10.5061/DRYAD.FG0KQ00M
Charles, Grace K.
Harvard University
Ord, Terry J.
UNSW Sydney
Data from: Factors leading to the evolution and maintenance of a male
ornament in territorial species
Dryad
dataset
2011
Caribbean anoles
Ancestor state reconstruction
present day
Exaptation
Anolis
phylogenetic comparative method
visual signal
2011-11-14T16:31:50Z
2011-11-14T16:31:50Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-011-1271-6
7578 bytes
1
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Male ornamentation is assumed to have evolved primarily from selection by
female mate choice. Yet this is only one possible reason for ornament
evolution. Ornaments might also be useful in aggressive competition by
improving opponent assessment between males, or they might function to
enhance signal detection by making males more conspicuous in the
environment. We tested both these ideas in territorial Anolis lizards in
which female choice is either absent or secondary to males competing for
territories that overlap female home ranges. Male tail crests only evolved
in species in which territory neighbors were distant, consistent with the
signal detection hypothesis. Once the tail crest had evolved, however, it
seems to have become a signal in itself, with variation in the frequency
and size of tail crests within species correlating with variables
predicted by the aggressive competition hypothesis. Our study presents an
apparent example of a male ornament in which the selection pressure
leading to variation among species in ornament expression is different
from the selection pressure acting on variation within species. The Anolis
tail crest is therefore likely to be an exaptation. We caution that
conclusions made on the evolution of male ornaments are dependent on the
phylogenetic perspective adopted by a study. Studies restricted to single
species are useful for identifying selection pressures in contemporary
settings (i.e., the current utility of traits), but may lead to erroneous
conclusions on the factors that initially lead to the origin of traits.
OrdTJ_BES-11-0143R1_readmeRead me file outlining file
contentsOrdTJ_BES-11-0143R1_gundlachiOrdTJ_BES-11-0143R1_allspecies
Puerto Rico