Meeting Abstract
While polymorphisms within males have been studied extensively, relatively less attention has been paid to polymorphisms specific to females. In this study, we focused on a heritable back-pattern polymorphism in females of the brown anole lizard, Anolis sagrei. In most brown anole populations, females have a distinctive back pattern comprised of a longitudinal bar, diamonds, or diamond-bars. However, in some populations, females can also have a chevron back pattern similar to that of males. To explore the adaptive significance of this sex-limited polymorphism, we used data from an ongoing mark-recapture study of an island population of brown anoles in Florida (n ~ 1000 females across 2 years) to test for differences in morphology, survival, and natural selection between male-like and female-like morphs. We found that morphs did not differ in morphology (body size, limb length, head dimensions, dewlap size), or in the strength and direction of natural selection on these phenotypes. Although male-like females had lower probability of survival than female-like morphs as juveniles, this pattern was inconsistent across life stages and years. We also observed the behavior of these morphs in the wild, in response to staged territorial intrusions by females of the same and opposite morph. Although the two morphs did not differ in their probability of attacking intruders, they tended to display more towards intruding females with the same back pattern, suggesting that individuals may perceive and respond to differences in back patterns. Future studies will focus on quantifying the reproductive success of each morph.
