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Data from: Cut through the noise: Vocal signals and auditory processing vary along an urbanization gradient in Pacific treefrogs

Schwartz, Carolyn1; Haslett, Tarah1; Vélez, Alejandro2

Published Sep 03, 2026 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.hqbzkh1zk

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Sep 03, 2026 version files 2.16 MB

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Abstract

Increasing levels of sensory pollutants in human-altered environments are affecting how animals communicate. In animals that communicate acoustically, several studies have uncovered how vocal signals and signaling behaviors change in ways that enhance the signal-to-noise ratio with increasing levels of anthropogenic noise. Surprisingly, little is known about whether and how sensory-processing mechanisms in the receivers also change in urban soundscapes. 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 obtained hourly recordings of the soundscapes and show that noise levels between 0.25 and 4.0 kHz vary among sites both during and outside of the breeding season of Pacific treefrogs. Analyses of focal male recordings reveal that properties of their mating calls show negligible differences in ways that could improve the signal-to-noise ratio among sites. 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.