Chemical composition of femoral secretions of oviparous and viviparous types of male common lizards Lacerta vivipara |
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Authors: | Marianne Gabirot Pilar Lpez Jos Martín Michelle de Fraipont Benoit Heulin Barry Sinervo Jean Clobert |
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Institution: | aDepartamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain;bLaboratoire d'Ecologie Expérimentale du CNRS à Moulis, USR 2936, 09200 Saint-Girons, France;cCNRS UMR 6553, Station Biologique, 35380 Paimpont, France;dDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Earth and Marine Sciences Building, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA |
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Abstract: | In spite of the importance of chemoreception in intraspecific communication of lizards, only a few studies have examined chemical composition of secretions of lizards. The secretion of the femoral glands of adult male lizards Lacerta vivipara contains a relatively low number (18) of lipophilic compounds in comparison with other related lacertid lizards. These compounds were identified on the basis of mass spectra, obtained by GC-MS. Chemicals included ten steroids (mainly cholesterol) and four carboxylic acids between n-C12 and n-C18, and minor components such as squalene, α-tocopherol, and two waxy esters, which may contribute to avoid oxidation of other lipophilic components in the fairly humid environments occupied by this lizard. Secretions of adult males from oviparous and viviparous populations did not differ in the numbers and quality of chemical compounds, but there were some differences in the relative proportion of some compounds. Males from oviparous populations had lower proportions of hexadecanoic acid and cholestan-3-one, and higher proportions of squalene than viviparous males. These differences might be explained by either small genetic differences between types or due to different microclimatic conditions in the original populations. |
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Keywords: | Lacerta vivipara Lacertidae Femoral glands Fatty acids Steroids Interpopulation differences |
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