Female mate choice significantly increases captive breeding success, and scents can be frozen to determine choice, in the stripe-faced dunnart

Parrott, Marissa L.; Nation, Angela; Selwood, Lynne

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2019.03.006

Cited by 15 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…To date, this type of work has focused on mammals, such as captive harvest mice, pygmy loris' and striped face dunnarts. In these species, male olfactory cues (scent markings) have been used to manipulate female preferences and determine optimal pairings in captivity (Fisher et al, 2003;Roberts and Gosling, 2004;Parrott et al, 2019). Whether similar approaches can be taken with anurans is an exciting avenue for future research.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One reason for this may be that natural mate choice behavior is rarely permitted; either due to a lack of information on the reproductive behavior of a target species, and/or, mate choice is restricted in favor of genetic targets (Asa et al, 2011;Martin-Wintle et al, 2019). Recent work has demonstrated that integrating mate choice into captive breeding protocols can significantly increase behavioral compatibility between mates, resulting in higher mating and reproductive success, and elevated offspring survival post-release (Petrie, 1994;Martin-Wintle et al, 2015;Hartnett et al, 2018;Parrott et al, 2019). Thus, research investigating patterns of female mate choice (including individual variation) in threatened species has real potential to improve captive breeding outcomes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mate Preference Plasticity in a Critically Endangered Frog: Implications for Conservation Breeding

Kelleher

Silla

Hertel

et al. 2021

Front. Conserv. Sci.

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Variation in female mate preferences for male traits remains poorly understood (both among and within females), despite having important evolutionary and conservation implications, particularly for captive breeding. Here, we investigate female mate preferences for male advertisement call frequency, and determine whether preferences vary over repeated trials, in the critically endangered southern corroboree frog, Pseudophryne corroboree. We conducted a series of phonotaxis trials in a six-speaker arena where naïve, captive-bred, virgin females were offered a choice between low, average and high frequency male advertisement calls, with a subset of females tested repeatedly. In the first trial, we found no evidence for a population-level preference for call frequency, but females spent less time in the low call zone than expected by chance. However, our results showed that female mate preferences changed over sequential trials. Females spent significantly more time in the low frequency call zone in the third trial compared to the first trial, and, in the last trial, females exhibited a significant population-level preference for low frequency calls. Subsequently, repeatability estimates of female preferences were low and did not significantly deviate from zero. Our results indicate that female P. corroboree mate preferences can exhibit temporal variation, and suggest that females are more attracted to low call frequencies after repeated exposure. These findings imply that female P. corroboree may become choosier over time, and highlight the potential for mate preferences to exhibit phenotypic plasticity within a single reproductive cycle. Overall, these findings provide the first information on mate preferences in P. corroboree, and emphasize the importance of considering individual variation in mate choice studies. From a conservation perspective, knowledge of individual variation in female mate preferences may be used to conduct behavioral manipulations in captivity that facilitate the breeding of genetically valuable individuals, and improve the success of conservation breeding programs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mate Preference Plasticity in a Critically Endangered Frog: Implications for Conservation Breeding

Kelleher

Silla

Hertel

et al. 2021

Front. Conserv. Sci.

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“…Female mate choice is a strong evolutionary factor that can have significant consequences for female fitness (Andersson 1994;Rosenthal 2017). By preferentially mating with certain males, females can significantly improve their reproductive success, as well as the fitness of their offspring (Petrie 1994;Martin-Wintle et al 2015;Hartnett et al 2018;Parrott et al 2019). In resource-based mating systems, where males provide resources essential for reproduction, females can obtain a combination of both direct and genetic benefits from their mating decisions, as these benefits are not mutually exclusive (Candolin 2003;Bussière et al 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple phenotypic traits predict male mating success in a critically endangered frog

Kelleher

Silla

McFadden

et al. 2022

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Complex sexual signals spanning multiple sensory modalities may be common in nature, yet few studies have explored how combinations of phenotypic traits influence male attractiveness and mating success. Here, we investigate whether combinations of multiple male phenotypic traits (both within and across sensory modalities) predict male mating and fertilization success in the critically endangered southern corroboree frog, Pseudophryne corroboree. We conducted breeding trials in a standardized captive environment where females were given the opportunity to choose between multiple males over the duration of the breeding season. For each male, we measured multiple call traits, aspects of coloration, body size, and age. We found that complex interactions between multiple traits best predicted male mating and fertilization success. In general, males with lower call frequency, lower call rate, and shorter call duration had the highest mating and fertilization success. Fertilization success was additionally linked to male body size and age. These findings suggest that female P. corroboree select mates based on a suite of acoustic traits, adding to a growing body of evidence that females use multiple traits to assess male quality. Our results also suggest that females may combine information from multiple signals non-additively. Moreover, our results imply that females gain direct fertility benefits from their mate choice decisions. We argue that understanding female mate choice based on various signals across multiple sensory modalities has important implications for the integration of mate choice into conservation breeding programs and needs to be considered when developing behavior-based captive breeding strategies. Significance statement Sexual signals are often highly complex, yet we know little about how multiple signal components both within and across various sensory modalities predict male mating success. We investigated whether combinations of multiple phenotypic traits (within and across sensory modalities) predicted male breeding success in threatened corroboree frogs. We conducted captive breeding trials in a homogeneous environment, where females could choose between multiple males over the duration of a single breeding season. We found that interactions between multiple male traits predicted mating and fertilization success. Males with lower call frequency, call rate, and duration had higher mating success. Fertilization success was also linked to acoustic signals, body size, and age. Understanding mate choice for multiple traits further elucidates the complexity of female mate choice. This study is one of the first to consider the conservation implications of multimodal signaling in mate choice.

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“…Much of the current literature on mate choice in conservation contexts focuses on experimental pairing trials. In pairing trials, an animal is housed with a test individual of the opposite sex, with behavioral indicators and/or reproductive outcomes used to determine whether the pairing is preferred or nonpreferred (e.g., Hartnett, Parrott, Mulder, Coulson, & Magrath, 2018; Martin‐Wintle et al., 2015; Parrott, Nation, & Selwood, 2019). Other studies compare the breeding success of pairings with varying genetic characteristics (Brandies, Grueber, Ivy, Hogg, & Belov, 2018; Parrott, Ward, & Temple‐Smith, 2006; Parrott, Ward, Temple‐Smith, & Selwood, 2015; Russell et al., 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deciphering genetic mate choice: Not so simple in group‐housed conservation breeding programs

Farquharson

Hogg

Belov

et al. 2020

Evolutionary Applications

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Female mate choice significantly increases captive breeding success, and scents can be frozen to determine choice, in the stripe-faced dunnart

Cited by 15 publications

References 45 publications

Mate Preference Plasticity in a Critically Endangered Frog: Implications for Conservation Breeding

Mate Preference Plasticity in a Critically Endangered Frog: Implications for Conservation Breeding

Multiple phenotypic traits predict male mating success in a critically endangered frog

Deciphering genetic mate choice: Not so simple in group‐housed conservation breeding programs

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