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Copulatory plugs in the Iberian Rock Lizard do not prevent insemination by rival males

  1. P. L. Moreira1,2,*,
  2. T. R. Birkhead1

Article first published online: 12 DEC 2003

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2003.00789.x

Issue

Functional Ecology

Functional Ecology

Volume 17, Issue 6, pages 796–802, December 2003

Additional Information

How to Cite

Moreira, P. L. and Birkhead, T. R. (2003), Copulatory plugs in the Iberian Rock Lizard do not prevent insemination by rival males. Functional Ecology, 17: 796–802. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2003.00789.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Animal & Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK, and

  2. 2

    Centro de Biologia Ambiental, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Edifício C-2 Campo Grande, 1749–016 Lisboa, Portugal

* †Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: plmoreira@netcabo.pt

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 12 DEC 2003
  2. Article first published online: 12 DEC 2003
  3. Received 13 January 2003; revised 22 May 2003; accepted 17 June 2003

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Keywords:

  • Chastity belt;
  • female attractiveness and receptivity;
  • postcopulatory mate guarding;
  • reptile;
  • sexual selection

Summary

  • 1
    Iberian Rock Lizard (Lacerta monticola, Boulenger 1905) males produce copulatory plugs that harden and adhere firmly inside the female cloaca immediately after copulation and occlude both oviductal openings.
  • 2
    To determine whether plugs reduce the chance of females being inseminated by rival males, two hypotheses were tested: (i) that plugs reduce female attractiveness and/or receptivity to rival males; and (ii) that plugs function as ‘chastity belts’.
  • 3
    There was no evidence to support either hypothesis. Neither male initiation of copulations and female termination of male copulation attempts, nor male insemination success differed significantly between trials in which males were presented with females without a plug and with females with a plug deposited by a different male 1, 3 and 6 or more hours earlier, nor between females without and with a plug.
  • 4
    Several hypotheses for the function of Iberian Rock Lizard plugs are discussed. Since rival males were frequently able to displace a plug in the female cloaca, our results are consistent with a ‘sperm protection’ function of male postcopulatory mate guarding in squamate reptiles, but this remains to be tested.
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