Meeting Abstract
Alternative social strategies in lizards are often correlated with distinct color forms that are fixed upon development. In the Indian rock agama, Psammophilus dorsalis, dynamic physiological color changes allow males to express alternative color patterns for courtship and aggression. These social colours of males (especially the courtship pattern), are conspicuous not only to conspecifics but also to predators, and thus impose a greater risk to males than non-social colors. To balance the predation risk of conspicuous colors with the benefits of social signalling, males switch in and out of color states within minutes. Given population differences in selection pressures, the intensity of color states differs between urban and rural populations, with associated differences in testosterone and corticosterone responses to social challenges. Overall, whole organismal shifts in phenotypic strategies that include hormone responsiveness and health indices, suggest that urban lizards have social coping styles that are reactive and not proactive.
