Unravelling associations among chemosensory system components in Liolaemus lizards
Corresponding Author
M. R. Ruiz–Monachesi
CONICET- Instituto de Bio y Geo Ciencias del NOA (IBIGEO), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Salta, Rosario de Lerma, Argentina
Correspondence
Mario R. Ruiz–Monachesi, CONICET- Instituto de Bio y Geo Ciencias del NOA (IBIGEO), PO Box 4405, Rosario de Lerma, Salta, Argentina
E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorF. B. Cruz
INIBIOMA (CONICET – UNCOMA) Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche, Universidad Nacional del Comahue (CRUB)-Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
Search for more papers by this authorS. Valdecantos
CONICET- Instituto de Bio y Geo Ciencias del NOA (IBIGEO), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Salta, Rosario de Lerma, Argentina
Search for more papers by this authorA. Labra
Center for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
ONG, Vida Nativa, Santiago, Chile
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
M. R. Ruiz–Monachesi
CONICET- Instituto de Bio y Geo Ciencias del NOA (IBIGEO), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Salta, Rosario de Lerma, Argentina
Correspondence
Mario R. Ruiz–Monachesi, CONICET- Instituto de Bio y Geo Ciencias del NOA (IBIGEO), PO Box 4405, Rosario de Lerma, Salta, Argentina
E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorF. B. Cruz
INIBIOMA (CONICET – UNCOMA) Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche, Universidad Nacional del Comahue (CRUB)-Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
Search for more papers by this authorS. Valdecantos
CONICET- Instituto de Bio y Geo Ciencias del NOA (IBIGEO), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Salta, Rosario de Lerma, Argentina
Search for more papers by this authorA. Labra
Center for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
ONG, Vida Nativa, Santiago, Chile
Search for more papers by this authorEditor: Mark-Oliver Rödel
Associate Editor: Anthony Herrel
Abstract
Morphology can be associated with different aspects of an organisms' life and the size of sensorial organs may allow inferences on the relevance of sensorial systems employed by them. There are organs implied in signal detection (sensory organs) and production (emitting organs) that are linked frequently to behaviour. Lizards are mostly dependent on the chemosensory system, where the vomeronasal organ (VNO) detects chemical scents delivered by the tongue from glands. The VNO, tongue flicks and glands, should be associated under a morpho-functional paradigm, and our main aim is to explore whether there is an association among these three chemosensory components in Liolaemus lizards. Additionally, tongue flicks have been used to evaluate the interaction between the chemical and visual sensory systems, showing a positive association. Hence, considering the close association between morphology and behaviour, our second aim is to explore whether the morphological (VNO, glands) and behavioural (tongue flicks) chemosensory components are correlated with eye size. We studied the rate of tongue flicks exhibited under two conditions, own scents and control, in 13 Liolaemus species and measured their head length, snout volume (VNO proxy), eye surface, and counted their number of precloacal glands. The rate of tongue flicks correlated positively with the residuals to head of snout volume and negatively with the number of precloacal glands, suggesting that they are associated and that this behaviour links both structures. In addition, residuals of snout volume and the rate of tongue flicks were positively associated with the residuals of eye surface, suggesting that chemical and visual sensory modalities would have co-evolved in these Liolaemus species. Our results show the importance of morphology and behaviour to infer the relevance of animals' sensory systems.
Supporting Information
Filename | Description |
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jzo12819-sup-0001-supinfo.zipZip archive, 928.6 KB | Figure S1. Truncated pyramid of rectangular basis, in yellow are indicated both areas, minor and major. Figure S2. Representation of the head positions and the cuts made to take the different measurements of the vomeronasal organ. Figure S3. Reduce major axis (RMA) regression showing an isometric association (red slope = 1) between both residuals. Table S1. Measurements for adult males of 23 Liolaemus species of the vomeronasal organ volume (VNO; mm3), snout volume (SV; mm3), and head length of the lizard (HL; mm). Table S2. Mean ± standard deviation of the internal eye surface (IES; mm2), external eye surface (EES; mm2), and head length (HL; mm) of adult males of Liolaemus species. Table S3. Better fit to evolutionary models and phylogenetic signal values for analyzed variables. Appendix S1. Testing of the used proxies. Appendix S2. Specimens studied. Appendix S3. Phylogenetic signal and evolutionary models. |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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