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Call structure may affect male mating success in the quacking frog Crinia georgiana (Anura: Myobatrachidae)

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Abstract

We investigated the relationship between mating success, male size and variation in the advertisement call in the frog Crinia georgiana under field conditions. Mating success in 91 males was determined by following 32 females as they moved through the chorus. Our analyses indicated that successful males had a higher number of pulses in the first note and/or called at a higher rate. However, we did not detect a significant relationship between mating success and dominant frequency, the property that varied most strongly with body size, suggesting that size is not an important influence on mate choice in this species. Even so, smaller males were more successful if they called at a higher rate whereas larger males were more successful if they had more pulses in their first note. Accordingly, males of different size may use different calling tactics to attract females. These results provide a framework for further experimental studies aimed at investigating the independent impacts of both inter- and intra-sexual selection on the advertisement call and body size of C. georgiana.

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Acknowledgements

This research was partly supported by ARC grant No. A19602654 to R S Seymour and J D Roberts. M Smith received a University of Western Australia Post Graduate Award and funds from the Department of Zoology, University of Western Australia. We thank Rick Roberts for technical support and both Leigh Simmons and Phil Withers for comments on the manuscript. This research was carried out under permits from the Department of Conservation and Land Management (permit no: SF002650), Western Australia, and the University of Western Australia, Animal Experimentation Committee (approval number: 98/008/E36).

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Correspondence to J. Dale Roberts.

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Communicated by A. Mathis

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Smith, M.J., Roberts, J.D. Call structure may affect male mating success in the quacking frog Crinia georgiana (Anura: Myobatrachidae). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 53, 221–226 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-002-0563-2

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