Climate and Socio-Sexual Environment Predict Interpopulation Variation in Chemical Signaling Glands in a Widespread Lizard.

ABSTRACT: Many animal species show considerable intraspecific phenotypic variation. For species with broad distributions, this variation may result from heterogeneity in the strength and agents of selection across environments and could contribute to reproductive isolation among populations. Here, we examined interpopulation variation in a morphological trait related to chemical communication, femoral pore number (FP), using 3437 individuals from 55 Pyrenean populations of the common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis). Specifically, we tested the relative roles of genetic relatedness and gene flow, and adaptation to local conditions in generating this variation, with particular interest in the influence of climate and the socio-sexual environment (i.e., the intensity of sexual selection, estimated using

SUBMITTER: Romero-Diaz C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12618958 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature