Sexual selection can favour the evolution and maintenance of highly
> elaborate traits in males. In many species, males show multiple
> morphological and behavioural-display traits. Though many studies have
> examined the role of sexual selection in shaping male display traits, they
> are typically done over a short part of the animal’s lifespan, and often in
> captive or semi-natural conditions. Patterns of variation in multiple
> display traits over the lifetime of individuals under natural ecological
> and social contexts are still not well understood. Apart from traits
> related to mate-acquisition, sexual selection can also influence
> behavioural traits involved in other aspects of an animal's ecology. Traits
> related to animal personality form one such set of traits. Research on
> consistent between-individual differences (called repeatability) in various
> behavioural traits related to personality is rapidly expanding. However, we
> know relatively little about patterns in repeatability in traits over a
> lifespan, especially in the wild, and the role of sexual selection
> processes in maintaining repeatability. With the motivation of studying
> sexual selection in the wild, I focus on examining the influence of sexual
> selection on male mating behaviour and personality in male Peninsular Rock
> Agama (*Psammophilus dorsalis*)
> I first describe the natural history of the breeding system of this
> species. By following uniquely tagged individual lizards over their
> lifetime, I describe the breeding phenology and mating system of
> *P.dorsalis*. I then examine variation in multiple behavioural traits of
> breeding males and the influence of social context on these traits. My
> findings show that certain behavioural traits of displaying males are
> correlated with the number of competing males and potential mates present
> in their vicinity. I also examine the relationship between these traits and
> indices of male mating success. To study the role of sexual selection in
> maintaining animal personality, I first quantified repeatability in
> risk-aversion behaviour. There is significant repeatability in both in
> short-term and over the lifespan of males. Finally, I examined the role of
> sexual selection by testing whether risk-responsiveness occurred in a
> behavioural syndrome with male display traits. However, I did not find
> evidence for the existence of a behavioural syndrome (i.e correlation) in
> personality traits measured across the contexts of mating and
> risk-aversion. Through such long-term behavioural monitoring of individual
> lizards, this thesis contributes towards a better understanding of the
> influence of sexual selection on multiple display traits, and on patterns
> in repeatability in display traits and risk-aversion, over the lifetime of
> an individual in the natural context.