The adventures of Anolis carolinensis in Southern
Pines, NC
elise k., g-student in the Leal Lab
Location: Weymouth Woods-Sandhills
Nature Preserve
Subjects: male and female
carolina anoles
Goal: to film their social
interactions
~As a potentially useful
test of mate recognition systems, wherein former mates recognize each other and
base subsequent mating decisions on that ability[1],
I sought to study the carolina anole, Anolis
carolinensis.
Jenssen & Nunez (1998)[2]
have shown us something interesting about this species: A. carolinensis males skip mating opportunities, bypassing females
that even signal their apparent receptivity. That is, females arch their necks
conspicuously (a maneuver thought to show sexual receptivity) within close viewing
distance of the male, who then decides to
leave!
‘Tis strange.
To see if these males are
discriminating among local females on the basis of recent sexual history (eh
hem, maybe these skipped females are previous mates?), I drove to Southern
Pines, NC to watch anole behavior. Amid the beautiful long-leaf pine forests
here, life isn’t so bad. -->
Except when you regularly
lose sight of your study subject as s/he walks 20 ft. up a tree!
Trying to assess the mating
behavior of North Carolina anoles has been challenging. Mostly, I have not been
able to keep track of individuals to the extent hoped for. But when the bushes
do rustle with signs of lizard activity, I’m there! So far I’ve seen some cool
interactions, including one copulation lasting 25 minutes (!), and two
escalated fights between territorial males (e.g., one male [the Victor]
jaw-clenched the other’s head for nearly 10 minutes!)…wish I had that on film to show you.
 |
| Male and female A. carolinensis in copula, 5-4-12 |
Anyway, I thought males
might’ve been capable of recognizing females/former mates (and hey, maybe they
can!) but I can’t really tell yet if males are bypassing
mating opportunities, as has been previously shown for a different population
of anoles. Without that cool hook as a foundation, it’s hard to say what would be
next for this study plan…
For now, I have 2 more field
weeks to try to watch lizards : ) -Will be back to the blog soon!
elise
PS. check out who decided to
hitch a ride on this beetle's head, observed in the park today!
 |
| an actual beetle-bug car!, 5-17-12 |
Sure they can recognize females; Orrell, K. S. and T. A. Jenssen. 2002. Male mate-choice in the polygynous lizard, Anolis
ReplyDeletecarolinensis: a preference for novel females. Animal Behavior 63:1091-1102.
thank you for the reference, of course!! As an extension, I wanted to see if males could discriminate between two familiar females, using individual-specific female cues (e.g., headbob displays?) --which is suggested in the paper. But at the moment I'm having trouble with being a [keen] observer in the field...something that instills a fresh appreciation for those who have conducted, and are conducting, fieldwork!
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