A permanent signal related to male pairing success and survival in the lizard Psammodromus algirus

Many species of lizards have colour spots on the flanks that may function as ornaments. We investigate the between-years stability of the blue patch colour saturation and the relationships between colour saturation, mating success, and survival in males of the lizard Psammodromus algirus. Saturation values of the anterior blue patch of males were significantly repeatable across years. Survivors had more saturated patches than non-survivors among paired males but not among non-paired males. The positive relationship between blue patch saturation and survival suggests that this morphological trait acts as a reliable signal of male quality measured as adult survival.The study was supported by Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (PB94-0067 and BOS2001-0533). Permission for this study was granted by Agencia de Medio Ambiente, Comunidad de Madrid (10/015574.0/97).Peer reviewe