Phenotypic diversity and its relationship to reproductive potential in changing social contexts in a lizard model

Abstract

Phenotype in lizards is related to reproductive function, and hence to reproductive output. Besides the intraspecific diversity in phenotypes, their temporal variation throughout the reproductive season in relation to the variation of social contexts builds extra complexity into sexual selection scenarios. One useful model for understanding phenotypic diversity dynamics is Tropidurus spinulosus because it presents sexual dimorphism in different phenotypic traits, dichromatism in regions related to reproductive behaviour, and it has intense social reproductive interactions. We aimed to evaluate how the reproductive and phenotypic traits of individuals vary with changing social contexts, and how intrasexual phenotypic diversity and reproductive potential are explained by the phenotypic traits. In this study, we used data obtained during four consecutive breeding seasons (2015-2018) in a wild population. The social context, characterized according to the operational sex ratio, varied between months and, therefore, some phenotypic and reproductive traits also varied. We found that body robustness and chromatic diversity were the main sources of phenotypic diversity and were related to reproductive traits in both sexes. Our results help to understand the dynamics and reproductive implications of phenotypic diversity in changing social contexts in a lizard social model.