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Spatial hearing in Cope’s gray treefrog: II. Frequency-dependent directionality in the amplitude and phase of tympanum vibrations

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Abstract

Anuran ears function as pressure difference receivers, and the amplitude and phase of tympanum vibrations are inherently directional, varying with sound incident angle. We quantified the nature of this directionality for Cope’s gray treefrog, Hyla chrysoscelis. We presented subjects with pure tones, advertisement calls, and frequency-modulated sweeps to examine the influence of frequency, signal level, lung inflation, and sex on ear directionality. Interaural differences in the amplitude of tympanum vibrations were 1–4 dB greater than sound pressure differences adjacent to the two tympana, while interaural differences in the phase of tympanum vibration were similar to or smaller than those in sound phase. Directionality in the amplitude and phase of tympanum vibration were highly dependent on sound frequency, and directionality in amplitude varied slightly with signal level. Directionality in the amplitude and phase of tone- and call-evoked responses did not differ between sexes. Lung inflation strongly affected tympanum directionality over a narrow frequency range that, in females, included call frequencies. This study provides a foundation for further work on the biomechanics and neural mechanisms of spatial hearing in H. chrysoscelis, and lends valuable perspective to behavioral studies on the use of spatial information by this species and other frogs.

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Abbreviations

IAD:

Interaural amplitude difference

ILD:

Interaural level difference

IPD:

Interaural phase difference

ITD:

Interaural time difference

IVAD:

Interaural vibration amplitude difference

IVPD:

Interaural vibration phase difference

IVTD:

Interaural vibration timing difference

TVA:

Tympanum vibration amplitude

TVP:

Tympanum vibration phase

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Acknowledgments

We thank Sandra Tekmen and Jessica Ward for logistical support and for assistance in the lab, Marcos Gridi-Papp for consultation on the development of our experimental methodology, and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. All procedures followed the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and were approved by the University of Minnesota’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (protocol #1103A97192) or the Danish National Animal Experimentation board (protocol 2009/561-1645). This work was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (R01 DC009582). Katrina Schrode was supported by a National Institutes of Health Pre-doctoral Training Grant (NIH T32 NS048944).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Ecology 100, 1987 Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA

    Michael S. Caldwell, Norman Lee, Anastasia R. Johns & Mark A. Bee

  2. Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, 6-145 Jackson Hall, 321 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Katrina M. Schrode & Mark A. Bee

  3. Biologisk Institut, Syddansk Universitet, Campusvej 55, 5230, Odense M, Denmark

    Jakob Christensen-Dalsgaard

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  1. Michael S. Caldwell
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  2. Norman Lee
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  3. Katrina M. Schrode
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  4. Anastasia R. Johns
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Correspondence to Michael S. Caldwell.

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Caldwell, M.S., Lee, N., Schrode, K.M. et al. Spatial hearing in Cope’s gray treefrog: II. Frequency-dependent directionality in the amplitude and phase of tympanum vibrations. J Comp Physiol A 200, 285–304 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-014-0883-5

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