Photo by Gary Yost on Unsplash
Photo by Gary Yost on Unsplash

We don't know much about female frog calls because they're being drowned out by males

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Peer-reviewed: This work was reviewed and scrutinised by relevant independent experts.

Female frog calls have been documented for less than 1.5% of species, according to international researchers who say this is because male frogs are louder and therefore getting more attention from scientists.  The researchers reviewed literature on frog communication and found female calls were documented in 112 species, though they say these studies were often anecdotal and rarely had information on the purpose of these calls. They say female calls are much harder to document because they are often softer, leading to a significant bias toward research on the louder, more easily recognisable male calls.

Journal/conference: Royal Society B

Research: Paper

Organisation/s: Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil

Funder: E.M.S. is currently supported by a Postdoctoral Fellowship Grant from the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP, grant number 2024/12435-6) as part of the São Paulo Excellence Chair Project (SPEC) entitled 'Innovations in Human and Non-Human Communities' (FAPESP grant number 2018/18900-1). J.G.V. was supported by the Division of Biological Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Media release

From: The Royal Society
  • Splash the patriarchy – Gender bias in research doesn’t just exist in humans – the voices of female frogs are also silenced. A literature review has revealed only 1.4% of all described frog calls belong to females, and most descriptions are anecdotal. Female calls are often neglected because they are softer and quieter than their male equivalents, making them harder to detect. However, expanding research efforts to include females will improve understanding of frog communication, say the authors. Proceedings B

The 'silent' half: diversity, function, and the critical knowledge gap on female frog vocalizations

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

For decades, scientists have focused on the loud, familiar calls of male frogs, overlooking the quieter voices of females. Our review brings attention to this hidden side of frog communication. We found reports of female calls in over 100 anuran species across 29 families, yet most studies are anecdotal and rarely explore their function. We summarize existing knowledge, propose a standardized classification, and identify key challenges. This work aims to correct the male-biased perspective in frog bioacoustics and to improve our understanding of communication, mating behaviors, and evolution in amphibians —encouraging a more balanced understanding of both sexes in bioacoustics research.

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