Meeting Abstract
P3.178 Tuesday, Jan. 6 Sources of variation in female preference for long mating calls in gray treefrogs (Hyla versicolor) YI, S.Y.*; GORDON, N.M; WELCH, A.M.; University of Missouri; University of Missouri; College of Charleston syydyd@mizzou.edu
Theoretical models of sexual selection suggest that females with strong preferences will mate with males with the most exaggerated traits, resulting in offspring that carry the genes for extreme values of both trait and preference. One consequence of these models is that daughters of more attractive males should inherit genes for stronger preferences than daughters of less attractive males. Alternatively, variation in preference strength may result if females in better physical condition are better able to seek out an attractive mate. Female gray treefrogs (Hyla versicolor) exhibit a clear preference for mating calls of long duration, and there is variation among females in the expression of this preference. In order to test the effects of sire attractiveness and body condition on female preference in gray treefrogs, we assessed the preference strength of lab-reared female offspring of short and long-calling fathers. We manipulated the condition of these females by placing them on either a high or low feeding treatment. Female frogs were tested in an anechoic testing chamber using unequal playback levels of synthetic mating calls. We defined preference strength as the amount (dB SPL) that the intensity of a long call can be reduced relative to the short call before the female prefers the shorter call. We found that preference strength was not significantly affected by fathers call length, food treatment, or body condition. Additionally, female response times showed no relationship with either preference strength or condition. Hence, neither genetic variation nor variation in condition appears to explain variation in preference strength in gray treefrogs. It is possible that preference strength depends on variables that we did not measure, such as age or past experience.
