Meeting Abstract
117.3 Tuesday, Jan. 7 10:45 Female Mate Choice in Divergent Populations of Red-Eyed Treefrogs JACOBS, L/E*; ROBERTSON, J/M; VEGA, A; California State university, Northridge; AMBICOR Database Costa Rica ljacobs815@gmail.com
Behavioral isolation can reinforce the divergence of natural populations. Populations of the red-eyed treefrog (Agalychnis callidryas() in Costa Rica show high levels of genetic diversification and substantial variation in body size and color pattern. We conducted mate choice experiments at two sites in Costa Rica (Atlantic and Pacific) to determine whether these differences have consequences for mate recognition. At each site, we introduced a gravid female into an enclosure that contained one local and one non-local male. We determined that a ‘choice’ was made when the female approached and displayed to a male. We also quantified latency to choice (seconds) and whether males called prior to female choice. We conducted 20 trials at each site. Females from the Pacific showed local mate preference (X2= 7.70P = 0.005) while Atlantic females did not (X2= 1.82P = 0.176). Latency to choice did not differ between local and non-local males for either population. Males called during some trials (25 and 30%, for the Pacific and Atlantic, respectively), but not all. Further, at the Pacific site, female choice for the non-local male was never preceded by a male call. Our study did not explicitly test for the mechanisms that underlie female choice. However, we explore multi-modal signalling in this system and discuss how population divergence in body size, color pattern and behavior could contribute to female choice. Our mate choice trials provide evidence that population divergence could be mediated by social interactions and that these divergent populations could be in the early stages of incipient speciation.
