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Boldness and body size of male Spanish terrapins affect their responses to chemical cues of familiar and unfamiliar males

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Abstract

Recognition and avoidance of conspecifics based on chemical cues could reduce the risk of aggressive interactions between males. Success in agonistics encounters with unfamiliar males should be lower than with previously known familiar males. Then, males should avoid the chemicals from unfamiliar males with respect to those from familiar males. However, boldness and size could affect the outcome of encounters between males and, consequently, the response to chemical cues of conspecific males. We compared the time spent by male turtles Mauremys leprosa in water pools with chemical stimuli from unfamiliar or familiar males or with their own chemical stimuli. We also performed a behavioral test to estimate boldness of turtles in an antipredatory situation. Turtles avoided the chemicals from unfamiliar males respect to familiar ones and their own odors, but their responses depended on boldness and size of the tested turtle. Bold turtles avoided water with chemicals of unfamiliar males, but not with chemicals of familiar males, whereas shy turtles avoided chemicals of both familiar and unfamiliar males. On the other hand, large males avoided the odor from unfamiliar males, but small males did not avoid water with the odor from other males. Results suggest that male M. leprosa can detect chemicals released to water from conspecific males and discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar males. However, responses to these chemicals depended on boldness and body size of the responding turtle because these factors may affect intrasexual competition.

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Acknowledgments

We thank one anonymous reviewer for helpful comments, A. Marzal and D. Martín for allowing us to work in their dehesa states (“La Asesera” and “Cabeza Rubia”), A. González and M. González for field assistance, and “El Ventorrillo” MNCN Field Station for use of their facilities. Financial support was provided by a MEC-FPI grant to AI and by the project MICIIN-CGL2011-24150/BOS.

Ethical standards

Captures and experiments complied with all current laws of Spain and the Environmental Agency (“Consejería de Industria, Energía y Medio Ambiente”) of the “Junta de Extremadura” Local Government (permit number CN0008/11/ACA).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain

    Alex Ibáñez, Pilar López & José Martín

  2. Departamento de Biología Animal, Universidad de Extremadura, 06071, Badajoz, Spain

    Alfonso Marzal

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  1. Alex Ibáñez
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  2. Alfonso Marzal
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  3. Pilar López
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  4. José Martín
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Correspondence to José Martín.

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Communicated by S. J. Downes

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Ibáñez, A., Marzal, A., López, P. et al. Boldness and body size of male Spanish terrapins affect their responses to chemical cues of familiar and unfamiliar males. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 67, 541–548 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-012-1473-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-012-1473-6

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