Longitudinal effects of habitat quality, body condition, and parasites on colour patches of a multiornamented lizard

Abstract

Ontogeny is expected to be a determinant factor affecting production of colour patches in lizards, while immune challenges or sudden weight loss may impair the maintenance of pigment-based coloration within a breeding season. We translocated males of the lizard Psammodromus algirus between two sampling plots that differed in distance to a road, vegetation structure, and predator abundance. We analysed variation in spectral reflectance of their colour patches the same and the following year. The change in the reflectance of the lizard colour patches within the first breeding season was explained by the interaction between plot and treatment, but not body condition. The maintenance of the breeding coloration was impaired only in those males translocated close to the road, probably reflecting that it is a poor-quality habitat for P. algirus. The following year, lizards that produced a more elaborate coloration were those that increased their body condition and controlled some parasitic infections, although suffered an increase of others. This study shows that colour patch production is plastic in P. algirus. Lizards increasing parasites or losing weight reduced pigmentation, although habitat quality can cushion these negative effects on pigmentation. However, not all parasites constrain the investment in coloration. In fact, some increased in those lizards that allocated more pigments to colour patches. In conclusion, longitudinal studies following experimental manipulation can contribute to understand pigment allocation rules in lizards. Significance statement Pigments involved in colour patches of animals are limiting resources that can be reallocated off the skin to other functions. However, longitudinal evidence of this phenomenon is scarce in reptiles. We designed a manipulative mark-recapture experiment to investigate effects of habitat and parasitic infections on colour patch maintenance (within-year variation) and production (between-year variation) in male free-ranging lizards that were reciprocally translocated between two patches of habitat that differed in quality. During the first year, lizards translocated to the habitat with more predators and worse vegetation impoverished their coloration, while lizards translocated to the more favourable habitat maintained it despite all translocated lizards loose body condition. The next year we detected different effects on the coloration of three different parasites investigated, suggesting that coloration can reflect the virulence of the infections.

Differential recovery ability from infections by two blood parasite genera in males of a Mediterranean lacertid lizard after an experimental translocation

“…Resampling effort was homogeneous between the two sampling zones (no significant differences in resampling dates between zones: F 1,37 = 0.38, p = 0.54; no significant differences in number of elapsed days between capture and recapture between zones: F 1,37 = 0.56; p = 0.46). Three strategies were followed in the field to recognize recaptured lizards: (i) individuals were marked on the back with a xylene‐free white paint at capture; (ii) they were assigned an individual code by toe‐clipping (Barrientos & Megía‐Palma, 2021; Perry et al, 2011); (iii) the individuals were photographed, which allowed the verification of the identity of the individuals in the case they had eventually lost extra phalanxes by comparison of the scales of the lateral of the head in the pictures made at capture and recapture of the individual suspicious to be the same based on the ID code assigned by toe‐clipping at first capture (Megía‐Palma, Merino, et al, 2022).…”

“…We collected blood samples from the tail using sterile needles (Megía‐Palma, Merino, et al, 2022). We smeared the blood samples (~5 µL) on microscope slides that were air‐dried, fixed with methanol, and stained with Diff‐Quick (Nardini et al, 2013).…”

“…This arthropod acts as vector (Haklová‐Kočíková et al, 2014). A positive covariation of Karyolysus parasitemia and male nuptial coloration has been reported for the lacertid species Podarcis muralis , Gallotia galloti , and Psammodromus algirus (Martín et al, 2008; Megía‐Palma et al, 2016; Megía‐Palma, Merino, et al, 2022). This can be interpreted as a cost associated with male reproductive effort (Badiane et al, 2022; Megía‐Palma et al, 2021).…”

“…The latter includes increased susceptibility to infections by other pathogens (in mammals; Bertó‐Moran et al, 2013), increased cellular oxidative stress (in birds; Sepp et al, 2012), histopathological clinical signs and increased susceptibility to bacteria (in fish; Solangi & Overstreet, 1980; Steinhagen et al, 1997), reduced packed cell volume (in amphibians; Mitchell, 2007), and disrupted thermoregulatory behavior or duller sexual coloration (in other reptiles; Megía‐Palma, Paranjpe, Reguera, et al, 2018; Megía‐Palma, Paranjpe, et al, 2020). In lizards, negative longitudinal covariation between Schellackia parasitemia and nuptial coloration has been described in P. algirus , particularly in interaction with between‐year changes in mite load (Megía‐Palma, Merino, et al, 2022). Similarly, a greater recovery ability was demonstrated in males of Lacerta schreiberi infected by Schellackia only after experimental clearing of their tick load (Megía‐Palma, Martínez, Merino, 2018).…”

“…We carried out a full‐cross capture–translocation–recapture experiment performed in a population of the lacertid lizard P. algirus during its mating season (Barrientos & Megía‐Palma, 2021). One of the sampling zones is close to a road and the quality of the vegetation is worse than in the second sampling zone, which is farther from the road (Megía‐Palma, Merino, et al, 2022). This provides the opportunity to also investigate potentially additive effects associated with reproductive effort and anthropogenic environmental stress on the recovery ability of male lizards.…”