Open AccessEvolution of an ornament, the dewlap, in females of the lizard genus Anolis
Author(s) -
HARRISON ALEXIS,
POE STEVEN
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
biological journal of the linnean society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.906
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1095-8312
pISSN - 0024-4066
DOI - 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2012.01847.x
Subject(s) - biology , anolis , arboreal locomotion , sexual selection , lizard , mate choice , sexual dimorphism , zoology , ornaments , ecology , habitat , iguanidae , selection (genetic algorithm) , evolutionary biology , genus , sauria , history , archaeology , artificial intelligence , computer science , style (visual arts) , mating
Male ornaments have been the subject of numerous studies on sexual selection and communication, although female ornaments have garnered substantially less study, even though female ornaments are well developed in some species. The factors that have propelled the evolution of elaborate ornaments in females are poorly understood but may include genetic correlations between the sexes, social selection, sensory drive or species recognition. We used simulation‐based comparative methods and a newly estimated phylogeny to test these four hypotheses to explain female ornamentation within the diverse neotropical lizard genus Anolis . We found support for the sensory drive hypothesis and the social selection hypothesis; the female dewlap was larger in species that use more arboreal habitats, as well as in species where the sexes were less dimorphic. We did not find support for the genetic correlation hypothesis or the species recognition hypothesis. We propose that the size of the female dewlap may evolve in response to sensory drive differentially affecting species in different habitats, as well as social selection such as male mate choice or intrasexual competition for territory among females. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2012, 106 , 191–201.