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Morphological and Behavioural Traits Affecting the Intensity and Outcome of Male Contests in Gallotia galloti galloti (Family Lacertidae)
Author(s) -
MolinaBorja Miguel,
PadronFumero Monica,
AlfonsoMartin Teresa
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
ethology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.739
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1439-0310
pISSN - 0179-1613
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0310.1998.tb00071.x
Subject(s) - lacertidae , biology , biting , agonistic behaviour , zoology , aggression , sauria , psychology , developmental psychology , ecology , lizard
This study describes the sequence of behaviour during aggressive encounters between male ‘tizón’ lizards ( G. galloti galloti ) and assesses the effect of morphological and behavioural traits on the outcome and intensity of staged aggressive encounters between males. Aggressive encounters ranged from only throat extension to escalated fights with biting and rolling over. Winners were heavier, had longer heads, and performed tongue‐flicking, throat extension and biting at a higher rate than losers. The rate of aggressive behaviour increased with decreasing difference in snout‐to‐vent length, head length and head width of the contestants. The results are in agreement with some predictions of the sequential assessment game model in that probability of victory increased with the difference in fighting ability and that the rate of aggressive behaviour was higher in contests between animals of similar size.