Tradeoffs between courtship, fighting, and antipredatory behavior by a lizard, Eumeces laticeps |
| |
Authors: | W E Cooper Jr |
| |
Institution: | (1) Department of Biology Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, IN 46805, USA e-mail: cooperw@ipfw.edu Tel.: +1-219-4816311 Fax: +1-219-4816087, IN |
| |
Abstract: | Male fitness in many species depends strongly on social behaviors needed to obtain fertilizations and prevent loss of fertilizations
to other males, but courtship, copulation, and fighting may incur increased risk of predation. When demands for reproductive
and antipredatory behaviors conflict, fitness may be maximized by accepting some degree of risk to enhance reproductive success.
To examine such tradeoffs, I introduced tethered conspecific males or females to adult male broad-headed skinks, Eumeces laticeps, in the field and observed how close they allowed a simulated predator (me) to approach before fleeing, or their latency
to approach an introduced female located at different distances from the predator. When conspecific males were introduced,
isolated and mate-guarding males initiated agonistic behaviors and permitted closer approach than control males, and mate-guarding
males permitted closer approach than isolated males. When females were introduced, both isolated and mate-guarding males courted
the introduced females and isolated males permitted closer approach than did mate-guarding males. These results for introduced
males and females suggest that increasing risk was accepted when reproductive benefits were greater. Latency for isolated
males to approach a conspecific female was greater when the predator was closer to the female, further suggesting sensitivity
to predation risk during a reproductive opportunity. Relationships between reproductive and antipredatory behaviors have been
studied much less than those between feeding and antipredatory behaviors, but this study indicates that animals balance increased
risk of predation with the opportunity to perform several reproductively important behaviors.
Received: 5 March 1999 / Received in revised form: 15 July 1999 / Accepted: 25 July 1999 |
| |
Keywords: | Antipredatory behavior Fighting Courtship Eumeces laticeps |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|