Does the addition of a new signalling trait enhance receiver responses in diurnal geckos?

Kabir, MS and Thaker, M (2021) Does the addition of a new signalling trait enhance receiver responses in diurnal geckos? In: Behavioural Processes, 184 .

	PDF beh_pro_184_2021.pdf - Published Version Restricted to Registered users only Download (949kB) | Request a copy
	Microsoft Word 1-s2.0-S0376635721000097-mmc1.doc - Published Supplemental Material Restricted to Registered users only Download (670kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

Animal signals in multiple modalities expands the opportunity for effective communication. Among diurnal geckos of the genus Cnemaspis, chemical signalling traits preceded the evolution of visual traits. Males of all species possess chemical secreting ventral glands, but only in some species, males also express yellow gular patches. This difference in the expression of unimodal or multimodal signalling traits between closely related species provided us with an opportunity to understand the use of multimodal signals for communication. We studied receiver responses in Cnemaspis indica, a sexually monochromatic species, and in C. littoralis, a species where males possess yellow gulars. We performed behavioural trials where individuals of each species were exposed to only chemical stimuli, only visual stimuli, or both chemical and visual stimuli simultaneously from male and female conspecifics. Our results show that only chemical stimuli were necessary and sufficient to elicit responses in males and females of C. indica as well as in females of C. littoralis. However, males of the dimorphic C. littoralis required the multimodal stimulus to elicit movement-based responses. Our results suggest that the evolution of colour traits in diurnal geckos is associated with a partial shift in some receiver responses toward multimodal communication, with no addition to the behavioural repertoire. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Behavioural Processes
Publisher:	Elsevier B.V.
Additional Information:	The copyright of this article belongs to Elsevier B.V.
Keywords:	chemoreception; color; diurnal activity; female behavior; lizard; signaling; visual cue, adult; article; female; gecko; human; male; nonhuman; signal transduction, Cnemaspis; Gekkonidae
Department/Centre:	Division of Biological Sciences > Centre for Ecological Sciences
Date Deposited:	26 Feb 2021 10:01
Last Modified:	26 Feb 2021 10:01
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/68001

Actions (login required)

View Item