• Dataset Title: Data for the article “Snake-like bird hisses induce anti-predator responses in a frog”
• Persistent Identifier: https://doi.org/doi\_10.5061/dryad.x69p8czpx
• Dataset Contributors:Longhui Zhao, Yuanyu Qin, Yanjun Jin, Jichao Wang, Wei Liang
• Address of contributors: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China
• Correspondence: Dr. Jichao Wang (wjc@hainnu.edu.cn) and Dr. Wei Liang (liangwei@hainnu.edu.cn)
• Date of Issue: 2023-07-07
• Dataset citation: Zhao L, Qin Y, Jin Y, Wang J, Liang W. 2023. Data for the article “Snake-like bird hisses induce anti-predator responses in a frog”, Dryad, Dataset, https://datadryad.org/stash/share/eHR2qkmmSI2Z5FVI0rICZbX9OE7fDE15mQeMGhbnS0M.
• Contextualized in experimental procedures and results:

Four types of sound stimuli were used in the first playback experiment. The first type was white noise (as a control) which was generated using Adobe Audition 3.0 software (Adobe Systems Inc., San Jose, CA, U.S.A.). The second type was a song of zitting cisticola. The third and fourth types were hisses from Gaboon vipers (Bitis gabonica) and king cobras (Ophiophagus Hannah), respectively. Three types of sound stimuli were used in the second playback experiment. The first type was also white noise which was the same as the first experiment. The second and third types were snake-like hissing calls from great tits and zitting cisticolas, respectively. All hissing calls were obtained from a previous study (Barlow et al., 2023; doi: 10.1080/03949370.2023.2213206).

We conducted sound playbacks to test how little torrent frogs (Amolops torrentis) varied their behaviors in response to white noise, snake hisses, and snake-like bird hisses. We found that snake hiss from sympatric king cobras (Ophiophagus hannah) could change calling behavior of little torrent frogs, while white noise and snake hiss from allopatric Gaboon vipers (Bitis gabonica) showed no influence. Calling frogs also had no response to white noise and great tit (Parus major) hisses which had low acoustic similarity with snakes, while they decreased calling activity when exposed to zitting cisticola (Cisticola juncidis) hisses which had high acoustic similarity with snakes. In addition, more individuals cease calling during the playback of zitting cisticola hisses.

These results suggest that both snake and snake-like hiss calls may evoke anti-predator responses in frog species.

Description of the data and file structure

This dataset includes three recorded audio hissing calls and two Excel files for experimental data recording.

• File count: 5 files
• Total file size: 553 KB
• File formats: three are .MAV and two are Microsoft Excel.

1. Audio_S1_hissing_call_zitting_cisticola
2. Audio S2_hissing call_king cobra
3. Audio S3_hissing call_Gaboon viper
4. Audio S4_hissing call_great tit
5. data_exp._1
6. data_exp._2

Describe of the column header

4. data_exp._1：
   subject: Number of male individuals;
   period: Different recording categories;
   white noise: Control group stimulus;
   Gaboon viper hiss: Hissing call of an allopatric snake;
   king cobra hiss: Hissing call of a sympatric snake;
   zitting cisticola song: Territory song of zitting cisticola.
5. data_exp._2:
   subject: Number of male individuals;
   period: Different recording categories;
   white noise: Control group stimulus;
   great tit hiss: Hissing call of great tit showing low similarity with snake hiss;
   zitting cisticola hiss: Hissing call of zitting cisticola showing high similarity with snake hiss.

Sharing/Access information

• The dataset file can be firstly loaded using Win RAR software to load package.
• The three recorded audio hissing calls can be opened by MP4 player or any media player. The two Excel files can be opened using Excel software.

Additional Dataset Metadata

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (nos. 32101240 to LZ, and 31970427 and 32270526 to WL), Natural Science Foundation of Hainan Province (no. 2019RC175 to JW), and the specific research fund of the Innovation Platform for Academicians of Hainan Province.

Dates and Locations

• Dates of data collection: Sound playbacks were conducted in July 2022 and June 2023.
• Geographic locations of data collection: Data were collected at a tropical forest stream, Wuzhishan National Nature Reserve (109°32'-43' E, 18°48'-59' N), Hainan, south China.

Methodological Information

• Methods of data collection/generation: see manuscript for details.