DISSERTATION RESEARCH: How do a signal and whole-organism performance interact to determine reproductive success?

University Of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst MA

Investigators

Abstract

Animals use certain traits or behaviors to signal to one another. Such signaling may be used to advertise specific qualities of the signaler and may impact the reproductive success of the individual. Though much research has focused on this relationship, the causal links between the signal and an animal's fitness (i.e., survival and reproduction) are unclear. This project will address this gap by studying a signal that advertises a functional trait. Functional traits are the combined output of different systems in an individual and can be the targets of selection. The goal of this research is to determine how signals and functional traits interact to determine fitness. Green anole lizards are well-suited to explore these relationships. The size of the extendable throat-fan, or dewlap, is related to the ability of a male to bite hard. Males that bite hard tend to win aggressive encounters with males that bite with less force. Experimental manipulations of dewlap size, combined with behavioral observations and genetic tests of reproductive success, will be used to determine how a signal and its correlated function influence male reproductive success. This area is relatively unexplored and has implications for theoretical work on animal signaling and sexual selection. Anole lizards are well-known by many and serve as model organisms for studies of behavior, ecology and evolution. Hence, they are ideal organisms to teach students of biology about animal communication and sexual selection. This study will involve undergraduates and outreach to the general public.