Opportunity for sexual selection arises at moderate densities in the frog Rana chensinensis: an experimental approach

Atypical assortative mating based on body size in an explosive-breeding toad from a tropical island of southern China

Mating patterns exhibit considerable intra- and interspecific variation. Sexual selection can lead to the occurrence of random and assortative mating in different populations of the same species. Thus, understanding variation in mating decisions is crucial to understanding variation in the direction of sexual selection. We investigated natural mating patterns in Black-spectacled toads (Duttaphrynus melanostictus), an explosive-breeding species that breeds throughout the year. We captured amplectant pairs (137) and non-amplectant males (212) during breeding seasons from November 2016 to April 2017 in tropical-island population of southern China. Our study found no significant difference in snout-vent length (SVL) between amplectant and non-amplectant males. Female and male SVL were positively correlated with each other. Small females were paired more frequently with small males, less frequently with large males, but had no preference for or against medium males. Medium females exhibited no preference. Large females showed no preference for large males, but were paired less frequently with small males. These data suggested that successful amplectant males had body sizes representative of the entire population. Both random and size-assortative mating were present simultaneously in the same population and within the same breeding season. Female choice was important in shaping the mating behavior of Black-spectacled toads, promoting genotype-frequency stabilization and body-size diversity in the population.