Differential reproductive investment in co-occurring oviparous and viviparous common lizards (Zootoca vivipara) and implications for life-history trade-offs with viviparity.

ABSTRACT: Live-bearing reproduction (viviparity) has evolved from egg-laying (oviparity) independently many times and most abundantly in squamate reptiles. Studying life-history trade-offs between the two reproductive modes is an inherently difficult task, as most transitions to viviparity are evolutionarily old and/or are confounded by environmental effects. The common lizard (Zootoca vivipara) is one of very few known reproductively bimodal species, in which some populations are oviparous and others viviparous. Oviparous and viviparous populations can occur in sympatry in the same environment, making this a unique system for investigating alternative life-history trade-offs between oviparous and viviparous reproduction. We find that viviparous females exhibit larger body size, smaller clutch sizes

SUBMITTER: Recknagel H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6535419 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature