Carotenoid-based colours reflect the stress response in the common lizard.

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Version: Final published version
License: Not specified
Serval ID
serval:BIB_5E9AF04EFA9C
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Title
Carotenoid-based colours reflect the stress response in the common lizard.
Journal
PLoS One
Author(s)
Fitze P.S., Cote J., San-Jose L.M., Meylan S., Isaksson C., Andersson S., Rossi J.M., Clobert J.
ISSN
1932-6203 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
1932-6203
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2009
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
4
Number
4
Pages
e5111
Language
english
Abstract
Under chronic stress, carotenoid-based colouration has often been shown to fade. However, the ecological and physiological mechanisms that govern colouration still remain largely unknown. Colour changes may be directly induced by the stressor (for example through reduced carotenoid intake) or due to the activation of the physiological stress response (PSR, e.g. due to increased blood corticosterone concentrations). Here, we tested whether blood corticosterone concentration affected carotenoid-based colouration, and whether a trade-off between colouration and PSR existed. Using the common lizard (Lacerta vivipara), we correlatively and experimentally showed that elevated blood corticosterone levels are associated with increased redness of the lizard's belly. In this study, the effects of corticosterone did not depend on carotenoid ingestion, indicating the absence of a trade-off between colouration and PSR for carotenoids. While carotenoid ingestion increased blood carotenoid concentration, colouration was not modified. This suggests that carotenoid-based colouration of common lizards is not severely limited by dietary carotenoid intake. Together with earlier studies, these findings suggest that the common lizard's carotenoid-based colouration may be a composite trait, consisting of fixed (e.g. genetic) and environmentally elements, the latter reflecting the lizard's PSR.
Keywords
Animals, Carotenoids/metabolism, Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid, Color, Corticosterone/blood, Female, Lizards/physiology, Male, Pigments, Biological/metabolism, Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet, Stress, Physiological
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
12/11/2010 9:46
Last modification date
17/09/2019 7:29
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