Quantitative variables related to color, territory, behavior, and morphology for male lesser prairie-chickens used in discrete choice models in mate choice study

Sexual selection theory maintains that traits under selection honestly advertise qualities of signaling individuals and that only individuals in the best condition can survive while displaying maximally elaborated secondary sexual ornaments. Recent trends in mate choice studies have favored the consideration of the effects of multiple traits on mating success, including suites of traits transmitted in different sensory modalities. Sexual selection is expected to be especially strong in lek-mating species. The lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) is a grouse species which breeds on leks. Males of this species perform audio and locomotor displays and exhibit two pairs of brightly colored ornaments. We performed an observational study of mate choice in spring 2016-2018 and noted 40 copulations on seven leks. We quantified behavioral, territorial, and morphological characteristics of males along with ornament color properties. We found that variables from all categories consi...