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Chemical ornaments of male lizards Psammodromus algirus may reveal their parasite load and health state to females

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Abstract

Evidence for parasite-mediated sexual selection has been found in many species that use visual ornaments to attract females. However, in many animals, variation in female responses to scents of parasitized males suggests that parasitic infections might also affect information conveyed by pheromones (i.e., chemical ornaments). Thus, pheromones might also function in parasite-mediated sexual selection. We show here that female lizards Psammodromus algirus responded differently to femoral gland secretions of males according to the parasite load and health of these males. Scents of healthier males elicited more tongue flicks (a chemosensory behavior) by females, suggesting that these scents were more attractive. Chemical analyses showed that parasite load and the T-cell-mediated immune response were related to the variability in the proportions of some lipids in secretions of males. Further trials testing the chemosensory responses of females to chemical standards indicated that females actually discriminated the chemicals related to males’ health from other chemicals found in secretions. We suggest that these chemical ornaments may provide reliable information on the health and degree of parasitic infection of a male.

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Acknowledgments

We thank three anonymous reviewers for helpful comments and El Ventorrillo Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales Field Station for use of their facilities. Financial support was provided by the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia project CGL2005-00391/BOS, by an El Ventorrillo Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas grant to L. Amo, and by an I3P contract to E. Civantos.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, C.S.I.C., José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain

    José Martín, Emilio Civantos, Luisa Amo & Pilar López

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  1. José Martín
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  2. Emilio Civantos
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  3. Luisa Amo
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  4. Pilar López
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Correspondence to José Martín.

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Communicated by W. Cooper

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Martín, J., Civantos, E., Amo, L. et al. Chemical ornaments of male lizards Psammodromus algirus may reveal their parasite load and health state to females. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 62, 173–179 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-007-0451-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-007-0451-x

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