
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 15/25316-6 - Acoustic signaling assemblages: Structuring processes and implications for community assembly
• Grantee: Larissa Sayuri Moreira Sugai
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 13/50421-2 - New sampling methods and statistical tools for biodiversity research: integrating animal movement ecology with population and community ecology
• Grantee: Milton Cezar Ribeiro
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants