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    Climate change impacts animal mating calls. Mexican spadefoot toad calls are slowing due to colder ponds, but temperature-standardized calls are faster, indicating complex evolutionary responses to climate shifts.

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    Area of Science:

    • Ecology
    • Evolutionary Biology
    • Climate Change Biology

    Background:

    • Climate change significantly alters species' ecological niches, phenology, and behaviors.
    • Sexual behaviors are crucial for population persistence and fitness, yet climate change impacts on sexual signals remain understudied.
    • Climate change can directly affect temperature-dependent sexual signals, influence signal production via body condition changes, or modify sexual selection landscapes.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate changes in temperature-dependent mating calls of Mexican spadefoot toads (Spea multiplicata) over 22 years in response to climate change in the southwestern United States.
    • To assess the relationship between observed climate shifts and alterations in toad mating call characteristics.

    Main Methods:

    • Long-term monitoring of climate variables (temperature, rainfall) in the spadefoot toad habitat over 22 years.
    • Acoustic analysis of male Mexican spadefoot toad mating calls.
    • Measurement of male toad body condition.

    Main Results:

    • Observed increasing air temperatures, decreasing rainfall, and altered seasonal patterns in the study region.
    • Despite rising air temperatures, breeding ponds have generally become colder, leading to slower male mating calls.
    • Temperature-standardized call characteristics have accelerated, and male toad condition has improved, suggesting potential shifts in the selective environment.

    Conclusions:

    • Climate change is driving rapid and complex alterations in the sexual signals of Mexican spadefoot toads.
    • These changes in mating calls have significant implications for the evolutionary trajectory of the species.
    • The study highlights the underappreciated impact of climate change on animal sexual communication and evolution.