| Title |
Negative correlation between nuptial throat colour and blood parasite load in male European green lizards supports the Hamilton–Zuk hypothesis
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
The Science of Nature, May 2013
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s00114-013-1051-4 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Orsolya Molnár, Katalin Bajer, Boglárka Mészáros, János Török, Gábor Herczeg |
| Abstract |
During female mate choice, conspicuous male sexual signals are used to infer male quality and choose the best sire for the offspring. The theory of parasite-mediated sexual selection (Hamilton-Zuk hypothesis) presumes that parasite infection can influence the elaboration of sexual signals: resistant individuals can invest more energy into signal expression and thus advertise their individual quality through signal intensity. By preferring these males, females can provide resistance genes for their offspring. Previous research showed that nuptial throat colour of male European green lizard, Lacerta viridis, plays a role in both inter- and intrasexual selections as a condition-dependent multiple signalling system. The aim of this study was to test the predictions of the Hamilton-Zuk hypothesis on male European green lizards. By blood sampling 30 adult males during the reproductive season, we found members of the Haemogregarinidae family in all but one individual (prevalence = 96%). The infection intensity showed strong negative correlation with the throat and belly colour brightness in line with the predictions of the Hamilton-Zuk hypothesis. In addition, we found other correlations between infection intensity and other fitness-related traits, suggesting that parasite load has a remarkable effect on individual fitness. This study shows that throat patch colour of the European green lizards not only is a multiple signalling system but also possibly acts as an honest sexual signal of health state in accordance with the Hamilton-Zuk hypothesis. |
X Demographics
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Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 1 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Scientists | 1 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 85 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Colombia | 1 | 1% |
| Portugal | 1 | 1% |
| Unknown | 83 | 98% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Researcher | 21 | 25% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 20 | 24% |
| Student > Bachelor | 13 | 15% |
| Student > Master | 12 | 14% |
| Student > Postgraduate | 4 | 5% |
| Other | 2 | 2% |
| Unknown | 13 | 15% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 61 | 72% |
| Environmental Science | 4 | 5% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 1 | 1% |
| Unspecified | 1 | 1% |
| Immunology and Microbiology | 1 | 1% |
| Other | 1 | 1% |
| Unknown | 16 | 19% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 13 May 2013.
All research outputs
#19,201,293
of 23,794,258 outputs
Outputs from The Science of Nature
#1,978
of 2,195 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#146,987
of 194,505 outputs
Outputs of similar age from The Science of Nature
#20
of 24 outputs
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