Data from: Sexual selection as a promoter of population divergence in male phenotypic characters? A study on mainland and islet lizard populations

Sexual selection is often viewed as a promoter of population divergence,
although some forms of sexual selection could rather hamper divergence. In
the present study, we investigated whether sexual selection promotes
divergence in sexually-selected traits. We studied population variation in
sexual selection in relation to colour morph and body size in islet and
mainland populations of the Skyros wall lizard (Podarcis gaigeae). Females
were most likely to mate with orange-throated males with small body sizes,
and male body size and coloration were therefore subject to correlational
sexual selection. By contrast, male mating probabilities were not affected
by any female phenotypic character. We also found variation in a female
resistance trait (escape propensity), with females being more prone to
escape when exposed to males from other habitats. Sexual selection could
potentially affect the frequencies of throat colour morphs in this species
by favouring orange-throated males of small body size, although there was
no evidence of sexual selection for local mates or rare phenotypes. The
results obtained in the present study thus do not support a role for
sexual selection as a promoter of population divergence in this species.

性选择通常被视为种群分化的促进因子，尽管部分类型的性选择反而可能阻碍种群分化。本研究旨在探究性选择是否能促进性选择性状的种群分化。我们以斯基罗斯壁蜥（Podarcis gaigeae）的岛屿种群与大陆种群为研究对象，分析了性选择与色型、体型的关联及其种群间变异情况。研究发现，雌性更倾向与体型较小的喉部橙色雄性交配，因此雄性的体型与体色受到相关性选择的作用。与之相反，雄性的交配概率并未受到雌性任何表型特征的影响。我们还观测到雌性的抗性性状——逃逸倾向——存在种群间变异：当暴露于来自其他生境的雄性时，雌性更易发生逃逸。尽管未发现针对本地配偶或稀有表型的性选择证据，但性选择或可通过青睐体型较小的喉部橙色雄性，对该物种喉部色型的频率分布产生影响。因此，本研究所得结果并不支持性选择作为该物种种群分化促进因子的观点。