DOI: 10.5061/dryad.bzkh189d4
title: Data from: Female chorus frogs delay mate choice under suboptimal environmental conditions

description: Many traits important for reproductive isolation are environmentally
 responsive. However, most studies examining reproductive isolation do not
 explicitly take into consideration environmental variation. Temperature
 can have a particularly large effect on reproductive behaviors, especially
 in ectotherms. Here, we tested whether temperature affects the degree of
 reproductive isolation between the Upland chorus frog (Pseudacris
 feriarum) and its congener P. nigrita. These two species engage
 in costly hybridization in nature, leading to reinforcement of male
 signals and female preferences in sympatry. However, male advertisement
 calls vary with temperature such that the difference between the
 advertisement calls of the two species is narrower at cold than at warm
 temperatures. To examine the effect of temperature on reproductive
 isolation in this system, we performed six binary choice preference trials
 using sympatric female P. feriarum. In these experiments, we
 acclimated females to either warm (20°C) or cool (10°C) temperatures and
 gave them a choice between heterospecific and conspecific advertisement
 calls appropriate for the temperature. We also conducted experiments where
 we gave females a choice between more similar stimuli at warm temperatures
 to test whether females have more specific preferences at cold
 temperatures. We found that females always preferred the conspecific
 advertisement call, though they tended to make more mistakes when given a
 choice between more similar stimuli at warm temperatures. However, females
 took twice as long to make a choice in sub-optimal conditions. This time
 delay may lead to increased risk of hybridization, despite female ability
 to discriminate between calls. Our results highlight the importance of
 considering environmental context when examining traits involved in
 reproductive isolation.
description: # Data from: Female chorus frogs delay mate choice under suboptimal
 environmental conditions Supporting material for publication in Animal
 Behaviour
 ([https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.11.012)](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.11.012 "Persistent link using digital object identifier"). We tested whether temperature affects the degree of reproductive isolation between the upland chorus frog, *Pseudacris feriarum*, and its congener *Pseudacris nigrita*. These two species engage in costly hybridization in nature, leading to reinforcement of male signals and female preferences in sympatry. Male advertisement calls vary with temperature leading the two species to have more similar calls at colder temperatures compared to warmer temperatures. We conducted six binary choice preference trials using sympatric female *P. feriarum*. In these experiments, we acclimated females to either warm (20 °C) or cool (10 °C) temperatures and gave them a choice between heterospecific and conspecific advertisement calls appropriate for the temperature. We also conducted experiments where we gave females a choice between more similar stimuli at warm temperatures to test whether females have narrower preferences at cold temperatures. We found that: temperature did not affect species recognition in upland chorus frogs; females took twice as long to make a choice at low temperatures; females took twice as long to make a choice when stimuli were unfamiliar; and signal discrimination did not change across signal range and temperature. This dataset includes: Supplementary Tables referenced in-text, raw data inputs for all statistical analyses as .txt files, and R Code for all statistical analyses conducted. ## Description of the Data and file structure RCode.R: code for (1) power analyses, (2) species recognition experiment statistical analyses, and (3) preference specificity experiment statistical analyses. Power_DataSetup.txt: input file for data structure for running power analyses. ExpA_DataInput.txt: input for statistical analyses for species recognition experiment. ExpB_DataInput.txt: input for statistical analyses for preference specificity experiment (choice). ExpB_DataInput_Time.txt: input for statistical analyses for preference specificity experiment (time).