Animal behavior is still a box of surprises. Now scientists are women the frogs common europe (transient frog) not only reject men they don’t like, but they even develop a number of interesting tactics to get rid of them. They even play dead so that their unwanted suitors can stay away from them.
The research, led by Carolin Dittrich and Mark-Oliver Rödel from the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin (Germany), was published in the journal Royal Society Open Science and reveals hitherto unknown aspects of these animals.
explosive breeding types Those with very short reproductive periods, such as frogs or toads. In early spring breeding is usually limited to a few days to two weeks. that’s when Hundreds or thousands of specimens are collected in ponds or wetlands, and males have a huge advantage over females..
Male frogs often climb on the backs of female frogs and try to mate with as many frogs as possible. It causes several males to position themselves on a female at the same time.. This can cause the female to drown in the water where the process takes place.
Men’s sexual appetites seem to have no limits, and they latch on to anything that moves. If another male is caught, he will make a “release call” to make the other male who caught him see the mistake.
Before this study, it was thought that females at these spawning densities would not be able to defend themselves against male pressure. But Dittrich and Rödel showed that women now know how to defend themselves with very different behaviors.
Most common procedure The pivoting movement that women use to escape a man’s harassment is a sign that they are not interested in that partner. Researchers also observed a second systemFemales make two different calls: a deeper, lower-frequency ‘grunt’ and a higher-frequency ‘chirp’, which mimics the male’s ‘release’ call. The meaning of the latter is unclear so far, but the purpose of both is to scare away the unwanted male.
Playing dead as a last option
Now, the most surprising behavior (though not the most common) was this: Tonic immobility, commonly known as ‘faking death’A period in which females extend their arms and legs rigidly and remain completely motionless until the male eventually breaks away from them and stops harassing them.
“Tonic immobility is paramount in the mating context and is rarely observed. I know of only a few studies that have found mating-associated tonic immobility in spiders or dragonflies. “It is assumed that this strategy is generally used as a last resort to avoid predation,” says Dittrich.
In this regard, Rödel adds: “We suspect that This defensive behavior has evolved to protect the female from the occurrence of ‘mating riots’.It can often cause the death of the female. Calls allow females to communicate that they are not willing to mate, and if this does not work, they then fall into tonic inactivity.
“Our study impressively shows that even very common and well-studied native species can still offer big surprises,” Dittrich adds.
Reference work: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230742
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