Behavioral Ecology Advance Access published online on November 19, 2007
Behavioral Ecology, doi:10.1093/beheco/arm118
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Correlates of reproductive success in male lizards of the alpine species Iberolacerta cyreni
a Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, E-28006 Madrid, Spain b Departamento de Zoología y Antropología Física (Vertebrados), Facultad de Biología, Universidad Complutense, E-28040 Madrid, Spain c School of Biological and Earth Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
Address correspondence to A. Salvador. E-mail: mcnas500{at}mncn.csic.es.
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Abstract |
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We followed a field population of the alpine lizard Iberolacerta cyreni over 2 consecutive breeding seasons and assigned paternity to the offpring using 8 microsatellite markers. Paternity data, combined with observations of the behavior, morphology, and spacing patterns of lizards, allowed us to document the extent of polygamy, the phenotypic correlates of the number of offspring sired, and the correlation between male reproductive success (RS) and probability of recapture the second year of our study. Multiple paternity was observed in nearly 50% of clutches, and the mating system was highly polygynandrous. In the first year of our study, male RS increased with body size, activity, tail length, and color saturation of the dorsum. In the second year, male RS increased with activity and body condition. Overall, increased male activity, a trait that is expected to decrease survivorship, was the explanatory variable that had the greatest effect on RS. However, the residents of our first study year that were recaptured in the second year had longer tails, were more active, and sired more offspring than their conspecifics that were not recaptured. Thus, contrary to expectations, no negative correlation between present reproduction and future survival was found, which suggests that male investment in reproduction is condition dependent and positively correlated with the ability to pay the underlying costs of increased activity.
Key words: activity, lizard, microsatellites, polygamy, reproductive costs, reproductive success, survivorship.
Received 22 May 2007; revised 9 October 2007; accepted 17 October 2007.
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