Abstract
Life-history theory predicts that the optimal reproductive effort of an organism is affected by factors such as energy acquisition and predation risk. Although this is a major focus of study in evolutionary ecology, the empirical evidence consists of conflicting data on a few organisms. For instance, theoretical models within the foraging mode paradigm suggest that widely foraging females have evolved low reproductive effort, because a heavy reproductive load decreases their ability to escape from predators. By contrast, a long-standing prediction of evolutionary theory indicates that organisms subject to high mortality due to predation, as suggested for widely foraging species, should increase their reproductive investment. Here, we revise the available literature on the relationship between foraging mode and reproductive effort of lizards. In doing so, we present evidence that widely foraging species have evolved greater reproductive effort than sit-and wait species. This is the largest comparative analysis of foraging mode and reproductive effort to date: 485 species grouped in 32 families. Based on our findings, we propose a theoretical model derived from the optimal foraging theory that potentially explains the observed patterns in lizards, paving the way for ecologist to test mechanistic hypotheses at the intraspecific level.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Footnotes
Statement of authorship: DJPP, DD and MJA conceived the study. DJPP performed data analyses. All authors drafted, revised, and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Competing Interest Statement: The authors declare no competing interests.
Data accessibility statement: Supporting data, including a rmarkdown file with code and good quality figures from the statistical analyses, will be archived in an online repository.
denardo{at}asu.edu
ma{at}asu.edu