Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

The Relationship Between Sex And Territorial Behavior In The San Cristóbal Lava Lizard (Microlophus Bivittatus), Meghan N. Koenig

All College Thesis Program, 2016-2019

The purpose of this study is to learn more about the territorial behavior of the San Cristóbal lava lizard (Microlophus bivittatus). It was hypothesized that, due to competition for mates, competition would be higher amid individuals of the same sex than between individuals that were opposite sexes. This hypothesis was not supported by the data collected, as females were observed interacting more with other females than other males but males were observed interacting more with females than other males. This is likely a result of a sex ratio of two females to one male and the territory structure of the …