MALFORMED OFFSPRING, SIBLING MATINGS, AND SELECTION AGAINST INBREEDING IN THE SAND LIZARD (LACERTA-AGILIS)

We demonstrated that sand lizards (Lacerta agilis) are more likely to have malformed offspring when they mate with siblings. Offspring with malformations, such as deformed limbs and heads, have zero survival in a natural population. Normal-looking siblings of malformed hatchlings also had a reduced survival in the wild, compared to offspring from c lutches in which all siblings appeared normal. The proportion of malfo rmed hatchlings in the natural population was ca. 10%, in spite of dif ferences in juvenile dispersal between males and females. Male juvenil es disperse significantly further from their natal sites than do femal e juveniles.