Department of Biology, Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD 21801, USA.
Science. 2013 Jul 19;341(6143):273-4. doi: 10.1126/science.1237113. Epub 2013 Jun 6.
Sexual signals are often complex and perceived by multiple senses. How animals integrate signal components across sensory modalities can influence signal evolution. Here we show that two relatively unattractive signals that are perceived acoustically and visually can be combined in a pattern to form a signal that is attractive to female túngara frogs. Such unanticipated perceptual effects suggest that the evolution of complex signals can occur by alteration of the relationships among already-existing traits.
性信号通常较为复杂，可通过多种感官来感知。动物如何在各感觉模态间整合信号成分会影响信号的演化。本研究显示，两种相对缺乏吸引力的信号（分别通过听觉和视觉感知）可以组合成一种对雌性 túngara 蛙有吸引力的信号。这种意想不到的感知效果表明，复杂信号的演化可以通过改变已有特征之间的关系来发生。
