Costs of reproduction in a tropical invariant-clutch producing lizard (Carlia rubrigularis)

Goodman, Brett A. (2006) Costs of reproduction in a tropical invariant-clutch producing lizard (Carlia rubrigularis). Journal of Zoology, 270 (2). pp. 236-243.

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Abstract

Reproduction involves costs and benefits, whereby increased expenditure into current reproduction can reduce future reproductive success. Costs of reproduction, often assessed using the reduction in locomotor speed, have become well established in temperate-zone lizard species. However, substantial differences in biotic conditions and life-history traits between temperate- and tropical-zone lizards suggest that such costs may be different or of less importance for tropical species. This study examined the effects of reproduction on locomotor speed in the tropical invariant-clutch producing lizard Carlia rubrigularis. Counter to predictions and despite a low relative clutch mass (RCM), gravid and post-oviposition females experienced a reduction in locomotor speed with a physiological basis that was unrelated to the level of reproductive investment. In addition, gravid and postoviposition females exhibited locomotor speeds that were inversely related to the timing of oviposition and approached the speed of non-reproductive females after 3 weeks of oviposition. These results suggest that in addition to RCM, selection may act to reduce the period of recovery in species with extended reproductive seasons and which make numerous bouts of reproduction, such as C. rubrigularis.

Item ID: 3819
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 0952-8369
Keywords: skink; carlia; locomotor performance; reproductive effort; relative clutch mass
Date Deposited: 25 Nov 2009 23:33
FoR Codes: 06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0699 Other Biological Sciences > 069999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified @ 100%
SEO Codes: 96 ENVIRONMENT > 9608 Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity > 960899 Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity of Environments not elsewhere classified @ 51%
97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences @ 49%
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