Female Responses to Ancestral Advertisement Calls in Túngara Frogs

Phylogenetic techniques were used to estimate and reconstruct advertisement calls at ancestral nodes. These calls were used to investigate the degree of preference of female túngara frogs (Physalaemus pustulosus) for both extant and ancestral calls. Females did not discriminate between calls of males of their own species and calls at their most recent ancestral node. They also recognized calls of three extant species and at four ancestral nodes as the signals of appropriate mates. Both shared ancestral history, and call convergence might differentially influence call preferences.