Female Iberian wall lizards prefer male scents that signal a better cell-mediated immune response.
In spite of the importance of chemoreception in sexual selection of lizards, only a few studies have examined the composition of chemical signals, and it is unknown whether and how chemicals provide honest information. Chemical signals might be honest if there were a trade-off between sexual advertisement and the immune system. Here, we show that proportions of cholesta-5,7-dien-3-ol in femoral secretions of male Iberian wall lizards (Podarcis hispanica) were related to their T-cell-mediated immune response. Thus, only males with a good immune system may allocate higher amounts of this chemical to signalling. Furthermore, females selected scents of males with higher proportions of cholesta-5,7-dien-3-ol and lower proportions of cholesterol. Thus, females might base their mate choice on the males' quality as indicated by the composition of their chemical signals.
López
Pilar
P
Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain. pilar.lopez@mncn.csic.es
Martín
José
J
D000818:Animals; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism; D003684:Dehydrocholesterols / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D008116:Lizards / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D052586:Mating Preference, Animal; D012724:Sex Attractants / Q000737:chemistry*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
D003684:Dehydrocholesterols; D012724:Sex Attractants; D002784:Cholesterol; C016705:7-dehydrocholesterol