Authors
Madeleine St Clair Yewers, Sarah Pryke, Devi Stuart-Fox
Publication date
2016/1/1
Journal
Animal Behaviour
Volume
111
Pages
329-339
Publisher
Academic Press
Description
Discrete colour polymorphisms are often genetically correlated with other traits under natural and sexual selection, such as behaviour, life history and physiology. Elucidating such correlations is essential to understand the adoption of alternative strategies between morphs and the role they play in the maintenance of colour polymorphisms within a population. Using field experiments, we tested the hypothesis that four visually discrete morphs (orange, yellow, yellow with a central orange patch (orange-yellow) and grey) of the tawny dragon lizard, Ctenophorus decresii, display alternative behavioural strategies. Specifically, we compared the response of colour morphs to simulated conspecific territorial intruders and predators in the wild. Although the orange-yellow morph can be objectively classified, it may behaviourally resemble the orange or yellow morph; therefore we compared statistical models in which the …
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