Leeann T. Reaney

Australian National University | ANU · Research School of Biology (RSB)

The link between the expression of the signals used by male animals in contests with the traits which determine success in those contests is poorly understood. This is particularly true in holometabolous insects such as horned beetles where signal expression is determined during metamorphosis and is fixed during adulthood, whereas performance is in...

We quantified sexual size dimorphism, reproduction, and diet in the flap-necked chameleon, Chamaeleo dilepis, using museum specimens. Females were larger than males in both snout-vent length (SVL) and pelvic width. The smallest sexually reproductive female was 80 mm SVL, whereas the smallest mature male was 60 mm. Female body size also correlated w...

The fiddler crab Uca mjoebergi mates both underground in male-defended burrows and on the surface near female-defended burrows. The reproductive tract of Uca species facilitates last-male precedence, suggesting that males that do not guard-mated females are likely to gain very little paternity if the female re-mates with another male. Here, we test...

Body size strongly predicts fighting behaviour and outcome in many species, with the larger opponent usually winning contests. However, recent fighting experience can have a strong influence on the establishment of dominance hierarchies, with recent winners being more likely to win subsequent contests, while recent losers are more likely to lose. R...

Changes in female reproductive investment can have large effects on offspring quality and thus maternal fitness. An immune activation is often expected to lead to a reduction in reproductive effort in order to release resources necessary for costly resistance to infection. Alternatively, an increase in investment in current reproduction may occur i...

We examined the relative importance of male and home range quality on female-male spatial overlap in the tree agama, Acanthocercus atricollis atricollis. Specifically, we asked whether males in good condition had the greatest spatial overlap with females, whether these same males have the best home ranges, or whether females are simply occupying ar...

While mate choice is often assumed to be based on an absolute value that may reflect underlying male quality, many mating systems facilitate the comparative evaluation of males. Females can encounter a number of potential mates, either sequentially or simultaneously, before making a mate choice decision. Consequently, the attractiveness of one male...

We examined 170 museum specimens of the southern African gekkonid lizard Homopholis wahlbergii, to quantify sexual dimorphism, male and female reproductive cycles and diet. The largest male and female we recorded were 116 and 119 mm snout–vent length (SVL) respectively. We compared SVL, tail length, head length, head width and eye diameter and foun...

Abstract • Signals used during male combat are expected to be honest indicators of fighting ability. However, recent studies show that dishonesty in male signalling is more prevalent than previously believed. • Here we show that regenerated (leptochelous) claws in male Uca mjoebergi fiddler crabs are not only dishonest signals of two types of whole...

Underlying male quality is often reflected in the condition of sexually selected traits. In fiddler crabs, male success in both intra- and interspecific interactions is highly dependent on the size of the major claw. However, males are often forced to autotomize their major claw. Claw regeneration significantly altered the structure of a males' maj...

Male fiddler crabs (Uca mjoebergi) produce highly synchronized courtship waves. Is this a cooperative behaviour because females preferentially approach groups that wave synchronously? Or is it a competitive behaviour because of female choice for males that wave first, with the resultant selection on males generating synchrony as an epiphenomenon [1...

We studied sampling behaviour and mate choice in the fiddler crab Uca mjoebergi. Once a female selects a mate, she copulates in his burrow and remains there until releasing her aquatic larvae. U. mjoebergi occurs in habitats that are inundated only by the highest amplitude spring tides. Females can only release their larvae during these tides, and...

Although many animals use refuges to avoid predators, it is often costly to do so. The longer an individual remains in a refuge, the less time it has available for other essential activities, such as foraging and mate searching. Animals should therefore optimize the time spent in a refuge after an attack by adopting a flexible approach to predator...

We examined 170 museum specimens of the southern African gekkonid lizard Homopholis wahlbergii, to quantify sexual dimorphism, male and female reproductive cycles and diet. The largest male and female we recorded were 116 and 119 mm snout–vent length (SVL) respectively. We compared SVL, tail length, head length, head width and eye diameter and foun...

Evidence is growing that an individual's propensity to take risks in the presence of a predator is correlated to behaviors that can affect individual fitness. We examined whether risk-taking behavior predicts aggression, surface activity levels, and mating success in male fiddler crabs, Uca mjoebergi. Risk-taking behavior was highly consistent amon...

We studied tree agama (Acanthocercus a. atricollis) habitat use in the Magaliesberg mountain range in northern South Africa using sightings of marked individuals, and in a few cases, radio-telemetry. Acanthocercus a. atricollis preferentially selected thorn trees (46%; Acacia karroo), followed by common sugarbush (10%; Protect caffra) and dead tree...

Flat lizards Platysaurus intermedius wilhelmi occur on small discrete rock outcrops in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. These rock outcrops are structurally simple and this, combined with the lizard's behaviour (ambush foraging in the open), make them ideal for field studies of anti-predatory behaviour. Lizards were approached in the field and ho...

Flat lizards Platysaurus intermedius wilhelmi occur on small discrete rock outcrops in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. These rock outcrops are structurally simple and this, combined with the lizard's behaviour (ambush foraging in the open), make them ideal for field studies of anti-predatory behaviour. Lizards were approached in the field and ho...

One hundred and sixty-four museum specimens of the tree agama Acanthocercus a. atricollis were measured and dissected to examine sexual size dimorphism, reproduction and diet. Foraging mode and behaviour were also quantified in a wild population to obtain a broader picture of their foraging ecology and to test the hypothesis that tree agamas are am...