Meeting Abstract
Many animals use visual displays as a method of signaling to conspecifics. Lizards in the genus Anolis are an excellent model for studying visual communication; most species possess a brightly colored throat fan called a dewlap, the structure and behavioral use of which is well-studied. Anoles generally extend the dewlap in response to potential mates or competitors, and retract the structure so that it is not visible when not in use. In addition to the dewlap, several anole species also have tail crests. These crests are composed of extended spines of scales on the lizard’s tail that cannot be retracted. In this study, we tested whether dewlap size, a dynamic signal, and crest size, a static signal, were correlated with measures of individual quality in two species: A. cristatellus and A. gundlachi. We focused on two measures of quality: body condition and head shape, which is associated with bite force (and thus fighting ability). In male A. gundlachi, we found that crest area was correlated with head size, while dewlap area was correlated with both head size and body condition. In male A. cristatellus, we found that crest area was correlated with body condition, and that there was no relationship between dewlap area and any other traits. In females of both species (which do not possess tail crests, but do have dewlaps), we found that the dewlap area was not correlated with either head size or body condition. Together, these results suggest that in male anoles, both static and dynamic visual displays can communicate important information about an individual’s physical condition. In contrast, in female anoles, use of the dewlap may primarily communicate information about an animal’s immediate motivation.
