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Does cadence of Iguana iguana displays facilitate individual recognition?

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Abstract

Iguanid lizards communicate threat, courtship and territorial advertisement through stereotyped headbob displays. It has been hypothesized that slight interindividual differences in these displays might enhance individual recognition and maintain dominance relationships within populations, but the precise display elements responsible have not been determined. The purpose of this study was to examine if experimentally induced differences in displays would decrease recognition of individual conspecifics. Specifically, social interactions between adult male green iguanas (Iguana iguana) were examined at normothermic and hypothermic body temperatures. Whereas the cadence (rate of muscle contraction) of stereotypic displays of individual lizards was slowed at hypothermic body temperature (Q 10 ≃ 1.6), the amplitude (maximal muscle contraction) of hypothermic displays remained constant relative to normothermic displays. Normothermic lizards viewing a display from a hypothermic lizard responded to that display as if it were performed at a normothermic cadence. During paired encounters between lizards (one hypothermic, one normothermic), dominant/subordinate dyads within the group were unusually maintained regardless of which individual was hypothermic. The exception occurred when dominant individuals at the lowest experimental body temperatures retreated from subordinate individuals. The results suggest that individual lizards recognized their relative social status even when cadence of displays was radically altered, indicating that cadence alone probably does not function in individual recognition. Other morphological, display elements, or scent cues may provide information useful in individual recognition.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species, Zoological Society of San Diego, Box 551, 92112, San Diego, CA, USA

    John A. Phillips

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  1. John A. Phillips
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Communicated by G.M. Klump

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Phillips, J.A. Does cadence of Iguana iguana displays facilitate individual recognition?. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 37, 337–342 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00174138

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00174138

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