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Does courtship behavior predict parentage in Collared Lizards? Influence of male social status and habitat structure

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Abstract

Incorporating microsatellite techniques to determine parentage is a powerful addition to behavioral mating system studies in wild animals. Nonetheless, in some tetrapod taxa such as lizards, there are relatively few direct comparisons of individual reproductive success measured genetically versus estimates based on behavioral interactions, especially in species where males and females do not maintain prolonged social contact. We combined observations of behavior with microsatellite analysis of parentage over ten seasons in male Collared Lizards, (Crotaphytus collaris), to test the extent to which the proportion of each female’s total courtship interactions with different males predicted the proportion of total offspring sired by those males (proportion of paternity). Territorial males (T-males) court females frequently. Non-territorial (NT) males on the other hand behave stealthily. This allows them to court females, albeit less frequently, while limiting attacks by T-males. Both T- and NT-males occupied habitats that varied in structural complexity which might influence which males court and sire offspring with individual females, therefore we included habitat type (simple vs. complex) and male social tactic as possible predictors in our test. Proportion of courtship by NT-males did not predict their proportion of paternity in either habitat type. Courtship by T-males was a strong predictor of paternity in simple habitats but not complex habitats. Our findings support the hypothesis that courtship is a more accurate predictor of T-male mating success in simple habitats, which is consistent with previous findings suggesting that reduced area and topographical heterogeneity, especially the absence of subsurface crevices in simpler habitats, makes it more economical for T-males to prevent surreptitious mating by NT-males. Our study, therefore, highlights the importance of considering possible effects of alternative social tactics and variation in environmental conditions when testing the accuracy of behaviorally based estimates of breeding relationships, especially in polygamous species with multiple paternity.

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Availability of data

The dataset generated and analyzed during this study are included as supplemental material.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Arcadia Lake Park, Edmond, OK for access to the study site. This research was conducted with the permission of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife and Institutional and Animal Care and Use Committee at the University of Central Oklahoma to TAB. We thank C.A. Braun, J. Creecy, G. French, M. Haynie, J. Hertzler, S. Hoge, A. Lunsford, A. McGee, C. McGill, C. Moya, D. O’Connor, A. Ruger, Y. Shirali, W. Unsell, and E. York for technical assistance in the field and laboratory, and T.D. Baird for photography.

Funding

We greatly appreciate funding provided by from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at the University of Central Oklahoma.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Central Oklahoma, 100 N. University Drive, 73034, Edmond, OK, USA

    Troy A. Baird

  2. Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, 2205 Tech Drive, 60208, Evanston, IL, USA

    Joshua R. York

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  1. Troy A. Baird
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Contributions

Troy A. Baird conceived the study, recorded the behavioral data, and collected the blood samples for genetic analyses. Joshua R. York conducted laboratory and genetic analyses, and both authors analyzed the data. TAB wrote the first manuscript draft, both authors made revisions, approved the final manuscript, and provide consent for publication.

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Correspondence to Troy A. Baird.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics approval

This research was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the University of Central Oklahoma (IACUC, permit number 13009) and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife (permit number 5553).

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Baird, T.A., York, J.R. Does courtship behavior predict parentage in Collared Lizards? Influence of male social status and habitat structure. Evol Ecol 35, 795–808 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-021-10136-7

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