Frogs Make Poor Mating Choices When Overwhelmed

Romantic overload isn't just a human problem; for one tree frog species, too many suitors can mean making a bad choice, or none at all. A new study on Cope's gray tree frogs in Tennessee finds that females are far better at zeroing in on the "best" male when the options are limited. Researchers tested 60 females in a sound chamber, offering either two, four, or eight recorded mating calls, per Science News. Especially long calls, linked to better survival odds for offspring, are usually preferred.

When there were just two calls, 77% of the frogs hopped toward the speaker playing the longer, more desirable call, per Popular Science. With four options, that dropped to about half; with eight calls, only one in five chose properly, according to the study published in iScience. Decision time also stretched out, and some frogs (17% of those confronted with eight calls) simply didn't choose at all. The findings suggest "choice overload" may help explain why less impressive males still manage to contribute to the gene pool.