Changes in the Intensity of Male Courtship Behavior Following Physical Exposure of Males to Previously Unfamiliar Females in Brown Anoles (Anolis Sagrei)

Abstract

Male Brown Anoles (Anolis sagrei) have been found in laboratory studies to court unfamiliar females more intensely than familiar females and in choice tests to preferentially court and mate with unfamiliar females. The objective of the present study was to determine how the intensity of male courtship behavior changes following physical exposure of males to previously unfamiliar females. The courtship behavior of males was recorded in 30-min courtship tests with familiar females (pretest), with unfamiliar females (first test), and with previously unfamiliar females after males had been physically exposed to them for two days (retest). When males were first visually exposed to unfamiliar females in the first test, they courted them significantly more intensely than they had courted familiar females in the pretest. Specifically, males gave more bobbing displays with dewlap extensions and spent more time adjacent to the stimulus female in courtship tests with unfamiliar females than in tests with familiar females. However, when males were housed with previously unfamiliar females for two days and then visually exposed to them in the retest, they did not court them significantly differently than they had courted familiar females. These results suggest that the heightened courtship response of males to unfamiliar females disappears relatively quickly after males have had physical exposure to females.