scholarly journals Length of activity season drives geographic variation in body size of a widely distributed lizard

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (8) ◽  
pp. 2424-2442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terézia Horváthová ◽  
Christopher R. Cooney ◽  
Patrick S. Fitze ◽  
Tuula A. Oksanen ◽  
Dušan Jelić ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Geographic Variation ◽  
Activity Season

scholarly journals Ecological and evolutionary components of body size: geographic variation of venomous snakes at the global scale

2009 ◽  
Vol 98 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
LEVI CARINA TERRIBILE ◽  
MIGUEL ÁNGEL OLALLA-TÁRRAGA ◽  
JOSÉ ALEXANDRE FELIZOLA DINIZ-FILHO ◽  
MIGUEL ÁNGEL RODRÍGUEZ
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Geographic Variation ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Venomous Snakes

Geographic Variation in Body Size and Sexual Size Dimorphism of a Seed‐Feeding Beetle

2007 ◽  
Vol 170 (3) ◽  
pp. 358-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Craig Stillwell ◽  
Geoffrey E. Morse ◽  
Charles W. Fox
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Geographic Variation ◽  
Sexual Size Dimorphism ◽  
Size Dimorphism

Inheritance of geographic variation in body size, and countergradient variation in growth rates, in the southern brown bandicoot Isoodon obesulus.

2000 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
ML Hale
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Body Weight ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Geographic Variation ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Adaptive Divergence ◽  
Common Environment ◽  
Countergradient Variation ◽  
Large Animals

The inheritance of geographic variation in body size in the southern brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus) was investigated through a common-environment crossbreeding experiment. The geographic variation in body size is related to habitat type, suggesting that it may be adaptive. Adults from two locations in Western Australia, Perth (large animals) and Albany (small animals), were collected and offspring from both hybrid and non-hybrid matings were reared under controlled conditions. All four variables examined (head length, pes length, ear length and body weight) were found to possess a large genetic component, supporting the interpretation that the geographic variation in size is adaptive. The three length variables initially showed additive genetic variation, although the variation in body weight displayed dominance. Genetically controlled differences in growth rate were also detected, with the smaller animals, found in the relatively poorer environment, possessing the faster intrinsic growth rate. Thus, not only does there appear to be adaptive divergence in initial body size, but the countergradient variation in growth rates provides additional evidence for adaptive divergence in this species.

scholarly journals Ambient temperature correlates with geographic variation in body size of least horseshoe bats

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (5) ◽  
pp. 459-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Man Wang ◽  
Kelly Chen ◽  
Dongge Guo ◽  
Bo Luo ◽  
Weiwei Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Geographic Variation ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Body Length ◽  
Primary Productivity ◽  
Minimum Temperature ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Heat Conservation ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Horseshoe Bats

Abstract Geographic variation in body size is common within many animal species. The causes of this pattern, however, remain largely unexplored in most vertebrate groups. Bats are widely distributed globally owing to their ability of powered flight. Most bat species encounter a variety of climatic conditions across their distribution range, making them an ideal taxon for the study of ecogeographic patterns in body size. Here, we used adult least horseshoe bats, Rhinolophus pusillus, to test whether geographic variation in body size was determined by heat conservation, heat dissipation, climatic seasonality, or primary productivity. We measured body mass and head-body length for 246 adult bats from 12 allopatric colonies in China. We quantified the ecological conditions inhabited by each colony, including mean maximum temperature of the warmest month, mean minimum temperature of the coldest month, temperature seasonality, precipitation seasonality, and annual net primary productivity (ANPP). Body mass and head-body length, 2 of the most reliable indicators of body size, exhibited marked differences between colonies. After controlling for spatial autocorrelation, the mean minimum temperature of the coldest month explained most of the variation in body size among colonies, regardless of sex. The mean maximum temperature, climatic seasonality, and ANPP had limited power in predicting body size of males or females in comparison with mean minimum temperature. These results support the heat conservation hypothesis and suggest adaptive responses of body size to cold climates in cave-dwelling bats.

Geographic Variation in Body Size of Green Snakes (Opheodrys aestivus)

Copeia ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 1987 (2) ◽  
pp. 483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael V. Plummer
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Geographic Variation
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