Composition and compound proportions affect the response to complex chemical signals in a spiny lizard

Romero‐Diaz, Cristina; Campos, Stephanie M.; Herrmann, Morgan A.; Soini, Helena A.; Novotný, Miloš V.; Hews, Diana K.; Martins, Emı́lia P.

doi:10.1007/s00265-021-02987-5

Cited by 15 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 80 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Chemical acts and visual displays are typical Sceloporus responses in playback studies to chemical (e.g. [28,29]) and visual stimuli (e.g. [35]), respectively.…”

Section: (B) Scoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Motion displays also expose ventrolateral and throat colour patches, most frequently found in males and typically blue, which are used during territorial disputes between males to signal aggression and fighting ability [22,23,25,26]. In addition, lizards actively and/or passively deposit scent marks secreted from femoral glands onto the substrate that serve as cues of physiological condition [27], and potentially convey individual and sex identity information [28,29]. Lizards respond to conspecific scents by adjusting aggression [30,31], altering their activity levels and space use within territories [32].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Evolutionary loss of a signalling colour is linked to increased response to conspecific chemicals

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Behavioural responses to communicative signals combine input from multiple sensory modalities and signal compensation theory predicts that evolutionary shifts in one sensory modality could impact the response to signals in other sensory modalities. Here, we conducted two types of field experiments with 11 species spread across the lizard genus Sceloporus to test the hypothesis that the loss of visual signal elements affects behavioural responses to a chemical signal (conspecific scents) or to a predominantly visual signal (a conspecific lizard), both of which are used in intraspecific communication. We found that three species that have independently lost a visual signal trait, a colourful belly patch, responded to conspecific scents with increased chemosensory behaviour compared to a chemical control, while species with the belly patch did not. However, most species, with and without the belly patch, responded to live conspecifics with increased visual displays of similar magnitude. While aggressive responses to visual stimuli are taxonomically widespread in Sceloporus , our results suggest that increased chemosensory response behaviour is linked to colour patch loss. Thus, interactions across sensory modalities could constrain the evolution of complex signalling phenotypes, thereby influencing signal diversity.

show abstract

“…Chemical acts and visual displays are typical Sceloporus responses in playback studies to chemical (e.g. [28,29]) and visual stimuli (e.g. [35]), respectively.…”

Section: (B) Scoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary loss of a signalling colour is linked to increased response to conspecific chemicals

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, visual stimuli elicit increased frequency ofpush-up displays while scents preferentially trigger a chemosensory response. 29,31,32,54 Visual-encounter territory intrusions may represent a more immediate threat to male residents and more frequently result in a quick escalation of aggressive displays leading to physical combat. 17,55 In contrast, scent marks deposited in the substrate may be detected long after the intruder has left the territory 56,57 and elicit comparatively tamer responses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brain transcriptomic responses of Yarrow's spiny lizard, Sceloporus jarrovii, to conspecific visual or chemical signals

Romero‐Diaz

Campos

et al. 2021

Genes Brain and Behavior

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Species with multimodal communication integrate information from social cues in different modalities into behavioral responses that are mediated by changes in gene expression in the brain. Differences in patterns of gene expression between signal modalities may shed light on the neuromolecular mechanisms underlying multisensory processing. Here, we use RNA-Seq to analyze brain transcriptome responses to either chemical or visual social signals in a territorial lizard with multimodal communication. Using an intruder challenge paradigm, we exposed 18 wild-caught, adult, male Sceloporus jarrovii to either male conspecific scents (femoral gland secretions placed on a small pebble), the species-specific push-up display (a programmed robotic model), or a control (an unscented pebble). We conducted differential expression analysis with both a de novo S. jarrovii transcriptome assembly and the reference genome of a closely related species, Sceloporus undulatus. Despite some interindividual variation, we found significant differences in gene expression in the brain across signal modalities and the control in both analyses. The most notable differences occurred between chemical and visual stimulus treatments, closely followed by visual stimulus versus the control. Altered expression profiles could explain documented aggression differences in the immediate behavioral response to conspecific signals from different sensory modalities. Shared differentially expressed genes between visually-or chemically-stimulated males are involved in neural activity and neurodevelopment and several other differentially expressed genes in stimuluschallenged males are involved in conserved signal-transduction pathways associated with the social stress response, aggression and the response to territory intruders across vertebrates.

show abstract

“…tongueflicking and mate preference), possibly including the development of new and better proxies. Identification of these links could be informed by more research on how chemicals are detected, how chemical signals are perceived (Romero-Diaz et al 2021), and if and how detection and perception vary among groups.…”

Section: Pheromones and Reproduction In Australian Squamatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Australian lizards are outstanding models for reproductive biology research

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Australian lizards are a diverse group distributed across the continent and inhabiting a wide range of environments. Together, they exhibit a remarkable diversity of reproductive morphologies, physiologies, and behaviours that is broadly representative of vertebrates in general. Many reproductive traits exhibited by Australian lizards have evolved independently in multiple lizard lineages, including sociality, complex signalling and mating systems, viviparity, and temperature-dependent sex determination. Australian lizards are thus outstanding model organisms for testing hypotheses about how reproductive traits function and evolve, and they provide an important basis of comparison with other animals that exhibit similar traits. We review how research on Australian lizard reproduction has contributed to answering broader evolutionary and ecological questions that apply to animals in general. We focus on reproductive traits, processes, and strategies that are important areas of current research, including behaviours and signalling involved in courtship; mechanisms involved in mating, egg production, and sperm competition; nesting and gestation; sex determination; and finally, birth in viviparous species. We use our review to identify important questions that emerge from an understanding of this body of research when considered holistically. Finally, we identify additional research questions within each topic that Australian lizards are well suited for reproductive biologists to address.

show abstract

Composition and compound proportions affect the response to complex chemical signals in a spiny lizard

Cited by 15 publications

References 80 publications

Evolutionary loss of a signalling colour is linked to increased response to conspecific chemicals

Evolutionary loss of a signalling colour is linked to increased response to conspecific chemicals

Brain transcriptomic responses of Yarrow's spiny lizard, Sceloporus jarrovii, to conspecific visual or chemical signals

Australian lizards are outstanding models for reproductive biology research

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About