Welch A M, Semlitsch R D, Gerhardt H C
Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
Science. 1998 Jun 19;280(5371):1928-30. doi: 10.1126/science.280.5371.1928.
The "good genes" hypothesis predicts that mating preferences enable females to select mates of superior genetic quality. The genetic consequences of the preference shown by female gray tree frogs for long-duration calls were evaluated by comparing the performance of maternal half-siblings sired by males with different call durations. Offspring of male gray tree frogs that produced long calls showed better performance during larval and juvenile stages than did offspring of males that produced short calls. These data suggest that call duration can function as a reliable indicator of heritable genetic quality.
“优质基因”假说预测，择偶偏好能使雌性选择遗传质量更优的配偶。通过比较不同叫声时长雄性灰树蛙所产母系半同胞的表现，评估了雌性灰树蛙对长时叫声偏好的遗传后果。发出长叫声的雄性灰树蛙的后代在幼虫和幼年阶段的表现优于发出短叫声的雄性灰树蛙的后代。这些数据表明，叫声时长可作为可遗传的遗传质量的可靠指标。
