Leeda.the.Paladin
Well-Known Member
While "ghosting" is a popular method of ending a relationship with a potential suitor for humans, female frogs take that concept to the next level.
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In a phenomenon dubbed "tonic immobility," a recent study found that European female frogs will fake their own death to avoid mating with a male frog. The study, published Wednesday in Royal Society Open Science, says that this can often occur in situations that involve increased efforts by males such as harassment, forced copulation and intimidation.
Mating season for frogs can become aggressive — multiple male frogs will cling onto one female, causing distress and danger to the female frog. These scenarios can kill a female frog, but they can also bring about a high level of stress.
While humans experience a "fight or flight" response in life-threatening situations, it appears these frogs rely on what researchers call "avoidance behaviors."
Researchers observed three different avoidance behaviors in the female frogs — rotation, release calls and tonic immobility, also known as death feigning. The rotation refers to a female starting to rotate around her own body axis when amplexed by a male and release calls are vocal emissions from the female.
Rotation was the most commonly observed method of avoidance. All three methods were found in water, however, only one instance of tonic immobility was observed on land.
An ABC News article says that an animal faking its own death has been observed before, but it is usually used as a method to avoid predators.
In a phenomenon dubbed "tonic immobility," a recent study found that European female frogs will fake their own death to avoid mating with a male frog. The study, published Wednesday in Royal Society Open Science, says that this can often occur in situations that involve increased efforts by males such as harassment, forced copulation and intimidation.
Mating season for frogs can become aggressive — multiple male frogs will cling onto one female, causing distress and danger to the female frog. These scenarios can kill a female frog, but they can also bring about a high level of stress.
While humans experience a "fight or flight" response in life-threatening situations, it appears these frogs rely on what researchers call "avoidance behaviors."
Researchers observed three different avoidance behaviors in the female frogs — rotation, release calls and tonic immobility, also known as death feigning. The rotation refers to a female starting to rotate around her own body axis when amplexed by a male and release calls are vocal emissions from the female.
Rotation was the most commonly observed method of avoidance. All three methods were found in water, however, only one instance of tonic immobility was observed on land.
An ABC News article says that an animal faking its own death has been observed before, but it is usually used as a method to avoid predators.
