The influence of female size on the extent and intensity of mate guarding by males in Chamaeleo chamaeleon

In ectotherms, the size of the female correlates with fecundity and thus, m ales prefer large more fecund females as potential mates in some species. T he idea that the extent and intensity of mate guarding are also size-relate d was tested in the common chameleon Chamaeleo chamaeleon. Mate guarding wa s studied in 43 radio-tagged females during 3 years in a population in sout hern Spain. The extent and intensity of male guarding of their mates varied greatly. On average, the guarding started on 20 August and ended on 2 Sept ember (mean duration = 12.6 days, range 2-44 days, n = 35; six females were not guarded). Guarding continued for some days after mating (range = 0-13 days, n = 16). Guarding intensity (mean = 65.8% of net observation time wit h a guarding mate, range = 23-90, n = 27) and number of guarding males (mea n = 1.8, range = 1-7) also varied greatly. The extent and intensity of mate guarding was strongly influenced by female size and the guarding period af ter mating: large females were guarded early in the season, for longer peri ods, and more intensively than small ones. Large females were also guarded for longer periods after mating. The overall variation in the guarding peri od was due to the duration of guarding before mating which was longer for l arge females. To my knowledge, this is the first time that prolonged mate g uarding of larger females has been reported.