Sexual color ornamentation, microhabitat choice, and thermal physiology in the common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis)
Ruiz Miñano, Maravillas LU ; Uller, Tobias LU ; Pettersen, Amanda K. LU
; Nord, Andreas
LU
; Fitzpatrick, Luisa J.
and While, Geoffrey M.
LU
(2024)
In Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological and Integrative Physiology
341(9).
p.1041-1052
- Abstract
Common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) in Italy show a striking variation in body coloration across the landscape, with highly exaggerated black and green colors in hot and dry climates and brown and white colors in cool and wet climates. Males are more intensely colored than females, and previous work has suggested that the maintenance of variation in coloration across the landscape reflects climatic effects on the strength of male–male competition, and through this sexual selection. However climatic effects on the intensity of male–male competition would need to be exceptionally strong to fully explain the geographic patterns of color variation. Thus, additional processes may contribute to the maintenance of color variation. Here we... (More)
Common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) in Italy show a striking variation in body coloration across the landscape, with highly exaggerated black and green colors in hot and dry climates and brown and white colors in cool and wet climates. Males are more intensely colored than females, and previous work has suggested that the maintenance of variation in coloration across the landscape reflects climatic effects on the strength of male–male competition, and through this sexual selection. However climatic effects on the intensity of male–male competition would need to be exceptionally strong to fully explain the geographic patterns of color variation. Thus, additional processes may contribute to the maintenance of color variation. Here we test the hypothesis that selection for green and black ornamentation in the context of male–male competition is opposed by selection against ornamentation because the genes involved in the regulation of coloration have pleiotropic effects on thermal physiology, such that ornamentation is selected against in cool climates. Field observations revealed no association between body coloration and microhabitat use or field active body temperatures. Consistent with these field data, lizards at the extreme ends of the phenotypic distribution for body coloration did not show any differences in critical minimum temperature, preferred body temperature, temperature-dependent metabolic rate, or evaporative water loss when tested in the laboratory. Combined, these results provide no evidence that genes that underlie sexual ornamentation are selected against in cool climate because of pleiotropic effects on thermal biology.
(Less)
- author
- Ruiz Miñano, Maravillas
LU
; Uller, Tobias
LU
; Pettersen, Amanda K.
LU
; Nord, Andreas
LU
; Fitzpatrick, Luisa J.
and While, Geoffrey M.
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024-11
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- coloration, metabolism, microhabitat, pleiotropy, Podarcis muralis, sexual selection, thermal physiology
- in
- Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological and Integrative Physiology
- volume
- 341
- issue
- 9
- pages
- 12 pages
- publisher
- John Wiley & Sons Inc.
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85200373248
- ISSN
- 2471-5638
- DOI
- 10.1002/jez.2859
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 00f17da2-8754-4582-8e7b-991f9aceac00
- date added to LUP
- 2024-11-05 14:51:26
- date last changed
- 2025-06-04 09:12:59
@article{00f17da2-8754-4582-8e7b-991f9aceac00,
abstract = {{<p>Common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) in Italy show a striking variation in body coloration across the landscape, with highly exaggerated black and green colors in hot and dry climates and brown and white colors in cool and wet climates. Males are more intensely colored than females, and previous work has suggested that the maintenance of variation in coloration across the landscape reflects climatic effects on the strength of male–male competition, and through this sexual selection. However climatic effects on the intensity of male–male competition would need to be exceptionally strong to fully explain the geographic patterns of color variation. Thus, additional processes may contribute to the maintenance of color variation. Here we test the hypothesis that selection for green and black ornamentation in the context of male–male competition is opposed by selection against ornamentation because the genes involved in the regulation of coloration have pleiotropic effects on thermal physiology, such that ornamentation is selected against in cool climates. Field observations revealed no association between body coloration and microhabitat use or field active body temperatures. Consistent with these field data, lizards at the extreme ends of the phenotypic distribution for body coloration did not show any differences in critical minimum temperature, preferred body temperature, temperature-dependent metabolic rate, or evaporative water loss when tested in the laboratory. Combined, these results provide no evidence that genes that underlie sexual ornamentation are selected against in cool climate because of pleiotropic effects on thermal biology.</p>}},
author = {{Ruiz Miñano, Maravillas and Uller, Tobias and Pettersen, Amanda K. and Nord, Andreas and Fitzpatrick, Luisa J. and While, Geoffrey M.}},
issn = {{2471-5638}},
keywords = {{coloration; metabolism; microhabitat; pleiotropy; Podarcis muralis; sexual selection; thermal physiology}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{9}},
pages = {{1041--1052}},
publisher = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
series = {{Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological and Integrative Physiology}},
title = {{Sexual color ornamentation, microhabitat choice, and thermal physiology in the common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis)}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jez.2859}},
doi = {{10.1002/jez.2859}},
volume = {{341}},
year = {{2024}},
}