Integration of Genotype, Physiological Performance, and Survival in a Lizard (Uta stansburiana) with Alternative Mating Strategies

• Published in: Physiological and biochemical zoology Vol. 92; no. 3; pp. 303 - 315
• Main Authors: Hazard, Lisa C., Nagy, Kenneth A., Miles, Donald B., Svensson, Erik I., Costa, Daniel, Sinervo, Barry
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States The University of Chicago Press 01.05.2019
• Subjects: field metabolic rate; survivorship; growth rate; alternative mating strategies; Uta stansburiana; stamina
• ISSN: 1522-2152; 1537-5293
• DOI: 10.1086/703136

Covariation among behavioral and physiological traits is thought to enhance reproductive success and Darwinian fitness. Species that exhibit alternative mating strategies provide excellent opportunities to assess the relative contributions of physiological and behavioral traits to fitness. Male side-blotched lizards (Uta stansburiana) exhibit three heritable throat color morphs that are associated with alternative mating behaviors. The three morphs differ in resource holding potential, mate attraction, mate defense, and physiological performance. We examined interrelationships of body mass, stamina, field metabolic rate, growth rate, and survival to the second capture (a fitness proxy). Relationships among variables were complex, and mass, stamina, and throat color interacted to predict male survival. Our analyses suggest that male side-blotched lizards exhibit trade-offs among physiological traits related to reproductive success and survival and that differential survival for different combinations of traits has caused correlational selection, leading to adaptive integration of phenotypic traits associated with alternative mating strategies.