2002/01/01 by Adolfo Marco, Miguel Lizana · 4 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · Psychology · #Amphibian #Amphibian and Reptile Biology #Animal Behavior and Reproduction #Assortative mating #Biology #Bufo #Ecology #Mate choice #Mating #Plant and animal studies #Psychology #Stimulus (psychology) #Toad #Zoology
paper · doi:10.1080/08927014.2002.9522756
openalex publication_date 2002/01/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
During mate search male Bufo bufo do not discriminate between green frogs and conspecifics, between sexes or between gravid females that differ in body size. We studied mate recognition and the mating behaviour of male European common toads, B. bufo using field-based choice experiments. When given a simultaneous choice between R. perezi and B. bufo both matched in size, male toads did not discriminate between species and amplected a frog or a toad with equal frequency. When a male toad amplected a frog, the frog uttered a release call but the toad did not release the frog and the amplexus lasted from several seconds to a few minutes. Usually frogs fought to release the male toad but test toads were tenacious and usually attempted several times to clasp the frog when the frog slipped away from toad. When given a simultaneous choice between a male and a female of equal size, males did not discriminate between the sexes and attempted to amplex a male or a female with equal frequency. When a test male clasped a stimulus male, the stimulus male uttered a specific release call that caused the test male to release the stimulus male. Male-male amplexus never lasted more than 3 sec, and consequently, the search cost associated with mating with the wrong sex was relatively low. Males did not discriminate between gravid females that differed in body size. Moreover, there was no assortative mating by size. Male-female amplexus was tenacious and prolonged in the three experiments.