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Does dewlap size predict male bite performance in Jamaican Anolis lizards?

  1. B. VANHOOYDONCK1,†,*,
  2. A. Y. HERREL1,†,
  3. R. VAN DAMME2,
  4. D. J. IRSCHICK1

Article first published online: 15 MAR 2005

DOI: 10.1111/j.0269-8463.2005.00940.x

Issue

Functional Ecology

Functional Ecology

Volume 19, Issue 1, pages 38–42, February 2005

Additional Information

How to Cite

VANHOOYDONCK, B., HERREL, A. Y., VAN DAMME, R. and IRSCHICK, D. J. (2005), Does dewlap size predict male bite performance in Jamaican Anolis lizards?. Functional Ecology, 19: 38–42. doi: 10.1111/j.0269-8463.2005.00940.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 310 Dinwiddie Hall, Tulane University, New Orleans LA70118, USA, and

  2. 2

    Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium

  1. †

    Present address: Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.E-mail: bieke.vanhooydonck@ua.ac.be

* †Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 15 MAR 2005
  2. Article first published online: 15 MAR 2005
  3. Received 29 April 2004; revised 27 September 2004; accepted 6 October 2004

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Keywords:

  • Honest signalling;
  • lizards;
  • sexual selection

Summary

  • 1
    The theory of the evolution of secondary sexual traits through male–male competition is based on the assumption that these traits are reliable cues for an animal's fighting capacity. In this paper, we test whether a secondary sexual trait, dewlap size, is an honest predictor of bite strength in Anolis lizards. Since male anoles will bite one another during territorial fights, bite performance may play an important role in determining the outcome of male–male fights.
  • 2
    We measured dewlap size and bite force in a size series of adult males of three Jamaican anoles, i.e. Anolis grahami Gray 1845, A. lineatopus Gray 1840 and A. valencienni Duméril & Bibron 1837.
  • 3
    In both A. grahami and A. lineatopus, males with relatively large dewlaps tend to bite relatively harder, while the relationship between relative dewlap size and bite force was clearly non-significant within the twig anole A. valencienni.
  • 4
    Our results thus suggest that dewlap size is an indicator of relative bite force in the former two species, but not in the latter. We argue that interspecific variation in territorial behaviour might explain this difference.
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