Cadences of the collective: conspecific stimulation patterns interact with endogenous rhythms to cue socially mediated response shifts.

ABSTRACT: Many animals form behavioral collectives, and optimal interaction strategies often differ across social contexts. Sensory scenes generated by many interacting conspecifics are complex. Thus, maintaining socially calibrated responses requires individuals to distill key features from conspecific scenes to guide continued adjustments to social fluctuations. Túngara frogs produce mating calls in choruses varying in size, and interaction patterns differ across social environments; rivals alternate their calls in smaller choruses, but increasingly overlap one another's calls in a stereotyped fashion as chorus size increases. We used automated playback to investigate the cues guiding this socially mediated shift in interaction modes. We played conspecific stimulus calls to males at various delays

SUBMITTER: Larter LC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12848569 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature