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会推动性选择相关性状的种群分化。我们以斯基罗斯壁蜥蜴（Podarcis gaigeae）的小岛种群与大陆种群为研究对象，分析了其性选择的种群差异及其与体色型和体型的关联。研究发现，雌性个体最倾向与体型较小的橙喉雄性交配，因此雄性体型与体色同时受到相关性选择的作用。与之相反，雄性的交配概率不受雌性任何表型性状的影响。我们还发现雌性的抵抗性状（逃逸倾向）存在种群差异：当暴露于来自其他生境的雄性时，雌性更易发生逃逸。性选择或可通过青睐体型较小的橙喉雄性，对该物种的喉部色型频率产生潜在影响，尽管本研究未发现性选择偏好本地配偶或稀有表型的证据。因此，本研究所得结果并不支持性选择可作为该物种种群分化的促进因子这一观点。