Male ultraviolet reflectance and female mating history influence female mate choice and male mating success in a polyandrous lizard

Abstract

Pre-copulatory female mate choice based on male ultraviolet (UV) coloration has been demonstrated in several vertebrate species; however, post-copulatory mechanisms have been largely overlooked. Here, we investigated female mate preference based on male UV coloration in the common lizard Zootoca vivipara, in which males display conspicuous UV coloration on their throat. During two successive years, we staged sequential mating trials between females and four different males with UV-reduced or control belly and throat coloration. We recorded pre-copulatory female behaviour, copulation behaviour and assigned paternity to all offspring. Females were more aggressive towards UV-reduced males and, during the second year, UV-reduced males had a lower probability of siring at least one egg (fertilization success) during the last mating trials. However, in the second year, copulation was shorter with control males. Altogether, our results suggest that females exert subtle pre-copulatory mate preference based on male UV ornaments and, conditional on the study year and female mating history, some degree of post-copulatory preference for UV-control males leading to differential male fertilization success. This study suggests that UV-based female mate choice may be more widespread than previously thought in vertebrates, and emphasizes the importance of using a study design well adapted to the species reproductive behaviour.

Environmental conditions and male quality traits simultaneously explain variation of multiple colour signals in male lizards

“…Furthermore, the throat UV colouration of males correlated (albeit weakly based on values of the coefficient of determination) with maximal sprint speed, a trait important for fitness in lizards (Miles, 2004). This result is consistent with the role of UV signals previously identified in this species during male–male competition (Kawamoto et al, 2021; Martin et al, 2016) and female mate choice (Badiane et al, 2020). Our study thus indicates that receivers can extract information about multiple aspects of male condition including locomotor performance, bite force and parasite infestation from several components of the colouration of adult male common lizards.…”

“…Male common lizards have a conspicuous, carotenoid‐based ventral colouration that ranges from yellow to orange, with a varying amount of melanic black spots dispersed along the venter, and a conspicuous UV‐white throat (Bonnaffé et al, 2018; Figure 1). The UV colouration on the throat plays a role during male–male competition (Martin et al, 2016) and female mate choice (Badiane et al, 2020), and is associated with social costs during male–male interactions (Kawamoto et al, 2021). Similarly, the amount of black ventral colouration correlates positively with male bite force, but decreases with sprint speed (San‐Jose et al, 2017).…”

Information content of ultraviolet-reflecting colour patches and visual perception of body coloration in the Tyrrhenian wall lizard Podarcis tiliguerta

“…The signalling role of UV colour patches has been well established in several lacertid species, both via field studies showing correlations between the design of the UV patches and male fitness-related phenotypic traits (Font and Molina-Borja 2004;Huyghe et al 2005;Font et al 2009;Molnár et al 2012;Pérez i de Lanuza et al 2014), and through experimental manipulations of the reflectance of the UV patches during intra-and inter-sexual interactions (Bajer et al 2010(Bajer et al , 2011Martin et al 2015aMartin et al , 2016Names et al 2019). While current evidence seems to indicate that, in lacertids, UV signals primarily evolved to resolve male-male conflicts and avoid contest escalation (Bajer et al 2011;Pérez i de Lanuza et al 2014;Martin et al 2015aMartin et al , 2016, UV coloration may also play a role in female mate choice in some species (Bajer et al 2010;Badiane et al 2020).…”

Colour polymorphism and conspicuousness do not increase speciation rates in Lacertids

“…Among those three clades, many species present conspicuous colourations. Bright colourations are found in both sexes on the throat and the belly, and are known to influence female mate choice and male-males contests (Abalos et al 2016; Badiane et al 2020). In some species, males also display blue or green ocelli on their flanks, or conspicuous outer ventral scales, that serve as indicators of the male quality during males intrasexual competition (Pérez i De Lanuza et al 2014; Names et al 2019).…”