A Quantitative Genetics Study of Agalychnis callidryas

Abstract

Mate choice is based on a combination of traits that may include body size, calls, and territory quality. In Belizean red-eyed treefrog populations, Agalychnis callidryas, large males have a mating advantage and they sire larger tadpoles. To detennine whether similar conditions exist in other A. callidryas populations, we manipulated controlled matings and quantified the resulting offspring. General research objectives were: 1) to determine if a large-male mating advantage exists in Panamanian populations and 2) to investigate maternal and paternal effects on egg clutches and the growth and development of tadpoles. Each female was paired with two males and each male with two females to obtain tadpoles from half-sibships. Individual tadpoles were raised to metamorphosis in cages suspended in the pond. We analyzed maternal and paternal effects on larval performance and growth rate. Amplectant males were significantly larger than non-amplectant males suggesting female preference for large males. Maternal effects were present in the early stages of offspring development in the form of a female size-fecundity relationship, while paternal effects were evident in later stages of tadpole growth and development.