Summary
Multivariate analyses of 18 morphological variables recorded for amplectant males and females and non-amplectant males of Hyla marmorata and Triprion petasatus reveal that in both of these explosive breeding species, mating is significantly non-random. Females of H. marmorata from the relatively aseasonal environment of the Upper Amazon Basin average larger than males, and amplectant males average larger than non-amplectant males. Females of Triprion petasatus from the seasonal environment of the Yucatan Peninsula average larger than males, the sizes of males are significantly correlated with the sizes of the females with which they are paired in amplexus, and amplectant males have shorter internarial distances than non-amplectant males. For both species, non-random mating is interpretable in terms of sexual selection, but the relative importance of male-male competition and female choice cannot be assessed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bateman AJ (1948) Intra-sexual selection in Drosophila. Heredity 2:349–368
Blackith RE, Rayment RA (1971) Multivariate morphometrics. Academic Press, London and New York
Burley N (1977) Parental investment, mate choice, and mate quality. Proc Natl Acad Sci, USA 74:3476–3479
Cox CR, Le Boeuf BJ (1977) Female incitation of male competition: a mechanism of mate selection. Amer Natur 111:317–335
Crump ML (1974) Reproductive strategies in a tropical anuran community. Misc Pub Mus Nat Hist, Univ Kansas 61:1–68
Darwin C (1871) The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. John Murray, London
Davies NB, Halliday TR (1977) Optimal mate selection in the toad Bufo Bufo. Nature 269:56–58
Davies NB, Halliday TR (1979) Competative mate selection in male common toads, Bufo bufo. Anim Behav 27:1253–1267
Duellman WE (1978) The biology of an equatorial herpetofauna in Amazonian Ecuador. Misc Pub Mus Nat Hist, Univ Kansas 65:1–352
Duellman WE, Klaas LT (1964) The biology of the hylid frog Triprion petasatus. Copeia 1964:308–321
Emlen ST (1968) Territoriality in the bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana. Copeia 1968:240–243
Emlen ST (1976) Lek organization and mating strategies in the bullfrog. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 1:283–313
Emlen ST, Oring L (1977) Ecology, sexual selection, and the evolution of mating systems. Science 197:215–223
Fairchild L (1979) Mate selection in toads. Ph.D. Dissertation, Duke University. pp 160
Farr JA (1977) Male rarity of novelty, female choice behavior, and sexual selection in the guppy, Poecilia reticulata Peters (Pisces: Poeciliidae). Evolution 31:162–168
Fellers GM (1979a) Aggression, territoriality, and mating behavior in North American treefrogs. Anim Behav 27:107–119
Fellers GM (1979b) Mate selection in the gray treefrog, Hyla versicolor. Copeia 1979:286–290
Halliday TR (1977) The courtship of European newts: an evolutionary perspective. In: DH Taylor and SI Guttman (eds), The reproductive biology of amphibians. Plenum Press, New York and London
Halliday TR (1978) Sexual selection and mate choice. In: Krebs JR and NB Davies (eds), Behavioural ecology and evolutionary approach. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford
Howard RD (1978a) The evolution of mating strategies in bullfrogs, Rana catesbeiana. Evolution 32:850–871
Howard RD (1978b) The influence of male-defended ovipositional sites on early embryo mortality in bullfrogs. Ecology 59:789–798
Howard RD (1979) Estimating reproductive success in natural populations. Amer Natur 114:221–231
Huxley JS (1938) The present standing of the theory of sexual selection. In: de Beer GR (ed), Evolution: essays on aspects of evolutionary biology presented to professor E.S. Goodrich on his seventieth birthday. The Clarendon Press, Oxford
Jehl JR, Jr (1970) Sexual selection for size differences in two species of sandpipers. Evolution 24:311–319
Licht LE (1976) Sexual selection in toads (Bufo americanus). Can J Zool 54:1277–1284
McCauley DE, Wade MJ (1978) Female choice and the mating structure of a natural Population of the soldier beetle, Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus Evolution 32:771–775
Porter KR (1964) Morphological and mating call comparisons in the Bufo valliceps complex. Amer Midl Nat 71:232–245
Ryan MJ (1980a) The reproductive behavior of the bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana). Copeia 1980:108–114
Ryan MJ (1980b) Female mate choice in a Neotropical frog. Science 209:523–525
Shine R (1979) Sexual selection and sexual dimorphism in the amphibia. Copeia 1979:297–306
Trivers RL (1972) Parental investment and sexual selection. In: Campbell B (ed), Sexual selection and the descent of man. Aldine, Chicago
Trivers RL (1976) Sexual selection and resource-accruing abilities in Anolis garmani. Evolution 30:253–269
Wells KD (1977a) Territoriality and male mating success in the green frog (Rana clamitans). Ecology 58:750–762
Wells KD (1977b) The social behavior of anuran amphibians. Anim Behav 25:666–693
Wells KD (1979) Reproductive behavior and male mating success in a Neotropical toad, Bufo typhonius. Biotropica 11:301–307
Wernstedt FL (1972) World climatic data. Climatic Data Press
Whitney CL, Krebs JR (1975) Mate selection in Pacific tree frogs, Hyla regilla. Nature 255:325–326
Wilbur HM, Rubenstein DI, Fairchild L (1978) Sexual selection in toads: the roles of female choice and male body size. Evolution 32:264–270
Williams GC (1966) Adaptation and natural selection. Princeton University Press
Zweifel RG (1968) Effects of temperature, body size, and hybridization on mating call of toads, Bufo a. americanus and Bufo woodhouseii fowleri. Copeia 1968:269–285
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lee, J.C., Crump, M.L. Morphological correlates of male mating success in Triprion petasatus and Hyla marmorata (Anura: Hylidae). Oecologia 50, 153–157 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00348029
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00348029