Intensity of male‐male competition predicts morph diversity in a color polymorphic lizard

Lanuza, Guillem Pérez i de; Carretero, Miguel Á.; Font, Enrique

doi:10.1111/evo.13256

Cited by 37 publications

(63 citation statements)

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“…Populations of central and western European linages of P. muralis often have up to five different categorical colour morphs; the pure white (W), yellow (Y) and orange (O) morphs, as well as the white‐orange (WO) and the yellow‐orange (YO) intermediate morphs (Pérez i de Lanuza, Font, & Carazo, ). At least in those regions in which local morph composition has been studied, populations are extremely variable in both morph richness and frequencies (northern Italy: Sacchi et al., ; Pyrenees: Calsbeek, Hasselquist, & Clobert, ; Pérez i de Lanuza et al., ; Pérez i de Lanuza, Font, & Carretero, ; Pérez i de Lanuza, Carretero, & Font, ). In particular, in the Eastern Pyrenees, the Y and YO morphs are present only in some populations, often at low frequency (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate suggests environment‐dependent selection on lizard colour morphs

Lanuza

Sillero

Carretero

2018

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim:The maintenance of polymorphisms is often explained by sexual selection.However, natural selection may also constrain morphs to particular locations, causing geographical variation in morph diversity. In many well-known polymorphic organisms in which the relevance of sexual selection on the maintenance of polymorphisms is widely supported, the role of environmental factors has been poorly studied. Here, we adopted a population-level approach to assess the extent to which geographical variation in climate explains morph composition in a colour polymorphic lizard. We predict that rare morphs are more environmentally constrained than common morphs.Location: Eastern Pyrenees, Western Europe. Taxon: Podarcis muralis (Lacertidae). The species shows up to five discrete colour morphs: white (W), orange (O), white-orange (WO), yellow (Y) and yellow-orange (YO). Populations strongly vary in morph composition. Methods: We modelled the realised niche of each morph and the whole species with Maxent, Bioclim, and Domain, considering 110 localities over a relatively small but environmentally heterogeneous area. Morph ranges were compared to identify differences among their realised niches and local morph frequencies were interpolated to detect intra-morph geographical variations beyond the mere presence of morphs.Results: Differences between morph distributions were mainly associated to temperature seasonality and annual precipitation. While W, O, and WO morphs were found along the whole environmental range of the species, Y and YO morphs were restricted to a subset of the environmental conditions suitable for the species, namely high temperature seasonality and relatively high precipitation. Local frequencies of common morphs also differ among localities, the W morph being more frequent at lower altitudes than the O and WO morphs, which are more locally abundant at higher altitudes. Main conclusions:We found a remarkable geographical relationship between climate and local morph composition that suggests environmentally dependent selection acting in a different way on common and rare morphs, most likely in interaction with sexual selection. K E Y W O R D Scolour polymorphism, ecological niche

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate suggests environment‐dependent selection on lizard colour morphs

Lanuza

Sillero

Carretero

2018

Journal of Biogeography

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“…Colour polymorphism is common among lacertids, some species being currently under intense scrutiny with the aim to test hypotheses for the evolution of polymorphisms (e.g. Carretero et al ., ; Huyghe et al ., , ; Galeotti et al ., ; Pérez i de Lanuza, Font & Carazo, ; San‐José et al ., ; Pérez i de Lanuza, Font & Carretero, ; Pérez i de Lanuza, Carretero & Font, ; Pérez i de Lanuza, Sillero & Carretero, ). A crucial question to properly address the study of colour polymorphisms is whether relevant observers of the polymorphism (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Efforts have mainly focused on testing the assumption that ventral colour morphs may be linked to some sort of alternative reproductive strategies, but results are far from conclusive (Sacchi et al ., ; Calsbeek, Hasselquist & Clobert, ; Galeotti et al ., ; Scali et al ., ; Pérez i de Lanuza & Font, ; Ábalos et al ., ). The available evidence suggests that several selective forces may interact in the maintenance of this polymorphism, probably in a complex balancing selection scenario (Pérez i de Lanuza et al ., , ). Most available results agree with the hypothesis that sexual selection is important for the maintenance of this polymorphism (Galeotti et al ., ; Pérez i de Lanuza et al ., , , ; Ábalos et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The available evidence suggests that several selective forces may interact in the maintenance of this polymorphism, probably in a complex balancing selection scenario (Pérez i de Lanuza et al ., , ). Most available results agree with the hypothesis that sexual selection is important for the maintenance of this polymorphism (Galeotti et al ., ; Pérez i de Lanuza et al ., , , ; Ábalos et al ., ). However, evidence from geographic variation of local morph composition and habitat use by morphs in sympatry suggests that this polymorphism is also environmentally constrained (Pérez i de Lanuza & Carretero, ; Pérez i de Lanuza et al ., ,b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Colour variation between different lineages of a colour polymorphic lizard

et al. 2019

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Colour polymorphic animals offer useful models to study the evolution of polymorphisms and studies with colour polymorphic lizards have contributed many advances in this field. Unfortunately, few studies address basic questions such as how observers (e.g. conspecifics) perceive the polymorphism or whether there is chromatic variability among evolutionary lineages or distant geographic areas within a species' range. The common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) shows a striking colour polymorphism in its ventral surface, presenting up to five alternative colour morphs, that is white, yellow and orange/red (depending on the lineage), and two intermediate mosaic morphs: white‐orange and yellow‐orange. Here we compare this polymorphism in two geographically distant areas, the Po valley (Northern Italy) and the Eastern Pyrenees (Iberian Peninsula), corresponding to separate phylogeographic lineages. Using objective techniques of colour measurement and lizard vision models, we examine the chromatic differences between these two polymorphic lineages. We also search for chromatic differences in other colour traits present in P. muralis: the cryptic dorsal coloration and the ultraviolet‐blue spots of the outer ventral scales (UV‐blue OVS) used for intraspecific communication. Although we detected significant differences among lineages in colour variables, the main variation was found between the alternative ventral colour morphs. The most striking inter‐lineage divergence was between the orange Pyrenean morph and the red Italian morph, mainly caused by achromatic (but not chromatic) differences. In addition, although the UV‐blue OVS show strong chromatic and achromatic variation between lineages, the dorsal coloration shows the smallest degree of variation, and mainly between localities rather than lineages. Overall, the ventral colour pattern of P. muralis is shared by at least two geographically and phylogenetically distant lineages. Nevertheless, body coloration also shows signs of historical divergence (Pyrenean orange vs. Italian red) and local adaptation (mainly in the dorsal pattern).

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“…Several evolutionary drivers have been hypothesized to influence spatial variation in the presence and frequency of colour morphs, including sexual selection, fitness trade-offs, frequency-dependent selection and genetic drift (Gray & McKinnon, 2007;Pérez i de Lanuza, Carretero, & Font, 2017). Alternatively, shifts in selection pressures associated with macro-and micro-geographic variation in biotic and abiotic factors may instead cause this spatial divergence in colour morph composition to emerge (McLean, Stuart-Fox, & Moussalli, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Avian predation intensity as a driver of clinal variation in colour morph frequency

Matthews

Goulet

Delhey

et al. 2018

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Phenotypic variation provides the framework for natural selection to work upon, enabling adaptive evolution. One of the most discernible manifestations of phenotypic variability is colour variation. When this variation is discrete, genetically based colour pattern morphs occur simultaneously within a population. Why and how colour polymorphisms are maintained is an evolutionary puzzle. Several evolutionary drivers have been hypothesized as influencing clinal patterns of morph frequency, with spatial variation in climate and predation being considered especially important. Despite this, no study has examined both of their roles simultaneously. The aims of this study were to: (a) examine the covariation of physiology, environmental variables and colouration at a local scale; and (b) determine if these factors and their interplay explain broad clinal variation in morph frequency. We used the lizard Liopholis whitii as a model system, as this species displays a discrete, heritable polymorphism for colour pattern (plain-backed, patterned morphs) whose morph frequency varies latitudinally. We measured reflectance, field activity temperatures and microhabitat structure to test for differences in crypsis, thermal biology and microhabitat selection of patterned and plain-backed morphs within a single population where colour morphs occur sympatrically. We then used data from the literature to perform a broad-scale analysis to identify whether these factors also explained the latitudinal variation of morph frequency in this species. At the local scale, plain-backed morphs were found to be less cryptic than patterned morphs while no other differences were detected in terms of thermal biology, dorsal reflectance and microhabitat use. At a broader scale, predation was the most influential factor mediating morph frequency across latitudes. However, the observed pattern of morph frequency is opposite to what the modelling results suggest in that the incidence of the least cryptic morph is highest where predation pressure is most severe. Clinal variation in the level of background matching between morphs or the potential reproductive advantage by the plain-backed morph may, instead, be driving the observed morph frequency. Together, these results provide key insights into the evolution of local adaptation as well as the ecological forces involved in driving the dynamics of colour polymorphism.

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Intensity of male‐male competition predicts morph diversity in a color polymorphic lizard

Cited by 37 publications

References 74 publications

Climate suggests environment‐dependent selection on lizard colour morphs

Climate suggests environment‐dependent selection on lizard colour morphs

Colour variation between different lineages of a colour polymorphic lizard

Avian predation intensity as a driver of clinal variation in colour morph frequency

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