Meeting Abstract

P2.14  Wednesday, Jan. 5  Dominance, endurance, and color patch asymmetry within a population of eastern fence lizards (Sceloporus undulatus) in Ohio LATTANZIO, Matthew S.*; MILES, Donald B.; Ohio University; Ohio University ml195406@ohio.edu

Recently, research into multi-component signaling in lizards has illustrated that among many lizard species, males do not always couple a behavioral display (e.g., pushup) with expressions of color (e.g., belly patches). However, in species that integrate both components into a social display, it is important to note that many have paired patches on either side of their body. Hypothetically these patches may be equally, although not simultaneously, used for communication during one-sided displays of dominance and courtship. And it is likely that during intra-sexual encounters, males possessing brighter patches might also exhibit greater dominance and win competitive bouts against subordinate, less colorful, males. However if left- and right-side patches vary in brightness, male lizards may more frequently rely on the brighter patch side during social encounters. Here, we report on a population of eastern fence lizards (Sceloporus undulatus) in southeastern Ohio, within which male lizards vary in their degree of asymmetry among throat and belly patch coloration (i.e., brightness) and patch size. Adult males were collected from April – June 2010 and brought into lab facilities at Ohio University for all measurements and trials. Males were paired randomly for video-taped dominance trials, during which the displaying side of the body was recorded for each male exhibiting pushups and gular movements. The endurance capacity of each lizard was also estimated by chasing them along a circular race-track until exhaustion. Preliminary results will be discussed, and current progress and future plans highlighted.