Behavioural patterns, preference, and motivation of female midwife toads during phonotaxis tests

Abstract

During two-speaker phonotaxis tests performed with female midwife toads (Alytes obstetricans and A. cisternasii), the occurrence of behavioural patterns tentatively considered to be associated with entering amplexus and making a mate choice was noted. The individual repeatability of choice was assessed as a measurement of reliability of female preference, and the individual repeatability of response was assessed as a measurement of the degree of female motivation. The tests were grouped in two categories, spectral and temporal, according to the acoustic variable addressed in the test. Females selecting the alternative chosen less often by the population responded less often in phonotaxis tests and thus could be less motivated. Female repeatability was significant for temporal tests, but not for spectral tests. The observation of behavioural patterns during phonotaxis tests appears to be a useful complement to mate choice studies in anurans.