Research shows that after a point, females don't process more signal as male courtship show gets more and more elaborate. This odd story suggests signal overload for the females sets the upper limit for showy behaviour rather than competition success of the males that woo. An example:
"Studying neotropical túngara frogs, they found that females lose their ability to detect differences in male mating calls as the calls become more elaborate".
Science Daily News story here.
Female túngara frogs have a limited cognitive ability to recognize increasing elaboration in male mating calls. Fringe-lipped bats that hunt the singing males also have a limited cognitive ability to notice increases in male call complexity. So, the evolution of increasing complexity in male calls is limited by decreased female response rather than increased predation. (Credit: Photo composite by Michael Teague O'Mara. Photos by A. Baugh, K. Lampert and A. Lang.)
Female túngara frogs have a limited cognitive ability to recognize increasing elaboration in male mating calls. Fringe-lipped bats that hunt the singing males also have a limited cognitive ability to notice increases in male call complexity. So, the evolution of increasing complexity in male calls is limited by decreased female response rather than increased predation. (Credit: Photo composite by Michael Teague O'Mara. Photos by A. Baugh, K. Lampert and A. Lang.)
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