Display Diversity 
283 
territorial occupancy to the nearest neighbor 
would function over long distances. This dis- 
play would most likely lack subtlety, being 
composed of movements of relatively large 
amplitude. A large dewlap would also en- 
hance such signals. 
In contrast, nonterritorial species or those 
having large home ranges with little defense 
of discrete boundaries might possess aggres- 
sive signals that are exchanged at close range 
when individual distances are violated. These 
displays could effectively incorporate subtle, 
complex movements, temporally compressed 
bob patterns, and numerous modifiers. 
Life History Characteristics 
Species forming stable territories and re- 
maining territorial and sexually active most 
or all of the year would benefit by decreasing 
aggressive interactions with their nearest 
neighbors. This could be facilitated by indi- 
viduals having displays containing individ- 
ual-unique characteristics. Intra-individual 
stereotypy of obvious display features would 
be even more expected if the species were 
long lived. 
Species which are territorial and sexually 
active throughout most of the year, but are 
short lived, would tend to experience a rapid 
turnover in nearest neighbors, especially if 
population densities are high. The frequent 
territorial interactions with unfamiliar con- 
specifics would be more tenable if the spe- 
cies’ agonistic repertoire contained a number 
of display tjT)es. This would permit ritualized 
escalation and place a greater reliance on 
bluff than on fighting to maintain territories. 
Risk of injury should be decreased with a 
large display repertoire. 
Species which are short lived, maintain 
breeding territories over a limited season, 
and live in low population densities would 
least likely have unusual or elaborate display 
characteristics. Expected would be a small 
repertoire having a signature display of 
strong intra-population stereotypy and the 
usual display modifiers. 
Presence of Syntopic Congeners 
In mixed anole communities, especially 
where syntopic congeners have like ecologies, 
character divergence could have influenced 
displays and signaling structures. Where spe- 
cies of similar appearance could potentially 
hybridize, selection might favor interspecific 
divergence of dewlap color, body color, body 
proportions, and/or display patterning to fa- 
cilitate species recognition. 
Kind and Intensity of Predation 
If a species were under potentially heavy 
predation pressure, the evolution of its sig- 
nals would reflect compromise. While one 
aspect of selection would favor cryptic mor- 
phology, body color, and behavior, there are 
certain social benefits in having conspicuous 
signals. An optimal trade-off would probably 
occur where displays are performed less fre- 
quently, are of shorter duration, and utilize 
dewlaps of smaller size and less conspicuous 
coloration than might be true if the species 
lived in areas with few predators. Only di- 
urnal, visual predators would affect these 
displays. 
Physical Characteristics of the Habitat 
Ideally, a signal should stand out against 
the sender’s background. Contrast can be 
obtained by coloration (e.g., anoles in shaded 
understories might have white or light-col- 
ored dewlaps) or by movement (e.g., display 
movements might be asynchronous with any 
rhythmically swaying vegetation in the habi- 
tat). In open habitat, where displays can be 
seen at great distances, gross head move- 
ments and sweeping extensions of a large 
dewlap would be more easily discerned by 
conspecifics with less chance of signal loss. 
On the other hand, a species in a dense 
habitat having a restricted line of sight 
would be displaying over short distances. 
Their displays would use subtle as well as 
gross display characteristics. 
