Variance in male mating success and female choice for persuasive courtship displays

The sexual behavior of the North American plethodontid salamander, Desmognathus ocoee, was studied to determine whether courtship displays by males evolve through sexual selection of the females. The mating success for individual males varied from 14% to 69% relative to multiple potential mates for different encounters. The males' abilities to arouse or convince females to copulate were proposed to account for the differences in male mating success rates.