Jadon Chiu

Mate choice involves a complex set of behaviors that can profoundly affect evolution through sexual selection. One of the main components of mate choice is choosiness, which is the degree to which a chooser is willing to invest in assessing potential mates. Variation in choosiness may be a major determinant of individual differences in mate choice, yet relatively few studies have inquired as to what makes some individuals choosier than others. One perspective is that choosiness may be limited by the tradeoffs between the benefits that can be gained from high-quality mates and the costs of finding and assessing those mates. Here, we investigated fecundity, the physiological capability of an individual to produce offspring, as a possible determinant of choosiness. Fecundity may interact with choosiness by 1) increasing the value of mate assessment and by 2) consuming resources that could otherwise be used for mate assessment. Since offspring success depends on contributions from both parents, a fecund female may gain more value from a higher quality mate than a less fecund female simply because she can have more offspring that can receive mating benefits. On the other hand, investing more resources in producing offspring may leave less expendable energy for a female to assess mates and find one of good quality. We examined the relationships between fecundity, choosiness, and body condition in wild female Hyla chrysoscelis frogs with the prediction that fecundity and choosiness level increase in tandem as body condition improves. Our results showed that fecundity and choosiness positively correlate to body condition and to one another, suggesting that choosiness does afford greater value at higher levels of fecundity. Further study is needed to verify the mechanism by which fecundity interacts with choosiness.Mate choice involves a complex set of behaviors that can profoundly affect evolution through sexual selection. One of the main components of mate choice is choosiness, which is the degree to which a chooser is willing to invest in assessing potential mates. Variation in choosiness may be a major determinant of individual differences in mate choice, yet relatively few studies have inquired as to what makes some individuals choosier than others. One perspective is that choosiness may be limited by the tradeoffs between the benefits that can be gained from high-quality mates and the costs of finding and assessing those mates. Here, we investigated fecundity, the physiological capability of an individual to produce offspring, as a possible determinant of choosiness. Fecundity may interact with choosiness by 1) increasing the value of mate assessment and by 2) consuming resources that could otherwise be used for mate assessment. Since offspring success depends on contributions from both parents, a fecund female may gain more value from a higher quality mate than a less fecund female simply because she can have more offspring that can receive mating benefits. On the other hand, investing more resources in producing offspring may leave less expendable energy for a female to assess mates and find one of good quality. We examined the relationships between fecundity, choosiness, and body condition in wild female Hyla chrysoscelis frogs with the prediction that fecundity and choosiness level increase in tandem as body condition improves. Our results showed that fecundity and choosiness positively correlate to body condition and to one another, suggesting that choosiness does afford greater value at higher levels of fecundity. Further study is needed to verify the mechanism by which fecundity interacts with choosiness.