THE synchronous rhythms of chorusing frogs and crickets are the result of frenzied competition to find mates, according to scientists at the University of Kansas.
Animals that call to attract a mate risk catching the attention of predators, so scientists had assumed they sing in unison to make each less likely to become a meal.
But now a team led by Michael Greenfield has shown that males reduce the interval between calls when they hear another male鈥檚 call (Proceedings of the Royal Society B, vol 264, p 1355). 鈥淔emales are attracted to whichever male calls first, even if calls are separated by a fraction of a second,鈥� says Greenfield.
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Since no male knows when a female might appear, it is worth calling as often as possible. 鈥淏ut you can only speed up so much,鈥� says Greenfield. The result is that all calls become synchronised.
The team has demonstrated the effect experimentally in several grasshoppers and frogs. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 expect to find it in birds,鈥� Greenfield adds. 鈥淭heir songs are generally too complex to synchronise easily.鈥�
