Does the length of the rostrum on male leaf nosed lizard Ceratophora tennentii affect the attraction females have for males?
Introduction
The name of my species is Ceratophora tennentii more commonly known as the leaf nosed lizard. This is a lizard that lives in the central highlands of Sri Lanka. Ceratophora tennentii are characterized by the shape and relative size of their noses as well as their bright colors. The nose of this lizard is referred to as a rostrum. The rostrum is not used as a weapon, rather a symbol of distinction. This due to the fact that males generally have a longer rostrum, when compared to the females. (Whiting et al. 2015). This may be because sexual selection favors longer rostrums on males. My hypothesis is that the length of the rostrum on the leaf nosed lizard is an …show more content…
This can be due to a fitness advantage the females gain. A rostrum on a male, contributes to the it’s overall size, making it appear larger. (Hews 1990) This is an advantage because that particular male will seem more intimidating to other males with shorter rostrums, this in turn means he will be able to acquire more territory. The females want their young to grow up in a place where there not fighting for resources and have enough space to grow up healthy, for this reason the females may want to mate with someone with a longer rostrum. If the females decide to mate with males with shorter rostrums, it may be because their offspring to acquire smaller rostrums. Through this it may help them hide easily from predators when compared to lizards with long rostrums. If the null hypothesis is not rejected, due to different females being attracted to different males. It can be concluded that length of the rostrum does not not affect the female’s attraction. It may be that other factors affect the female’s attraction to males, such as colour. This is a possibility due to the fact
Introduction
The name of my species is Ceratophora tennentii more commonly known as the leaf nosed lizard. This is a lizard that lives in the central highlands of Sri Lanka. Ceratophora tennentii are characterized by the shape and relative size of their noses as well as their bright colors. The nose of this lizard is referred to as a rostrum. The rostrum is not used as a weapon, rather a symbol of distinction. This due to the fact that males generally have a longer rostrum, when compared to the females. (Whiting et al. 2015). This may be because sexual selection favors longer rostrums on males. My hypothesis is that the length of the rostrum on the leaf nosed lizard is an …show more content…
This can be due to a fitness advantage the females gain. A rostrum on a male, contributes to the it’s overall size, making it appear larger. (Hews 1990) This is an advantage because that particular male will seem more intimidating to other males with shorter rostrums, this in turn means he will be able to acquire more territory. The females want their young to grow up in a place where there not fighting for resources and have enough space to grow up healthy, for this reason the females may want to mate with someone with a longer rostrum. If the females decide to mate with males with shorter rostrums, it may be because their offspring to acquire smaller rostrums. Through this it may help them hide easily from predators when compared to lizards with long rostrums. If the null hypothesis is not rejected, due to different females being attracted to different males. It can be concluded that length of the rostrum does not not affect the female’s attraction. It may be that other factors affect the female’s attraction to males, such as colour. This is a possibility due to the fact