Unraveling the Neural Basis of Behavioral Isolation through the Lens of Audition in Anurans.

Background: The origin and maintenance of species is a unifying theme in evolutionary biology. Mate choice and selection on sexual signals have emerged as powerful drivers of reproductive isolation - the key pillar of the biological species concept. The mechanistic underpinnings of isolating behaviors lie in the circuit- and cellular-level properties of the brain and remain relatively understudied.

Summary: Here, I argue that temporal auditory selectivity in anuran amphibians offers a window into the proximate mechanisms of reproductive isolation. First, I discuss anuran behaviors as a longstanding neuroethological model with which to examine behavioral reproductive isolation and its neural correlates. Next, I review how modern neurobiological techniques are revealing the proximate mechanisms of the evolution of divergent mate preferences in anurans, highlighting cellular-level neural shifts in temporal coding. Finally, I discuss future research directions to reveal the neural mechanisms through which behavioral isolation is generated and maintained in anuran model systems.

Key messages: Anurans offer a powerful model for addressing questions about how neural barriers to gene flow arise across biological scales and how changes in the brain contribute to speciation. Modern evolutionary neurobiology will benefit from applying new tools to this longstanding neuroethological model clade.