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Multimodal female mate choice in a polymorphic flat rock lizard

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Abstract

Sexual selection is a driver of morphological and behavioral diversity. It may also play a role in the maintenance of behavioral and morphological polymorphisms. Adaptive theory predicts that males advertise individual quality through one or more signal paths and that females choose better quality mates based on those signals. Here, we use mate choice experiments in two different signaling modes (chemical and visual), to test whether females of a color cryptic-polymorphic lizard have a preference between two co-occurring male morphs (black and yellow) with alternative behavioral types. We test whether females use visual (males’ coloration) and/or chemical cues to choose male morphs. Furthermore, we assess whether continuous costly color expression influences female choice and whether male conspicuousness in their natural background predicts female mate choice. We show that females prefer the aggressive black-morph males based on chemical cues. Females prefer more conspicuous males as mates, and coloration at polymorphic ventral part of the body also contributes to higher conspicuousness of these males. Our study adds to the knowledge of intersexual selection for multi-component signals and opens possibilities for future research to explore the roles of complementary signal modes.

Significance statement

Sexual selection can drive the evolution of a great diversity of behavioral and morphological features and has puzzled naturalists ever since Darwin. We studied sexual selection in the striped lava lizard (Tropidurus semitaeniatus), a species endemic to Northeast Brazil. This species is known to have two different “types” of males (yellow or black). In our study, we conducted mate choice experiments to test whether females prefer males based on chemical and/or visual cues. Black males tend to be more aggressive and dominant, and we showed that females prefer these males based on their scent. We show that females prefer males that are more conspicuous within their natural habitat, and that ventral polymorphic coloration is related to female preference. Our study highlights the complexity of animal signals and contributes to our understanding of sexual selection and the role of complementary signal modes.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte for the structure in which we performed all measurements and experiments for this study. We thank two anonymous reviewers and Dr. Esteban Fernandez-Juricic for valuable comments in previous versions of the manuscript. We thank B.S. Maggi, C. Lisboa, O. Molnár, and K. Bajer for their field assistance. We also thank F.E.A. Coelho for assistance in lizards’ care and handling for color measuring. We were able to conclude this work despite the attacks of the Brazilian government on science.

Funding

This work was supported by a CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior) PhD fellowship and PDSE research grant (88881.135775/2016–01) to ACB. This work was also funded by CNPq grant 474392/2013–9.

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Contributions

ACB and GCC designed the study. ACB and TMAP conducted fieldwork and experiments in the lab. ACB and GCC analyzed the data. All authors contributed to the writing of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andre Carreira Bruinjé.

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Ethics approval

All procedures in this study followed the ethical standards of the institution at which the study was conducted. Ethical approval was granted by the Ethics Committee (CEUA, Protocol No. 040/2013). This study complies with all Brazilian regulations on the ethical treatment of wild animal sampling under scientific investigations.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Communicated by T. Madsen

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Carreira Bruinjé, A., de Alencar Paiva, T.M. & Costa, G.C. Multimodal female mate choice in a polymorphic flat rock lizard. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 76, 77 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-022-03181-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-022-03181-x

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