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41 results for “lizard behavior”
Data from: Evolution of antipredator behavior in an island lizard species, Podarcis erhardii (Reptilia: Lacertidae): the sum of all fears?
Organisms generally have many defenses against predation yet may lack effective defenses if from populations without predators. Evolutionary theory predicts that 'costly' antipredator behaviors will be selected against when predation risk diminishes. We examined antipredator behaviors in Aegean wall lizards, Podarcis erhardii, across an archipelago of land-bridge islands that vary in predator diversity and period of isolation. We examined two defenses, flight initiation distance and tail autotomy. Flight initiation distance generally decreased with declining predator diversity. All predator types had distinctive effects on flight initiation distance with mammals and birds having the largest estimated effects. Rates of autotomy observed in the field were highest on predator-free islands yet laboratory-induced autotomy increased linearly with overall predator diversity. Against expectation from previous work, tail autotomy was not explained solely by the presence of vipers. Analyses of populations directly isolated from rich predator communities revealed that flight initiation distance decreased with increased duration of isolation in addition to the effects of current predator diversity, whereas tail autotomy could be explained simply by current predator diversity. Although selection against costly defenses should depend on time with reduced threats, different defenses may diminish along different trajectories even within the same predator-prey system.
Data from: When the going gets tough: behavioral type dependent space use in the sleepy lizard changes as the season dries
Understanding space use remains a major challenge for animal ecology, with implications for species interactions, disease spread, and conservation. Behavioural type (BT) may shape the space use of individuals within animal populations. Bolder or more aggressive individuals tend to be more exploratory and disperse further. Yet, to date we have limited knowledge on how space use other than dispersal depends on BT. To address this question we studied BT-dependent space-use patterns of sleepy lizards (Tiliqua rugosa) in southern Australia. We combined high-resolution global positioning system (GPS) tracking of 72 free-ranging lizards with repeated behavioural assays, and with a survey of the spatial distributions of their food and refuge resources. Bayesian generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) showed that lizards responded to the spatial distribution of resources at the neighbourhood scale and to the intensity of space use by other conspecifics (showing apparent conspecific avoidance). BT (especially aggressiveness) affected space use by lizards and their response to ecological and social factors, in a seasonally dependent manner. Many of these effects and interactions were stronger later in the season when food became scarce and environmental conditions got tougher. For example, refuge and food availability became more important later in the season and unaggressive lizards were more responsive to these predictors. These findings highlight a commonly overlooked source of heterogeneity in animal space use and improve our mechanistic understanding of processes leading to behaviourally driven disease dynamics and social structure.
Data from: Behavioral and morphological traits interact to promote the evolution of alternative reproductive tactics in a lizard
Alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs) are predicted to be the result of disruptive correlational selection on suites of morphological, physiological and behavioral traits. ARTs are most obvious when they occur in discrete morphs with concomitant behavioral tactics. However, ARTs driven by behavior, in species lacking obvious phenotypic differences, are rarely documented and poorly understood. We quantified selection acting on phenotypic traits predicted to characterize ARTs by observing marked lizards in six semi-natural populations. We quantified reproductive fitness for each male using 6 microsatellite DNA loci from 226 offspring born to 56 females. Candidate models containing directional and correlational selection gradients were equally supported. As predicted, large males with large home ranges and large males who were observed frequently had the highest reproductive success. We also found evidence that large males that moved little, but were observed frequently and large males which moved frequently, but were observed little, were predicted to have high fitness. Model predictions support our verbal hypothesis regarding the phenotypes characterizing ARTs and suggest that large males may be adopting subtly different tactics to acquire paternity. Our results suggest that disruptive correlational selection between behavioral traits may drive the evolution of ARTs in 'cryptic' systems that lack overt polymorphisms.
Blowing in the wind: Experimental assessment of clinging performance and behavior in Anolis lizards during hurricane-force winds
<p>1. Extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, can be ecologically devastating and cause widespread mortality. Recent studies in <em>Anolis</em> lizards report hurricane-induced phenotypic shifts and selection favoring morphological variation related to clinging performance. Although it is difficult to observe organismal responses during extreme events in nature, we can experimentally simulate the high-speed winds associated with hurricanes to evaluate the putative mechanism underlying observed patterns of natural selection.</p> <p>2. In this study, we used two laboratory experiments to better understand the clinging performance and behavior of <em>Anolis</em> lizards when experiencing hurricane-force winds. We assessed the physical ability of lizards when using the combined function of their claws, limbs, toepads, and other traits to resist forces pulling them off a perch. We also evaluated the combination of this physical clinging ability of lizards and their behavioral responses to avoid being blown off a perch during high winds. We assessed behavior that could decrease exposure of lizards to wind and increase their clinging ability.</p> <p>3. Clinging force measurements revealed variation in performance among species and substrates not reflected in clinging times for lizards experiencing hurricane-force winds, revealing the importance of behavior when experiencing high winds. The most arboreal species (<em>A</em>. <em>carolinensis</em>) had substantially longer clinging times on rough substrates compared to the other species, presumably due to its larger toepads for increased clinging as well as its shorter limbs that reduced drag.</p> <p>4. Under high-speed winds, lizards commonly shifted to the more protected leeward side of dowels, especially on broad and rough substrates, presumably to reduce exposure. This reveals how behavior can mediate factors influencing clinging ability during hurricanes and, in conjunction with ecologically relevant variation in morphology and substrate properties, contribute to clinging performance.</p> <p>5. Our experiments reveal that behavior strongly influences clinging performance during high winds beyond that predicted by physical traits alone. Thus, microhabitat selection of perches and the position of a lizard on its perch during a hurricane will likely have important consequences for clinging performance. This may alter how selection acts on morphological traits and influence the susceptibility of different species to these extreme weather events.</p>
Data for: Contextual behavioral interactions of common side-blotched lizards (Uta stansburiana)
<p>These datasets are a summary of all interactions between Common Side-blotched Lizards (Uta stansburiana) and other species. The first (AdultUtaInteractions) contains rows that result from individual replicate interactions during focal-animal observations in two different years. Data include date of observation, time of focal's start, ID of Common Side-blotched Lizard observerd, its sex, and body size as well as the identification of the species with which this individual interacted and its sex. Following this the are the characteristics of the focal animal during 5 min. periods before (pre) and during/following (post) an interaction for the focal animal's perch (height and diameter), movement, and displays (headbobs) as their sum during those 5-min. periods and as the difference (post less pre). Following this are interaction intensity scores (0=no interaction, 5=most intense interaction), intensity scores with initiation coded by sign (positive values as initiated by focal animal, negative as by other individual). Next are display body postures recoded during the interaction (used post-interaction only) scored as N=none or identifying the species performing the posture. These are repeated as effect codes (0=no posture, 1=posture used during interaction). Finally, a notes column indicates any noted details of the interaction.</p> <p>The other dataset (DailyInteractionsSums&Rates) contains a summary of each day's data collection during this study over the two years of study (JD=days since Jan. 1). Decimal min. contains the total time of focal observations performed on that day. Following this are columns containing the count of intrasexual and intersexual interactions as well as the count of intraspecific and interspecific interactions observed on that day. There are then two columns containing the count of events occurring between Uta stansburiana (U.s.) and Sceloporus occidentalis (S.o.) and between Uta and Sceloporus graciosus (S.g.). Next time is calculated as a decimal hours basis before the count of interactions per hour are calculated for each of the previous categories of counts.</p>
Data from: Predator-driven natural selection on risk-taking behavior in anole lizards
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Blowing in the wind: Experimental assessment of clinging performance and behavior in Anolis lizards during hurricane-force winds
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Data from: Evolution of antipredator behavior in an island lizard species, Podarcis erhardii (Reptilia: Lacertidae): the sum of all fears?
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Data from: Basking behavior predicts the evolution of heat tolerance in Australian rainforest lizards
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Data for: Contextual behavioral interactions of common side-blotched lizards (Uta stansburiana)
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Data from: When the going gets tough: behavioral type dependent space use in the sleepy lizard changes as the season dries
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Data from: Behavioral and morphological traits interact to promote the evolution of alternative reproductive tactics in a lizard
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Data and code from: Live birth in lizards: A process-based model for the roles of temperature, behavior, and life-history
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Data from: Quantification of correlational selection on thermal physiology, thermoregulatory behavior and energy metabolism in lizards
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Data from: Comparisons of behavioral and TRPA1 heat sensitivities in three sympatric Cuban Anolis lizards
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Fatigue resistant jaw muscles facilitate long-lasting courtship behavior in the southern alligator lizard (Elgaria multicarinata)
<p>The southern alligator lizard (<i>Elgaria multicarinata</i>) exhibits a courtship behavior during which the male firmly grips the female's head in his jaws for many hours at a time. This extreme behavior counters the conventional wisdom that reptile muscles are fast to fatigue and incapable of powering high endurance behaviors. We conducted <i>in situ</i> experiments in which the jaw-adductor muscles of lizards were stimulated directly while bite force was measured simultaneously with a force transducer. Fatigue tests were performed by supramaximally and bilaterally stimulating the muscles for several minutes with a series of tetanic trains. Our results show that a substantial sustained force gradually develops during the first few minutes of the fatigue test. This sustained force persists after peak tetanic forces have declined to a fraction of their initial magnitude. The observed sustained force during <i>in situ</i> fatigue tests is consistent with the natural courtship behavior of these lizards and likely reflects physiological specialization. The results of molecular analysis reveal that the jaw-adductor muscles contain masticatory myosin and tonic myosin fibers. We propose that the presence of tonic fibers may explain the unusual sustained force properties during mate-holding behavior. The characterization of muscle properties that facilitate extreme performance in specialized systems may help reveal general mechanisms, especially when done in light of convergently evolved systems exhibiting similar performance characteristics.</p>
Data from: Resource distribution mediates social and mating behavior in a family living lizard
The distribution of resources should influence mate availability and the costs and benefits of pursuing different mating strategies. Where resources are dispersed, males may be constrained in the extent to which they can monopolize more than 1 partner, resulting in social and genetic monogamy. There is abundant correlational evidence that resource distribution influences social and mating systems, but experiments that demonstrate a causal link between these variables are relatively rare. Here, we used a replicated experiment involving 160 animals to examine how the distribution of a key resource, crevice sites used as nesting habitat, shapes social and mating behavior of a family living lizard, Liopholis whitii. The distribution of crevice sites had significant effects on several important aspects of the social and mating system. When habitat was aggregated, adults had larger home ranges and overlapped with more individuals of the opposite sex, resulting in increased opportunity for social polygyny. Aggressive female territoriality appears to impose upper limits on opportunities for polygyny by restricting female–female home range overlap. Despite this, males in aggregated habitats still formed polygynous social groups more often than males in dispersed habitat. Aggregated habitat also increased the opportunity for sexual selection, resulting in greater variance in male reproductive success and a steeper Bateman gradient compared with males occupying dispersed habitat. These effects were independent of the increase in social polygyny. Overall, our study is consistent with the hypothesis that habitat structure is fundamentally important to the evolution of social and mating systems.
Tick parasitism impairs contest behavior in the western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis)
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Data from: Resource distribution mediates social and mating behavior in a family living lizard
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Fatigue resistant jaw muscles facilitate long-lasting courtship behavior in the southern alligator lizard (Elgaria multicarinata)
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Allen Brain Atlas
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Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
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The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
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