New literature alert!
Male Anolis carolinensis lizards will fight and form social dominance hierarchies when placed in habitats with limited resources. Dominance may procure benefits such as priority access to food, shelter or partners, but may also come with costs, such as a higher risk of injuries due to aggressive interaction, a higher risk of predation or a higher energetic cost, all of which may lead to an increase in stress. While most research looks at dominance by using dyadic interactions, in our study we investigated the effect of dominance in a multiple male group of A. carolinensis lizards. Our results showed that dominant males in a multiple male group had priority access to prey and potential sexual partners but may run a higher risk of predation. We could not confirm that dominant males in a multiple male group had a higher risk of injuries from aggressive interactions or a higher energetic cost by being dominant. Overall our results seem to indicate that dominant male A. carolinensis lizards in a multiple male group obtain clear benefits and that they outweigh the disadvantages.
- Puerto Rico Herpetology Symposium - September 21, 2023
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- Parallel Urban Adaptation from Phenotype to Genotype in Anolis Lizards - January 20, 2023
Rolly Polly Anole
The females seem to form dominance hierarchies as well. I’ll often swat flies and feed them to our resident greens(I’ll only occasionally feed the browns). Sometimes while feeding a presumably subordinate female, an apparently dominant one will chase her off and take her meal right off my swatter.
They also seem to chase off youngsters, though those could be predation attempts as well.