Immune activation affects chemical sexual ornaments of male Iberian wall lizards

López, Pilar, Gabirot, Marianne and Martín, José 2008. Immune activation affects chemical sexual ornaments of male Iberian wall lizards. Naturwissenschaften 96 (1) , pp. 65-69. 10.1007/s00114-008-0451-3

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Abstract

Many animals use chemical signals in sexual selection, but it is not clear how these sexual traits might have evolved to signal honestly male condition. It is possible that there is a trade-off between maintaining the immune system and the elaboration of ornaments. We experimentally challenged the immune system of male Iberian wall lizards, Podarcis hispanica, with a bacterial antigen (lipopolysaccharide), without pathogenic effects, to explore whether the immune activation affected chemical ornaments. Immune activation resulted in decreased proportions of a major chemical in femoral secretions (cholesta-5,7-dien-3-ol = provitamin D3) known to be selected in scent of males by females and which active form (vitamin D) has a variety of important effects on immune system function. This result suggests the existence of a potential trade-off between physiological regulation of the immune system and the allocation of essential nutrients (vitamins) to sexual chemical ornaments in male lizards.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Biosciences
ISSN:	0028-1042
Last Modified:	09 Jun 2020 01:37
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/62851

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