Sains Malaysiana 47(1)(2018): 1–7

http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/jsm-2018-4701-01

Mating Calls of Selected Sarawak Toads (Amphibia: Anura: Bufonidae)

(Panggilan Pengawanan Kodok Sarawak Terpilih (Amfibia: Anura: Bufonidae)

MUHAMMAD FADZIL AMRAM¹, RAMLAH ZAINUDIN^2* & HASNIZAM ABDUL WAHID³

¹Department of Zoology, Faculty of Resource Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak Bumi Kenyalang, Malaysia

²Pusat Pengajian Pra-Universiti, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak Bumi Kenyalang, Malaysia

³Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak Bumi Kenyalang, Malaysia

Received: 27 February 2015/Accepted: 15 June 2017

ABSTRACT

The sound produced by the anurans including toads can be a survival strategy for the selection of fittest males by their conspecific females and a form of effective prezygotic mechanism. Most of the published works on anuran sound production were on true frogs or ranids, yet little is known about sound characteristics of toads. Here we describe the properties of mating calls from six selected toad species from six study sites in Sarawak. Males' mating calls were recorded and analyzed using Sound Ruler Acoustic Analysis ver 0.9.6.0. Call characteristic were subsequently compared for toad species differentiation. The results showed that each species differ in call characteristics, with pulsating note, rate of note repetition and pitch being the most apparent characters. The highest number of pulse notes belongs to Duttaphrynus melanostictus while Ansonia spinulifer exhibited highest pitch and rate of note repetition. These species' differences in mating call characteristics provide an additional method for anuran species classification besides morphological and molecular DNA data. It is also a very useful guide during field survey as the sound is audible and identification can be made without the need of capturing the toads.

Keywords: Bufonidae; call characteristics; note repetition rate; pitch; pulsating note

ABSTRAK

Bunyi yang dihasilkan oleh Anura termasuk kodok merupakan satu strategi kemandirian spesies dalam pemilihan baka jantan oleh betina serta sebagai suatu mekanisme pemencilan pra-zigot yang berkesan. Kebanyakan kajian bunyi anuran yang telah diterbitkan adalah daripada kodok (ranid), namun sedikit sahaja yang diketahui tentang ciri akustik kodok. Kajian ini mencirikan panggilan mengawan daripada enam spesies kodok terpilih dari enam tapak kajian di Sarawak. Bunyi panggilan kodok jantan direkod dan dianalisis dengan menggunakan Analisis Akustik Sound Ruler ver 0.9.6.0. Ciri panggilan itu kemudiannya dibandingkan antara spesies kodok yang berbeza. Keputusan kajian menunjukkan bahawa panggilan jantan setiap spesies berbeza daripada segi denyutan bunyi, kadar pengulangan nota bunyian dan pic. Kekerapan tertinggi nota denyutan dimiliki olehDuttaphrynus melanostictus manakala Ansonia spinulifer mempunyai pic dan kekerapan kadar pengulangan nota bunyian yang tertinggi. Penentuan ciri panggilan adalah sangat penting kerana ia menyediakan satu pendekatan tambahan untuk pengkelasan spesies anuran selain berdasarkan data morfologi dan molekul DNA. Ia juga amat berguna dalam kajian lapangan kerana bunyi boleh didengar dan dengan itu pengecaman spesies boleh dibuat tanpa penangkapan kodok.

Kata kunci: Bufonidae; ciri panggilan; kadar ulangan nota; nota denyut; pic

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*Corresponding author; email: zramlah@.unimas.my