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When Lizards Do Push-Ups
Humans aren't the only ones inclined to athletic displays in love and war
Sagebrush lizards and some tropical species use a complex system of body language to communicate.
References:
Bradbury, J.W., and S.L. Vehrencamp. 1998. Principles of Animal Communication. Sunderland, Mass.: Sinauer Associates.
Martins, E.P., A.N. Bissel, and K.K. Morgan. 1998. Population differences in a lizard communicative display: Evidence for rapid change in structure and function. Animal Behaviour 56(November):1113.
Further Readings:
Jenssen, T.A. 1996. A test of assortative mating between sibling lizard species, Anolis websteri and Anolis caudalis, in Haiti. In Herpetology of the West Indies, R. Powell, and R. Henderson, eds. Ithaca, NY: Society for the Studies of Amphibians and Reptiles, Herpetological Series.
Losos, J.B. 1985. An experimental demonstration of the species-recognition role of Anolis dewlap color. Copeia:905.
Martins, E.P. 1994. Structural complexity in a lizard communication system: The Sceloporus graciosus "push-up" display. Copeia:944.
______. 1993. Contextual use of the push-up display by the sagebrush lizard. Animal Behaviour 45:25.
Wright, T.F. 1998. Vocal communication in wild populations of the yellow-naped Amazon. Meeting of the American Federation of Aviculture. July/August. Baltimore.
______. 1996. Regional dialects in the contact call of a parrot. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 263:867.
Sources:
Ahrash Bissell
University of Oregon
Department of Biology
Eugene, OR 97403
Jack P. Hailman
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Department of Zoology
430 Lincoln Drive, Birge Hall
Madison, WI 53706
Thomas A. Jenssen
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Biology Department
Blacksburg, VA 24061
Jonathan B. Losos
Washington University
Department of Biology
Box 1137
St. Louis, MO 63130-4899
Emilia P. Martins
University of Oregon
Department of Biology
Eugene, OR 97403
Sandra L. Vehrencamp
University of California, San Diego
Department of Biology 0116
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0116
From Science News, Vol. 155, No. 9, February 27, 1999, p. 142. Copyright © 1999, Science Service.
