AI Article Synopsis
- Sexually selected traits, like lizard male dewlaps, may become more important in environments where the breeding season is limited, which impacts their courtship behavior.
- A study tested the connection between dewlap size and seasonal breeding in 44 Mexican lizard species but found that while a relationship existed initially, it disappeared once evolutionary relationships (phylogeny) were considered.
- The findings suggest that seasonality does not strongly drive the evolution of dewlap size, highlighting the complexity of understanding how multiple selection pressures influence trait development.
Article Abstract
Sexually selected traits can be expected to increase in importance when the period of sexual behavior is constrained, such as in seasonally restricted breeders. lizard male dewlaps are classic examples of multifaceted signaling traits, with demonstrated intraspecific reproductive function reflected in courtship behavior. Fitch and Hillis found a correlation between dewlap size and seasonality in mainland using traditional statistical methods and suggested that seasonally restricted breeding seasons enhanced the differentiation of this signaling trait. Here, we present two tests of the Fitch-Hillis Hypothesis using new phylogenetic and morphological data sets for 44 species of Mexican . A significant relationship between dewlap size and seasonality is evident in phylogenetically uncorrected analyses but erodes once phylogeny is accounted for. This loss of strong statistical support for a relationship between a key aspect of dewlap morphology and seasonality also occurs within a species complex ( group) that inhabits seasonal and aseasonal environments. Our results fail to support seasonality as a strong driver of evolution of dewlap size. We discuss the implications of our results and the difficulty of disentangling the strength of single mechanisms on trait evolution when multiple selection pressures are likely at play.
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7160170 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6167 | DOI Listing |
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