Chemical ornaments of male lizards Psammodromus algirus may reveal their parasite load and health state to females

Martı́n, José; Civantos, Emilio; Amo, Luisa; López, Pílar

doi:10.1007/s00265-007-0451-x

Cited by 78 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…For example, there is a relationship between parasites, health state and chemicals in femoral secretions of male P. algirus lizards; males with higher blood parasite loads and lower immune responses (estimated from the phytohemagglutinin, PHA, injection test) have femoral gland secretions with lower proportions of two alcohols (octadecanol and eicosanol) and higher proportions of their correspondent fatty acids (octadecanoic and eicosanoic acids). Moreover, females respond with higher chemosensory tongue-flick rates to scents of healthier males, suggesting that the scents of these males are more attractive (Martín et al, 2007b). Alterations in scent due to parasite infection have been suggested to be a pathological by-product of infection, a consequence of parasite manipulation of the host, or an adaptive response to cope with infection (Penn and Potts, 1998;Zala et al, 2004).…”

Section: Physiological Health State and Chemosignalsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Condition-dependent chemosignals in reproductive behavior of lizards

Martı́n

López

2015

Hormones and Behavior

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This article is part of a Special Issue "Chemosignals and Reproduction". Many lizards have diverse glands that produce chemosignals used in intraspecific communication and that can have reproductive consequences. For example, information in chemosignals of male lizards can be used in intrasexual competition to identify and assess the fighting potential or dominance status of rival males either indirectly through territorial scent-marks or during agonistic encounters. Moreover, females of several lizard species "prefer" to establish or spend more time on areas scent-marked by males with compounds signaling a better health or body condition or a higher genetic compatibility, which can have consequences for their mating success and inter-sexual selection processes. We review here recent studies that suggest that the information content of chemosignals of lizards may be reliable because several physiological and endocrine processes would regulate the proportions of chemical compounds available for gland secretions. Because chemosignals are produced by the organism or come from the diet, they should reflect physiological changes, such as different hormonal levels (e.g. testosterone or corticosterone) or different health states (e.g. parasitic infections, immune response), and reflect the quality of the diet of an individual. More importantly, some compounds that may function as chemosignals also have other important functions in the organism (e.g. as antioxidants or regulating the immune system), so there could be trade-offs between allocating these compounds to attending physiological needs or to produce costly sexual "chemical ornaments". All these factors may contribute to maintain chemosignals as condition-dependent sexual signals, which can inform conspecifics on the characteristics and state of the sender and allow making behavioral decisions with reproductive consequences. To understand the evolution of chemical secretions of lizards as sexual signals and their relevance in reproduction, future studies should examine what information the signals are carrying, the physiological processes that can maintain the reliability of the message and how diverse behavioral responses to chemosignals may influence reproductive success.

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Section: Physiological Health State and Chemosignalsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Condition-dependent chemosignals in reproductive behavior of lizards

Martı́n

López

2015

Hormones and Behavior

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“…Pheromones are very often incorporated into faeces, urine or other substrate scent marks with the purpose of marking territory boundaries or attracting mates (reviewed in Gosling and Roberts, 2001;Brennan and Kendrick, 2006;Müller-Schwarze, 2006;Mason and Parker, 2010). For example, in many lizards, scent marks may give information on sex, body size, or age recognition (Aragón et al, 2001a;López and Martín, 2001;reviewed in Mason, 1992;Mason and Parker, 2010;Martín and López, 2011), or even provide more detailed information on morphological traits and health condition of the signaller (López et al, 2006;Martín et al, 2007a). This information seems important in intrasexual relationships between males Martín, 2002, 2011;Carazo et al, 2007Carazo et al, , 2008Martín and López, 2007;Martín et al, 2007b) and in female mate choice López, 2000, 2006a,b;López and Martín, 2005a;Olsson et al, 2003;Martín et al, 2007a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…For example, in many lizards, scent marks may give information on sex, body size, or age recognition (Aragón et al, 2001a;López and Martín, 2001;reviewed in Mason, 1992;Mason and Parker, 2010;Martín and López, 2011), or even provide more detailed information on morphological traits and health condition of the signaller (López et al, 2006;Martín et al, 2007a). This information seems important in intrasexual relationships between males Martín, 2002, 2011;Carazo et al, 2007Carazo et al, , 2008Martín and López, 2007;Martín et al, 2007b) and in female mate choice López, 2000, 2006a,b;López and Martín, 2005a;Olsson et al, 2003;Martín et al, 2007a). Therefore, scent marking a territory might initially be a simple and effective method to inform on the identity and characteristics of the male that defends that territory.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of female rock lizards to multiple scent marks of males: Effects of male age, male density and scent over-marking

Martı́n

López

2013

Behavioural Processes

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“…Males of many lizard species secrete chemical compounds from the femoral or precloacal glands (Alberts, 1993;Weldon et al, 2008) that may function as pheromones (Mason and Parker, 2010;Martín and López, 2011). Multiple pheromone compounds in femoral gland secretions seem to inform about the characteristics and health state of a male Martín et al, 2007a). This information may be used by females to select scent marks of some individual males, which suggests pheromonal mate choice (e.g., López, 2000, 2006a;López et al, 2002López et al, , 2003Olsson et al, 2003;López and Martín, 2005a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Martı́n

Chamut

Manes

et al. 2011

Zeitschrift Für Naturforschung C

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In spite of the importance of chemical signals (pheromones) in the reproductive behaviour of lizards, the chemical compounds secreted by their femoral glands, which may be used as sexual signals, are only known for a few lizard species. Based on mass spectra, obtained by GC-MS, we found 49 lipophilic compounds in femoral gland secretions of male tegu lizards (Tupinambis merianae) (fam. Teiidae), including a very high proportion of carboxylic acids and their esters ranging between n-C 8 and n-C 20 (mainly octadecanoic and 9,12-octadecadienoic acids), with much less proportions of steroids, tocopherol, aldehydes, and squalene. We discuss the potential function of these compounds in secretions, and compare the compounds found here with those documented for other lizard species.

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Chemical ornaments of male lizards Psammodromus algirus may reveal their parasite load and health state to females

Cited by 78 publications

References 43 publications

Condition-dependent chemosignals in reproductive behavior of lizards

Condition-dependent chemosignals in reproductive behavior of lizards

Responses of female rock lizards to multiple scent marks of males: Effects of male age, male density and scent over-marking

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

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