Whether this colour pattern
is sexually dimorphic or has a role in male contests has
not been determined. Hence, in this study we had two
goals: (1) to quantify sexual dimorphism and (2) to examine
the relation between fighting ability and multiple
male traits including body size and condition, head
dimensions, casque height, tail length and size of the central
flank patch. These traits are the most likely candidates
for sexual selection because communication in chameleons
is almost exclusively via the use of visual signals
(Cooper & Greenberg 1992; Necas 2001). Although chameleons
are famous for their ability to change colour
and the spectral properties of colour patches are likely to
be an important component of visual signals used during
male–male contests, we were primarily interested in fixed
(rather than labile) traits thought to influence contest
competition in a wide range of taxa (e.g. body size, head
size, size of ornaments or colour patches). Furthermore,
quantifying coloration from videotaped interactions can
be problematic (Fleishman et al. 1998), especially as this
species shows some UV reflectance (D. Stuart-Fox, unpublished
data).
Whether this colour pattern
is sexually dimorphic or has a role in male contests has
not been determined. Hence, in this study we had two
goals: (1) to quantify sexual dimorphism and (2) to examine
the relation between fighting ability and multiple
male traits including body size and condition, head
dimensions, casque height, tail length and size of the central
flank patch. These traits are the most likely candidates
for sexual selection because communication in chameleons
is almost exclusively via the use of visual signals
(Cooper & Greenberg 1992; Necas 2001). Although chameleons
are famous for their ability to change colour
and the spectral properties of colour patches are likely to
be an important component of visual signals used during
male–male contests, we were primarily interested in fixed
(rather than labile) traits thought to influence contest
competition in a wide range of taxa (e.g. body size, head
size, size of ornaments or colour patches). Furthermore,
quantifying coloration from videotaped interactions can
be problematic (Fleishman et al. 1998), especially as this
species shows some UV reflectance (D. Stuart-Fox, unpublished
data).
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