Context-Dependent Mate Choice: Impact of a Variable Environment on Female Reproduction
Public Deposited- Last Modified
- February 26, 2019
- Creator
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Isler, Victoria
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology
- Abstract
- Sexual selection significantly impacts the gene flow and evolution of a population by the preference for certain traits. In many cases, females select mates based on the perceived benefits to their offspring that the males can provide. In spadefoot toads, male condition predicts the propensity to produce one of two alternative tadpole morphs: carnivores and omnivores. Female spadefoot toads assess male quality based on call rates; faster call rates correspond to males of better condition that more often produce omnivores. The morphology of the tadpole affects survival depending on the environmental conditions in which the tadpoles are developing. Carnivorous tadpoles develop faster and would best survive in shallow ponds. Alternatively, omnivorous tadpoles take more time to develop but are more fit to survive to adulthood. Accordingly, omnivores are thought to best survive in deeper, more stable ponds. Here, we examined environmental influence on mate selection by female spadefoots due to the advantage of each tadpole morphology with different water levels. We tested female preference for alternating fast and slow calls of male spadefoots in deep and shallow water. In deeper water, females preferred faster call rates, however in a shallow environment females chose slower call rates. Thus, females favored males that had a greater tendency to produce omnivores in deeper water and carnivores in shallow water. The results indicate that environmental conditions impact sexual selection by favoring males that further the production of the most fit morph based on the stability of the environment. Our findings further support the idea that in ephemeral aquatic environments, the rapidly changing environment has a large effect on the survival of a population and plays an important role in selecting a mate.
- Date of publication
- spring 2016
- Keyword
- DOI
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- Rights statement
- In Copyright
- Note
- Funding: None
- Advisor
- Pfennig, Karin
- Degree
- Bachelor of Science
- Honors level
- Honors
- Degree granting institution
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Extent
- 13
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