must expend substantial amounts of energy and risk getting seriously injured. Thus, though males do actively exclude other males from territories, they do so without resorting to physical and unfavorable conflict. Instead, they partake in social displays, either at a distance or proximally from their competitors to advertise their superiority. Surprisingly, both types of social encounters, in which males perform push ups and compressions and elevations of the trunk with the dewlap extended, rarely lead to arduous and violent fights; rather, distant displays barely evoke a response while proximal confrontations may lead to chasing at most. Furthermore, C. collaris territory owners exhibit differential behaviors in response to neighbors and strangers, in which residents reduce the cost of territorial defense by demonstrating less aggression for spatial neighbors. Thus, when nearby residents approach an owner’s shared territorial boundaries, the owner will recognize this individual and only engage in aggressive behaviors, usually in the form of a costly fight, if a threat to its territory is perceived. However, in the case of a stranger, the owner will exhibit intense hostility towards the intruder without hesitation. In relation, male territorial behaviors also vary within the reproductive season, decreasing in June due to the higher prevalence of reproductively active females and instead, engaging in more courtship behaviors. This cost-benefit strategy demonstrates the complex social behaviors and decision making processes exhibited by the male collared lizards. Reproduction The reproductive season starts in mid-March to early April and concludes in mid-July. Females and smaller individuals emerge first from hibernation with males following around two weeks later. Though lizards are considered mature and may breed following their first hibernation, those that are two years and older exhibit greater reproductive success due to their larger size. In late May, courtship occurs between adult males and females. Subsequently, mature females, typically two years and older, produce their first clutches and lay them in a burrow or under a rock about two weeks after copulation. They may then go on to produce second and sometimes even third clutches throughout June until mid-July. The eggs are incubated in a temperature dependent manner, and the incubation period may vary from 50 to 100 days. On average, clutch size can range from 4 to 6 eggs, but larger, older females can produce more. By August, adults begin to hibernate again, and juveniles do the same after hatching. The earliest of the clutches can hatch