Male adaptive stupidity: male mating pattern in hybridogenetic frogs

Question: Why do male frogs invest in heterospecific matings in hybridogenetic systems with large heterospecific and small conspecific females? When is a strategy to mate with larger females evolutionarily stable? Mathematical method: A continuous-time model of reproductive values with discrete classes of individuals is developed to investigate the balance between two strong selective pressures: large conspecific females are the best mates, but large females are also more likely to be heterospecific. Key assumption: Males can detect female size, but are unable to distinguish between conspecific and heterospecific females. Matings incur time costs and the mating season is limited. Therefore, males of the small parental species should evolve to ignore heterospecific females. Conclusion: The results indicate that direct benefits of male mate choice within conspecifics can counteract the selective pressure to avoid large females as mates. This trade-off can balance out in a way that makes indiscriminate mating adaptive