Ornaments and thermoregulation

The adaptive significance of colorful or exaggerated traits (i.e., ornaments) expressed in females is often unclear. Competing hypotheses suggest that expression of female ornaments arises from maladaptive (or neutral) genetic inheritance from males along with incomplete epigenetic regulation, or from positive selection for ornaments in females under social competition. Whether costly or advantageous, the visibility of such traits can sometimes be behaviorally modulated in order to maximize fitness. Female eastern fence lizards express blue badges that are variable in size and color saturation. These are rudimentary compared to those seen in males and carry important costs such as reduced mating opportunities. Body temperature is a well-established enhancer of badge color, and thus thermoregulation may be one way these animals modulate badge visibility. We quantified realized body temperatures of female lizards paired in laboratory trials and observed that females with larger badges attained higher body temperatures when freely allowed to thermoregulate, sometimes beyond physiological optima. In this association between phenotype and behavior, females with larger badges exhibited thermoregulatory patterns that increase their badges’ visibility. This signal-enhancing behavior is difficult to reconcile with the widely held view that female ornaments are maladaptive, suggesting they may carry context-dependent social benefits.

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A. Assis, Braulio (2022). Ornaments and thermoregulation [Data set]. Scholarsphere. https://doi.org/10.26207/w643-fm37

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Work Title Ornaments and thermoregulation
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Open Access
Creators
  1. Braulio A. Assis
License CC0 1.0 (Public Domain Dedication)
Work Type Dataset
Publication Date 2022
DOI doi:10.26207/w643-fm37
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Deposited February 04, 2022

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Version 1
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  • Created
  • Added Creator Braulio A. Assis
  • Added Ornaments and thermal preference.csv
  • Updated License Show Changes
    License
    • http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
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Version 2
published

  • Created
  • Added Ornaments and thermal behavior.csv
  • Updated Work Title, Description Show Changes
    Work Title
    • Ornaments and thermal preference
    • Ornaments and thermoregulation
    Description
    • Colorful or exaggerated traits (i.e., ornaments) expressed in females is a phenomenon observed in various systems, although its adaptive significance is often in question. Competing hypotheses suggest that expression of female ornaments arise from maladaptive (or neutral) genetic inheritance from males along with incomplete epigenetic regulation, or from positive selection for ornaments in females under social competition. Whether costly or advantageous, animals should behaviorally modulate the visibility of such traits accordingly to maximize fitness. Female eastern fence lizards express blue badges variable in size and color saturation, although rudimentary compared to those in males. In either sex, body temperature is a well-established enhancer of badge color. Using laboratory trials, we quantified thermal preference of paired female lizards and determined that females with larger badges attained higher body temperatures when freely allowed to thermoregulate, sometimes beyond physiological optima. Thus, females with larger badges exhibited thermoregulatory preferences that increased their badges’ visibility. This is difficult to reconcile with evidence that female badges are maladaptive, and we discuss scenarios in which they might be advantageous. Our findings illustrate how female ornamentation may not always entail costs (i.e., intralocus sexual conflict), as this signal-enhancing behavior may be indicative of context-dependent social benefits.
    • The adaptive significance of colorful or exaggerated traits (i.e., ornaments) expressed in females is often unclear. Competing hypotheses suggest that expression of female ornaments arises from maladaptive (or neutral) genetic inheritance from males along with incomplete epigenetic regulation, or from positive selection for ornaments in females under social competition. Whether costly or advantageous, the visibility of such traits can sometimes be behaviorally modulated in order to maximize fitness. Female eastern fence lizards express blue badges that are variable in size and color saturation. These are rudimentary compared to those seen in males and carry important costs such as reduced mating opportunities. Body temperature is a well-established enhancer of badge color, and thus thermoregulation may be one way these animals modulate badge visibility. We quantified realized body temperatures of female lizards paired in laboratory trials and observed that females with larger badges attained higher body temperatures when freely allowed to thermoregulate, sometimes beyond physiological optima. In this association between phenotype and behavior, females with larger badges exhibited thermoregulatory patterns that increase their badges’ visibility. This signal-enhancing behavior is difficult to reconcile with the widely held view that female ornaments are maladaptive, suggesting they may carry context-dependent social benefits.
  • Published
  • Updated Related URLs Show Changes
    Related URLs
    • https://doi.org/10.1093/iob/obac029
  • Updated