Mate selection in Litoria chloris and Litoria xanthomera: Females prefer smaller males

It is generally accepted that high quality males are those that succeed in male-male competition: in either aggression or rivalry to attract and be se lected by females. Previous studies of amphibians have suggested that the m ain characters influencing male mating success include variation in call ch aracteristics (e.g. call rate, call intensity), calling behaviour, body con dition, age and chorus tenure. In the present paper, several of the charact ers influencing female mate choice (male body size, body condition, call ra te, call frequency and chorus tenure) are investigated in two closely relat ed, explosive breeding frog species Litoria chloris and Litoria xanthomera. Smaller males of both species are shown to be more successful than larger males and this success is attributed to the increased chorus tenure of smal ler males in L. xanthomera. This increased chorus tenure was attributed to the lower total energy used per call by a small male calling at a higher fr equency. Whether increased chorus tenure explains female mate choice in L. chloris is uncertain but is highly probable given the strong similarity bet ween the two species in both ecology and call characteristics.