Competitive mate searching in male common toads, Bufo bufo

Davies, N. B.; Halliday, Tim

doi:10.1016/0003-3472(79)90070-8

Cited by 235 publications

(137 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Directional sexual selection in natural populations for morphological characters related to body size has been documented in a variety of organisms, including moths (Mason, 1969); beetles (McCauley and Wade, 1978;Mason, 1980;McLain, 1981McLain, , 1982; butterflies (Wickman, 1985); toads (Wilburg et a!., 1978;Davies and Halliday, 1979;Fairchild, 1981;Halliday, 1983); frogs (Howard, 1979(Howard, , 1980Beryen, 1981;Arnold, 1983;Arnold and Wade, 1984b;Howard and Kiuge, 1985;Ryan, 1983;Robertson, 1986); and finches (Price, 1984). In these studies body size was found to be positively correlated with mating success and in the bullfrog, Rana catesbiana, sexual selection accounted for 75 per cent of the total selection differential shifting the mean male size distribution 063 standard deviations (Arnold and Wade, 1984b).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolutionary history of Drosophila buzzatii. XIV. Larger flies mate more often in nature

et al. 1988

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolutionary history of Drosophila buzzatii. XIV. Larger flies mate more often in nature

et al. 1988

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“…Male anurans use their forelimbs to grasp the female firmly in the armpit or groin, and maintain this position until the female oviposits. Rival suitors often dislodge amplectant males (Davies & Halliday 1979;Byrne & Roberts 2004). Female anurans frequently inflate their bodies when amplexed by males (B. Brunning & B. L. Phillips 2007, personal observation)-as they do when grasped by predators (figure 1a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Male toads often call in localized groups, and rival males wrestle for mating access (Bowcock et al 2008) as described for B. bufo ( Davies & Halliday 1978). In bufonids, the amorous attention of multiple males can drown females (Davies & Halliday 1979;Wells 2007), and size mismatches between males and females reduce fertilization success (Davies & Halliday 1977), so both natural and sexual selection may favour female toads able to dislodge unwanted males.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Turgid female toads give males the slip: a new mechanism of female mate choice in the Anura

2010

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In many anuran species, males vocalize to attract females but will grasp any female that comes within reach and retain their hold unless displaced by a rival male. Thus, female anurans may face strong selection to repel unwanted suitors, but no mechanism is known for doing so. We suggest that a defensive trait (the ability to inflate the body to ward off attack) has been co-opted for this role: by inflating their bodies, females are more difficult for males to grasp and hence, it is easier for another male to displace an already amplexed rival. Inflating a model female cane toad ( Bufo marinus ) strongly reduced a male's ability to maintain amplexus; and females who were experimentally prevented from inflating their bodies experienced no successful takeovers from rival males, in contrast to control females. Thus, the ability of a female cane toad to inflate her body may allow her to manipulate the outcome of male–male competition. This overlooked mechanism of anuran mate choice may reflect a common evolutionary pattern, whereby females co-opt defensive traits for use in sexual selection.

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“…Large males have advantages in aggressive interactions with other males for females, and in struggles with females to capture or physically control them (Berrill and Arsenault 1984;Atema 1986;Donaldson and Adams 1989). As a result, the mating behavior of males may vary based on their size, the array of competitors they face, and the availability of potential mates (Davies and Halliday 1979;Borgia 1980;Shuster 1989). In theory, variation in the ability of males to interact aggressively for females, male courtship behavior, and sex ratio produces the following: (1) at all sex ratios, large males spend less time guarding each female than small males, and (2) as females become rare, males search less, court more persistently, and guard longer because females that require longer guarding times are more numerous (Parker 1974;Grafen and Ridley 1983).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of female molt stage and sex ratio on courtship behavior of the blue crab Callinectes sapidus

Jivoff

Hines

1998

Marine Biology

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In many species, males and females actively participate in courtship, and the outcome of pre-mating interactions in¯uences the mating success of both sexes. Female blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus, mate soon after their ®nal molt to maturity; thus female molt stage dictates the timing of mating. In a ®eld experiment, we manipulated female molt stage and sex ratio to test their eects on the courtship behavior of both sexes, if female behavior in¯uences the behavior and pairing success of males, and if male courtship in¯uences male pairingsuccess. Early-molt-stage females avoided males during courtship, whereas late-molt-stage females sought out males. As a result, males had to pursue and capture early-molt-stage females whereas males displayed to late-molt-stage females and more easily physically controlled them. Males sometimes abandoned late-moltstage females, but this occurred more often when females were abundant. The rate at which females avoided males was positively correlated with that of males abandoning females, and males that were unsuccessful at pairing met with higher rates of female resistance than successful males, suggesting that female behavior in¯u-ences male pairing-success. Unlike unsuccessful males, successful males more often made the transition between display and maintaining physical control of the female. At high male sex ratios, males initiated courtship more readily; thus both sexual competition and female behavior in¯uence male courtship in this species.

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Competitive mate searching in male common toads, Bufo bufo

Cited by 235 publications

References 13 publications

The evolutionary history of Drosophila buzzatii. XIV. Larger flies mate more often in nature

The evolutionary history of Drosophila buzzatii. XIV. Larger flies mate more often in nature

Turgid female toads give males the slip: a new mechanism of female mate choice in the Anura

Effect of female molt stage and sex ratio on courtship behavior of the blue crab Callinectes sapidus

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