Intersexual chemo-sensation in a “visually-oriented” lizard, Anolis sagrei
While the conspicuous visual displays of anoles have been studied in great depth, the possibility that these lizards may also interact through chemical signalling has received hardly any consideration. In this study, we observed the behaviour of male brown anoles (Anolis sagrei) when introduced into...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PeerJ Inc.
2016-03-01
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| Series: | PeerJ |
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/1874.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797417951515639808 |
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| author | Simon Baeckens Tess Driessens Raoul Van Damme |
| author_facet | Simon Baeckens Tess Driessens Raoul Van Damme |
| author_sort | Simon Baeckens |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | While the conspicuous visual displays of anoles have been studied in great depth, the possibility that these lizards may also interact through chemical signalling has received hardly any consideration. In this study, we observed the behaviour of male brown anoles (Anolis sagrei) when introduced into an environment previously inhabited by female conspecifics, and compared it to when they were introduced into an untreated environment. The males in our tests exhibited significantly more elaborate display behaviour (i.e., greater number of dewlap extensions and head-nods) and a significantly greater number of tongue extrusions while in the cage formerly occupied by females than when placed in the untreated, control cage. The absolute numbers of tongue extrusions, however, were relatively low in comparison to average tongue-flick rates of ‘true’ chemically-oriented lizards. Our results strongly suggest that the males were capable of detecting chemical cues left behind by the females. These observations provide the first evidence of intersexual chemo-sensation in an anole lizard. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:25:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-803876d1ce984ce38b6c0679b904a686 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:25:57Z |
| publishDate | 2016-03-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-803876d1ce984ce38b6c0679b904a6862023-12-03T11:20:39ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592016-03-014e187410.7717/peerj.1874Intersexual chemo-sensation in a “visually-oriented” lizard, Anolis sagreiSimon Baeckens0Tess Driessens1Raoul Van Damme2Laboratory of Functional Morphology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, BelgiumLaboratory of Functional Morphology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, BelgiumLaboratory of Functional Morphology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, BelgiumWhile the conspicuous visual displays of anoles have been studied in great depth, the possibility that these lizards may also interact through chemical signalling has received hardly any consideration. In this study, we observed the behaviour of male brown anoles (Anolis sagrei) when introduced into an environment previously inhabited by female conspecifics, and compared it to when they were introduced into an untreated environment. The males in our tests exhibited significantly more elaborate display behaviour (i.e., greater number of dewlap extensions and head-nods) and a significantly greater number of tongue extrusions while in the cage formerly occupied by females than when placed in the untreated, control cage. The absolute numbers of tongue extrusions, however, were relatively low in comparison to average tongue-flick rates of ‘true’ chemically-oriented lizards. Our results strongly suggest that the males were capable of detecting chemical cues left behind by the females. These observations provide the first evidence of intersexual chemo-sensation in an anole lizard.https://peerj.com/articles/1874.pdfChemical communicationDactyloidaeDewlap extensionsDisplay behaviourIguaniaSemiochemicals |
| spellingShingle | Simon Baeckens Tess Driessens Raoul Van Damme Intersexual chemo-sensation in a “visually-oriented” lizard, Anolis sagrei PeerJ Chemical communication Dactyloidae Dewlap extensions Display behaviour Iguania Semiochemicals |
| title | Intersexual chemo-sensation in a “visually-oriented” lizard, Anolis sagrei |
| title_full | Intersexual chemo-sensation in a “visually-oriented” lizard, Anolis sagrei |
| title_fullStr | Intersexual chemo-sensation in a “visually-oriented” lizard, Anolis sagrei |
| title_full_unstemmed | Intersexual chemo-sensation in a “visually-oriented” lizard, Anolis sagrei |
| title_short | Intersexual chemo-sensation in a “visually-oriented” lizard, Anolis sagrei |
| title_sort | intersexual chemo sensation in a visually oriented lizard anolis sagrei |
| topic | Chemical communication Dactyloidae Dewlap extensions Display behaviour Iguania Semiochemicals |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/1874.pdf |
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