Female lizards ignore the sweet scent of success: Male characteristics implicated in female mate preference

Abstract

Sexual selection molds the morphology, physiology and behavior of males in many animals. At first glance, it seems reasonable to assume that females would use the same male traits and signals in mate choice as males do during male–male competition. However, intra- and intersexual competition may affect traits in the same or the opposite direction, with differing strength. We investigated which color, morphometric and performance traits are selected for through male–male competition and whether female mate preference is based on these same traits and/or dominance status in the three male color morphs of the lizard Podarcis melisellensis. Males with relatively bigger heads and relatively higher bite forces were more likely to win fights and orange males were always dominant over the other morphs. Females, however, preferred scents of bigger males that were in better body condition, and surprisingly had lower bite force capacities. They did not show a preference for scents of any particular color morph or for scents of the more dominant males. These results indicate that intra- and intersexual competition may result in selection for different secondary sexual traits in P. melisellensis.