Independence of mate choice components (choosiness and preference functions) in Hyla versicolor

Mate choice is an important cause of natural and sexual selection, driving
the evolution of ornaments and promoting diversification and speciation.
Mate choice decisions arise from the interaction of several components,
and knowledge of whether they interact, and how, is crucial for
understanding their contributions to selection. Here we focus on the
relationship between preference functions (attractiveness ranking of
prospective mates) and choosiness (effort invested in obtaining the
preferred mate) and test the hypothesis that they are independent
components of mate choice decisions. We examine individual variation in
preference functions and choosiness for call duration in female Hyla
versicolor treefrogs, and show that measures describing preference
functions and choosiness are not correlated. We also found a suggestive
but inconclusive pattern that both components are influenced by different
factors (body measures and hormones). Independence of preference and
choosiness suggests that the joint study of variation in both components
is required to gain a complete understanding of how mate choice
contributes to sexual selection and speciation.