| Popis: |
The signals animals use in intraspecific communication are usually extremely conspicuous because they serve to convey honest information about their quality in order to maximize their mating success. Precisely because they are flashy, communication signals tend to increase the possibility of being detected by predators, leading to a reduction of individual fitness. There are different evolutionary solutions to solve this trade-off between the opposing requirements of camouflage and communication, including multi-channel signal systems, in which information is encoded in more than one type of signal. In the March-October 2019 period we characterized the dorsal colouration and the structure of the proteins of the femoral secretions in a sample of 228 male Italian wall lizards captured at the Certosa di Calci (Pi). The results of the analyses support the hypothesis that color and secretions may be part of a multi-channel communication system. |
