Meeting Abstract
The social displays of many species of lizards include tail movements, such as waving, curling, or lifting the tail. Tail displays can also be used to distract potential predators, which might attack the lizard’s tail instead of its head or body, yet the loss of the tail may forfeit an important store of energy. In this study, we examined the relationship between lizard tail use and the frequency of tail autotomy. If the benefit of losing the tail in a predator encounter is outweighed by the social or energetic advantages the tail provides, we predicted that the rate of tail loss would decline. We studied five lizard species that vary in tail use: greater earless lizards (Cophosaurus texanus) and curly tail lizards (Leiocephalus carinatus) use tails frequently in display, Mediterranean house geckos (Hemidactylus frenatus) and crested anoles (Anolis cristatellus) use tails occasionally, and green anoles (Anolis carolinensus) almost never include tail movements in display. We observed lizards of each species in the field to quantify the use of the tail in social contexts, and performed predator simulation trials to quantify tail use in predatory contexts. We also approximated energetic content of the tail using the ratio of tail mass to body mass. We found that lizards that use their tail frequently in social contexts also use the tail frequently in predator encounters, and in most of the taxa studied, that frequent tail use may be associated with frequent tail loss. Further, we found no association between tail energy storage and autotomy. This study provides a framework for studying the ecological tradeoffs involved in maximizing long term success in the face of short-term predation risk.
