The Effects of Residency and Body Size on Contest Initiation and Outcome in the Territorial Dragon, Ctenophorus decresii
Open Access
- 15 October 2012
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Public Library of Science (PLoS) in PLOS ONE
- Vol. 7 (10), e47143
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0047143
Abstract
Empirical studies of the determinants of contests have been attempting to unravel the complexity of animal contest behaviour for decades. This complexity requires that experiments incorporate multiple determinants into studies to tease apart their relative effects. In this study we examined the complex contest behaviour of the tawny dragon (Ctenophorus decresii), a territorial agamid lizard, with the specific aim of defining the factors that determine contest outcome. We manipulated the relative size and residency status of lizards in contests to weight their importance in determining contest outcome. We found that size, residency and initiating a fight were all important in determining outcomes of fights. We also tested whether residency or size was important in predicting the status of lizard that initiated a fight. We found that residency was the most important factor in predicting fight initiation. We discuss the effects of size and residency status in context of previous studies on contests in tawny dragons and other animals. Our study provides manipulative behavioural data in support of the overriding effects of residency on initiation fights and winning them.Keywords
This publication has 38 references indexed in Scilit:
- Male–male combats in a polymorphic lizard: residency and size, but not color, affect fighting rules and contest outcomeAggressive Behavior, 2009
- Ultraviolet signals ultra-aggression in a lizardAnimal Behaviour, 2006
- The language of lizards: interpreting the function of visual displays of the Indian rock lizard, Psammophilus dorsalis (Agamidae)Journal of Ethology, 2006
- Ultraviolet signals fighting ability in a lizardBiology Letters, 2006
- Information content of male agonistic displays in the territorial tawny dragon (Ctenophorus decresii)Journal of Ethology, 2005
- The importance of being gravid: egg load and contest outcome in a parasitoid waspAnimal Behaviour, 2000
- Residency and size affect fight duration and outcome in the fiddler crab Uca annulipesBiological Journal of the Linnean Society, 1996
- The Hind Leg Pushup Display of the Amphibolurus decresii Species Complex (Lacertilia: Agamidae)Ichthyology & Herpetology, 1979
- Assessment strategy and the evolution of fighting behaviourJournal of Theoretical Biology, 1974
- The Logic of Animal ConflictNature, 1973