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Recent investigations of dust-density waves in a dusty plasma under microgravity conditions [ K. O. Menzel et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 104 235002 (2010)] showed that the wave field consists of distinct regions of different frequencies. These so-called frequency clusters are known from simulations of chains of mutually coupled van der Pol oscillators. The behavior of distinct oscillators adjacent to the cluster boundaries were studied numerically. The interaction of these oscillators leads to periodic frequency pulling, a typical feature of driven van der Pol oscillators that is also observed in our experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]