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Cut through the noise: vocal signals and auditory processing vary along an urbanization gradient in Pacific treefrogs.

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Title: Cut through the noise: vocal signals and auditory processing vary along an urbanization gradient in Pacific treefrogs.
Authors: Schwartz CF; Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA., Haslett TR; Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA., Vélez A; Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA. avelezme@utk.edu.; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA. avelezme@utk.edu.; Collaborative for Animal Behavior (CoLAB), University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA. avelezme@utk.edu.
Source: Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology [J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol] 2026 Sep; Vol. 212 (5), pp. 809-834. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Aug 30.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Language: English
Journal Info: Publisher: Springer Country of Publication: Germany NLM ID: 101141792 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1432-1351 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 03407594 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s): Original Publication: Berlin ; New York : Springer, c2001-
MeSH Terms: Vocalization, Animal*/physiology , Anura*/physiology , Auditory Perception*/physiology , Noise* , Urbanization*, Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem/physiology ; Animals ; Male ; Acoustic Stimulation ; Auditory Acuity
Abstract: From dense assemblages of vocalizing organisms in neotropical rainforests, to fast-flowing streams and waterfalls in the Old World, Peter Narins' work has been instrumental to our understanding of how animals, particularly frogs, communicate in noisy environments. With increasing levels of human-generated noise, there has been an explosion of studies on how vocal signals and signaling behaviors change in urban soundscapes. Surprisingly, we know little about changes in sensory-processing mechanisms of receivers. We asked whether vocal signals, hearing sensitivity, and the ability to extract signals from noise of Pacific treefrogs (Pseudacris regilla) vary in ways that facilitate communication among sites with different levels of urbanization and noise. We show that males from sites with high levels of urbanization and noise produce calls at higher rates and lower frequencies. Auditory brainstem responses obtained in the presence and absence of noise reveal that, at frequencies present in the vocalizations, subjects from urbanized and noisy sites are less sensitive and experience reduced masking. Our results suggest that lower auditory sensitivity may function as a gain-reduction mechanism that improves the signal-to-noise ratio in sites with high levels of ambient noise. We discuss our results considering Narins' contributions to anuran auditory neuroethology.
(© 2026. The Author(s).)
Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethical approval: Our protocols for collecting and handling animals fulfill the guidelines established by Animal Behavior Society for the use of animals in research and were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at San Francisco State University (Protocol # A17–07). This research was conducted under Scientific Collecting Permit # SC-13,812 from the State of California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
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Grant Information: IOS-2414003 National Science Foundation
Contributed Indexing: Keywords: Acoustic communication; Anthropogenic noise; Auditory thresholds; Critical ratio; Sensory ecology; Urban ecology
Entry Date(s): Date Created: 20260829 Date Completed: 20261006 Latest Revision: 20261009
Update Code: 20261009
PubMed Central ID: PMC13642404
DOI: 10.1007/s00359-026-01840-2
PMID: 42668289
Database: MEDLINE
Description
ISSN:1432-1351
DOI:10.1007/s00359-026-01840-2