Chemical Constituents of the Femoral Gland Secretions of Male Tegu Lizards (Tupinambis merianae) (Family Teiidae)

Martı́n, José; Chamut, Silvia; Manes, Mario E.; López, Pílar

doi:10.1515/znc-2011-7-817

Cited by 8 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 45 publications

(53 reference statements)

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“…Femoral pores are used in chemical signalling in lizards (e.g., teiids and lacertids; Duvall, 1979; Hews, Date, Hara, & Castellano, 2011; Kopena et al, 2011; Martín, Chamut, Manes, & López, 2011; Pruett et al, 2016; Thompson, Bissell, & Martins, 2008). Lizards from the genus Tropidurus do not have femoral pores.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical signalling behaviour in intrasexual communication of lizards lacking femoral pores

et al. 2020

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Signals that are used in animal communication may have multiple sensorial channels and functions. Animal communication integrates very distinct mechanisms such as behaviour, morphology and physiological secretions. Chemical signals occur in several contexts and are known to have a role in sexual selection. In many lizards, pheromones secreted through femoral pores are used to attract females and demark territory dominance. In lizard species without femoral pores, however, study of chemical signalling is negligible. Lizards of the genus Tropidurus have no ventral pores, but express melanic patches in their ventral thighs and cloacae (body regions linked to chemical communication in other lizards), which may play a role in both visual signalling and chemical signalling. Here, we describe the occurrence of pelvic rubbing—a chemical signalling behaviour—in two Tropidurus species, displayed in intraspecific agonistic intrasexual staged encounters. In addition, we compile a list of currently reported species that display this behaviour, checking for its social contexts and presence/absence of secretion pores. We analysed behaviours in conspecific trials between males of Tropidurus semitaeniatus and of T. hispidus during their breeding season. In T. semitaeniatus, displays of pelvic rubbing elicited aggressive responses from the opponents. Tropidurus hispidus, however, did not react to these conspecific displays. Pelvic rubbings were also partially linked to defecation in both species, which is likely due to secretions from internal urodeal glands expelled during defecation. Also, high rates of tongue flick behaviours during the encounters support the hypothesis that these lizards make use of chemical communication. Our observations corroborate previous suggestions that glandular scales—scales covered by generation glands produced at the epidermis across the lizards’ shedding cycles—are present in their melanic ventral patches. Our work also highlights the potential of characterizing such ventral patches as multimodal signalling badges. Further, we investigated the contexts in which pelvic rubbing is displayed adding to our understanding of the role played by chemical signalling in lizards without femoral pores.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical signalling behaviour in intrasexual communication of lizards lacking femoral pores

et al. 2020

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“…The increase in testosterone in male Argentine tegus is correlated with mating behaviors and increases in femoral gland secretions, which are commonly used in lizards in scent-marking behaviors (rubbing thighs on the ground) to delineate territories [39][40][43][44][45][46][47]. Biochemically, the composition of the femoral secretions in male tegus changes during the mating season, and similar compositional changes have been recorded for green iguanas (Iguana iguana) [48,49]. Though intrasexual male-male signaling via chemical cues is presumed, there is anecdotal evidence that males also identify females via conspecific chemical cues.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Conspecific chemical cues facilitate mate trailing by invasive Argentine black and white tegus

et al. 2020

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Squamate reptiles (snakes and lizards) rely on chemical cues from conspecifics to search the environment for potential mates. How such cues are used by invasive species to facilitate reproduction, especially seasonally, is a key question that can inform management practices. The Argentine black and white tegu (Salvator merianae) is an invasive reptile species in south Florida threatening native fauna in biodiverse regions such as Everglades National Park. While some information exists on the reproductive ecology of this species in its native range in South America, the chemical ecology of S. merianae is unclear especially in its invasive range. By testing both male (n = 7) and female (n = 7) tegus in a Y-maze apparatus, we assessed if either sex follows chemical trails left by conspecifics and if behaviors were sex-or season-specific. We conducted three types of trials where conspecifics created odor trails: Male-only (male scent only in base and one arm of Y), Female-only, and Male vs. female. Males did not preferentially follow scent trails from either sex, but they did differentially investigate conspecific scent from both sexes. Seasonally, males showed increased rates of chemosensory sampling (rates of tongue-flicking) during the spring (breeding season; March-May) compared to fall (non-breeding season; September-November). Males also had reduced turning and pausing behavior while trailing in the spring. Female tegus exhibited stronger conspecific trailing abilities than males, following both male and female scent trails, and they explored the maze less before making an arm choice. Females also investigated the scent trails intensely compared to males (more passes in scented arms, more time with scent trails). Our results demonstrate for the first time that females of an invasive reptile species can follow conspecific scent trails. Given the strong female responses to odor, sex-specific targeting of tegus via application of a conspecific chemical cue in traps could enhance removal rates of females during the breeding season.

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“…Therefore, this compound has been seen to play a key role in mate choice (Martín & López, 2006c, making in particularly interesting given the difficulties to demonstrate mate choice in lizards based on quantitative traits (Olsson et al, 1998); (5) 9,12-octadecadienoic acid (i.e., linoleic acid) is a unsaturated fatty acid, costly to obtain. It has been attributed important functions in metabolism, and thus, it might act as an indicator of male "quality" (Martín, Chamut, Manes, & López, 2011;Weldon et al, 2008); (6) α-tocopherol (i.e., vitamin E), usually found in lizard species in high proportions. It is believed to have antioxidant properties, protecting other compounds in secretions (Brigelius-Flohe & Traber, 1999;Wolf, Wolf, & Ruocco, 1998).…”

Section: Chemical Compoundsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heterogeneous tempo and mode of evolutionary diversification of compounds in lizard chemical signals

García‐Roa

Jara

López

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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Important part of the multivariate selection shaping social and interspecific interactions among and within animal species emerges from communication. Therefore, understanding the diversification of signals for animal communication is a central endeavor in evolutionary biology. Over the last decade, the rapid development of phylogenetic approaches has promoted a stream of studies investigating evolution of communication signals. However, comparative research has primarily focused on visual and acoustic signals, while the evolution of chemical signals remains largely unstudied. An increasing interest in understanding the evolution of chemical communication has been inspired by the realization that chemical signals underlie some of the major interaction channels in a wide range of organisms. In lizards, in particular, chemosignals play paramount roles in female choice and male–male competition, and during community assembly and speciation. Here, using phylogenetic macro‐evolutionary modeling, we show for the very first time that multiple compounds of scents for communication in lizards have diversified following highly different evolutionary speeds and trajectories. Our results suggest that cholesterol, α‐tocopherol, and cholesta‐5,7‐dien‐3‐ol have been subject to stabilizing selection (Ornstein–Uhlenbeck model), whereas the remaining compounds are better described by Brownian motion modes of evolution. Additionally, the diversification of the individual compounds has accumulated substantial relative disparity over time. Thus, our study reveals that the chemical components of lizard chemosignals have proliferated across different species following compound‐specific directions.

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Chemical Constituents of the Femoral Gland Secretions of Male Tegu Lizards (Tupinambis merianae) (Family Teiidae)

Cited by 8 publications

References 45 publications

Chemical signalling behaviour in intrasexual communication of lizards lacking femoral pores

Chemical signalling behaviour in intrasexual communication of lizards lacking femoral pores

Conspecific chemical cues facilitate mate trailing by invasive Argentine black and white tegus

Heterogeneous tempo and mode of evolutionary diversification of compounds in lizard chemical signals

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