Mate choice is an important cause of natural and sexual selection and drives the evolution and elaboration of male ornaments. Yet mate choice decisions are often neither consistent nor uniform, and a range of factors have been identified to influence variation between and within individuals. A potential source of variation influencing preferences and/or choosiness is animal personality, that is, repeatable among-individual differences in behaviors. Not only may individuals differ in average personality phenotype but also vary in how consistently they display said personality. Distinguishing between personality and consistency is important because both aspects are potentially naturally selected traits that may yet influence how sexually selected ornaments are evaluated. Here, we use a predator evasion assay to test whether there is variation in boldness among female gray treefrogs (Hyla versicolor), and then examine whether personality traits (spectrum of shy to bold) are correlated with choosiness for longer duration calls. We document substantial and repeatable between-individual variation in boldness, suggesting the presence of animal personality. Results also reveal that the consistency with which females expressed boldness is independent from average personality phenotype and that it is correlated with choosiness: more consistently bold females were choosier.

中文翻译：

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性格影响雌性择偶：表现出更一致大胆行为的青蛙更挑剔

配偶选择是自然选择和性选择的重要原因，推动着雄性饰物的进化和精致。然而，择偶决策往往既不一致也不统一，并且已经确定了一系列影响个体之间和个体内部差异的因素。影响偏好和/或选择的变异的潜在来源是动物个性，即个体间可重复的行为差异。个体不仅在平均人格表型上可能存在差异，而且在表现所述人格的一致性方面也存在差异。区分个性和一致性很重要，因为这两个方面都是潜在的自然选择特征，可能会影响对性别选择的装饰品的评估。在这里，我们使用捕食者逃避试验来测试雌性灰树蛙（Hyla versicolor）的大胆程度是否存在差异，然后检查性格特征（害羞到大胆的范围）是否与较长时间叫声的选择性相关。我们记录了个体间胆量的显着且可重复的变化，表明动物个性的存在。结果还表明，女性表现出大胆的一致性与平均人格表型无关，并且与挑剔相关：更加一致大胆的女性更加挑剔。