Is the exploratory behavior of liolaemus nitidus modulated by sex?

Abstract

Chemoreception is an important sensory modality used by lizards to assess their environments and to communicate. However, despite growing information regarding chemoreception in this taxon, its modulation by sex has been little explored, except in researches directly focused on reproductive aspects. In this study, we compared the responses of females and males of the Iguanid lizard Liolaemus nitidus to scents from conspecifics of the same sex, themselves (own), a predator, and a control. The only stimulus that induced different responses between sexes was the scent of conspecifics; males reacted sooner than females to these scents in agreement with their lower tolerance of potential sexual competitors. The similar ecology of the sexes may explain the similarities in their responses to the other scents we tested. However, independent of the scents, we found major behavioral differences between the sexes (e.g. males always tail waved for longer), pointing intrinsic sexual variation in behaviors associated to exploration.