Male preference for large females and assortative mating for body size in the sand lizard (Lacerta agilis)

1993 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mats Olsson
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Male Preference ◽  
Sand Lizard ◽  
Lacerta Agilis

scholarly journals How Precise are Size-Based Age Estimations in the Sand Lizard (Lacerta Agilis)?

2011 ◽  
Vol 56 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 11-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bartosz Borczyk ◽  
Łukasz Paśko
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Life Span ◽  
Age Estimation ◽  
The Body ◽  
Average Error ◽  
Ecological Studies ◽  
Age Classes ◽  
Sand Lizard ◽  
Lacerta Agilis

How Precise are Size-Based Age Estimations in the Sand Lizard (Lacerta Agilis)?Reptiles show a positive correlation between age and body size and it is common practice to infer the age of an animal from its size. However, the growth rate often differs between individuals, thus such practice may lead to false conclusions. Because age of an animal is a very important factor in many ecological studies, it should be determined with a minimum of error. Here, we compare the body size distribution among different age classes of the sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) to infer if it is possible to correctly determine their age on the basis of the body length. Our results show that the average error in age estimation on the basis of the lizard size is 1.36 year which is approximately 1/3 the average sand lizard life span.

scholarly journals Male size does not correlate with fertilization success in two bufonid toads that show size-assortative mating

2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 740-746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao-Li Fan ◽  
Zhi-Hua Lin ◽  
Xiang Ji
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Clutch Size ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Dry Mass ◽  
Fertilization Success ◽  
Male Body ◽  
Mating Pattern ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Male Preference

Abstract We examined sexual size dimorphism (SSD), mating pattern, fertilization efficiency and female reproductive traits in two bufonid toads (Bufo gargarizans and Duttaphrynus melanostictus) to test the idea that importance of male body size for egg fertilization success depends on the mating pattern. Female-biased SSD was evident only in D. melanostictus. Female B. gar-garizans laid fewer larger eggs nearly three months earlier than did female D. melanostictus. Fertilization efficiencies on average were higher in B. gargarizans (95%) than in D. melanostictus (91%). Though differing in the degree of SSD, body size, breeding season, clutch size, egg size and fertilization efficiency, the two toads were similar in four aspects: (1) both showed size-assortative mating; (2) females did not tradeoff egg size against egg number; (3) male size, clutch size and clutch dry mass were greater in male-larger than in female-larger pairs after accounting for female snout-vent length (SVL); and (4) the ratio of male to female SVL did not affect fertilization efficiency. Our data show that: (1) a female preference for large males is likely not important in terms of egg fertilization success; (2) a male preference for large females is likely important because larger females are more fecund; and (3) size-assortative mating arises from a male preference for large females. Our study demonstrates that male size is not always important for egg fertilization success in anurans that show size-assortative mating.

Application of DNA Barcoding in Taxonomy and Phylogeny: An Individual Case of COI Partial Gene Sequencing from Seven Animal Species

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 375-384
Author(s):  
M. Drohvalenko ◽  
A. Mykhailenko ◽  
M. Rekrotchuk ◽  
L. Shpak ◽  
V. Shuba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Trees ◽  
Far East ◽  
Individual Case ◽  
Ambystoma Mexicanum ◽  
Leaf Miner ◽  
Horse Chestnut ◽  
Natural Reserve ◽  
Rock Lizard ◽  
Sand Lizard ◽  
Lacerta Agilis

Abstract A part of the COI mitochondrial barcoding gene was sequenced from seven species of different taxonomical groups: Ambystoma mexicanum (Amphibia, Ambystomatidae), Darevskia lindholmi, Lacerta agilis exigua (Reptilia, Lacertidae), Erinaceus roumanicus (Mammalia, Erinaceidae), Macrobiotus sp. 1 and 2 (Eutardigrada, Macrobiotidae) and Cameraria ohridella (Insecta, Gracillariidae). The sequences were compared with available sequences from databases and positioned on phylogenetic trees when the taxa had not yet been sequenced. The presence of Mexican axolotls in herpetoculture in Ukraine was confirmed. The partial COI genes of the Crimean rock lizard and an eastern sub-species of the sand lizard were sequenced. We demonstrated the presence of two tardigrade mitochondrial lineages of the Macrobiotus hufelandi group in the same sample from the Zeya Natural Reserve in the Far East: one was nearly identical to the Italian M. macrocalix, and the other one is similar to M. persimilis and M. vladimiri. We also confirmed the presence of the invasive haplotype “A” of the horse chestnut leaf miner in Ukraine, in line with the hypothesized route of invasion from Central Europe.

Atypical assortative mating based on body size in an explosive-breeding toad from a tropical island of southern China

2018 ◽  
Vol 151 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Tongliang Wang ◽  
Lele Jia ◽  
Xiaofei Zhai ◽  
Jianguo Cui ◽  
Jichao Wang
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Tropical Island

scholarly journals Materials on the ecology of background species of reptiles in the Tambov Region

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-141
Author(s):  
Aleksey Vladimirovich Podolsky
Keyword(s):  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
State Nature Reserve ◽  
Sand Lizard ◽  
Field Season ◽  
Grass Snake ◽  
Lacerta Agilis ◽  
Study Sites

The paper presents data on the ecology of two common species of reptiles in the Tambov Region: the sand lizard, Lacerta agilis Linnaeus, 1758, and the common grass snake, Natrix natrix (Linnaeus, 1758). The material was collected in the Michurinsky, Pervomaysky, Tambovsky and Inzhavinsky (on the territory of the Voroninsky State Nature Reserve) Districts of the Tambov Region during the 2019 field season. Field observations and accounting for the numbers of animals on the routes were carried out in the most typical biotopes for the study sites: in pine forest, deciduous forest, in steppe areas affected to varying degrees by anthropogenic transformation, in floodplains of rivers and along the shores of lakes and artificial reservoirs. Information on the following aspects of the ecology of these reptile species in the region is presented and discussed: habitat distribution and numbers, seasonal and diurnal activity, phenology of reproduction and development and the influence of anthropogenic factors. All materials obtained as a result of our own research are compared with the data of the literature sources cited in the paper. On the basis of wide distribution in the region, relatively high numbers and trends to synanthropy it is stated that the state of the populations of the sand lizard and common grass snake in the region in the present conditions is safe and special measures for their protection are not required.

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