Life-History Correlates of Body-Size Differences between Two Populations of the Salamander, Desmognathus monticola

1990 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard C. Bruce ◽  
Nelson G. Hairston
Author(s):  
Jan Kuper

The life-history and behaviour of the chironomid Metriocnemus (Inermipupa) carmencitabertarum was studied for three years and a comparison was made between two populations in the Netherlands. Key life-history characteristics are reported, including the number of generations (2-5 generations) and duration of larval development (19-55 days). Life-history characteristics differed between the two populations and between generations within a population. These differences were likely related to differences in competitors (mainly Chironomus riparius Meigen) and thermal characteristics of the habitat from variations in water volume and ambient temperature. Results suggested a diapause in summer, when water levels dropped, and not in winter. A clear seasonal pattern in body size was found with pupal length increasing steeply at the beginning of the summer. The increase in body size was positively correlated with mean ambient temperature during larval development. This correlation is in contrast with the Temperature-Size Rule (TSR) in ectotherms, which postulates a negative correlation between temperature and adult body size. The chance of ectotherm predators being present in the habitat is low, which may explain this feature. Life history characteristics supported a recent northward range expansionfor M. (I.) carmencitabertarum due to warmer winters. If correct, it is predicted that the species will be found in Scotland and northern Germany and/or southern Denmark in the near future.


2005 ◽  
Vol 165 (5) ◽  
pp. 600
Author(s):  
Nick J. B. Isaac ◽  
Jones ◽  
Gittleman ◽  
Purvis

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 379-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger B.J. Benson

Dinosaurs were large-bodied land animals of the Mesozoic that gave rise to birds. They played a fundamental role in structuring Jurassic–Cretaceous ecosystems and had physiology, growth, and reproductive biology unlike those of extant animals. These features have made them targets of theoretical macroecology. Dinosaurs achieved substantial structural diversity, and their fossil record documents the evolutionary assembly of the avian body plan. Phylogeny-based research has allowed new insights into dinosaur macroevolution, including the adaptive landscape of their body size evolution, patterns of species diversification, and the origins of birds and bird-like traits. Nevertheless, much remains unknown due to incompleteness of the fossil record at both local and global scales. This presents major challenges at the frontier of paleobiological research regarding tests of macroecological hypotheses and the effects of dinosaur biology, ecology, and life history on their macroevolution.


2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carissa Jones ◽  
Isaac Rojas-González ◽  
Julio Lemos-Espinal ◽  
Jaime Zúñiga-Vega

Abstract There appears to be variation in life-history strategies even between populations of the same species. For ectothermic organisms such as lizards, it has been predicted that demographic and life-history traits should differ consistently between temperate and tropical populations. This study compares the demographic strategies of a temperate and a tropical population of the lizard Xenosaurus platyceps. Population growth rates in both types of environments indicated populations in numerical equilibrium. Of the two populations, we found that the temperate population experiences lower adult mortality. The relative importance (estimated as the relative contribution to population growth rate) of permanence and of the adult/reproductive size classes is higher in the temperate population. In contrast, the relative importance for average fitness of fecundity and growth is higher in the tropical population. These results are consistent with the theoretical frameworks about life-historical differences among tropical and temperate lizard populations.


Genetics ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 165 (2) ◽  
pp. 667-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
W Jason Kennington ◽  
Julia Gockel ◽  
Linda Partridge

AbstractAsymmetrical gene flow is an important, but rarely examined genetic parameter. Here, we develop a new method for detecting departures from symmetrical migration between two populations using microsatellite data that are based on the difference in the proportion of private alleles. Application of this approach to data collected from wild-caught Drosophila melanogaster along a latitudinal body-size cline in eastern Australia revealed that asymmetrical gene flow could be detected, but was uncommon, nonlocalized, and occurred in both directions. We also show that, in contrast to the findings of a previous study, there is good evidence to suggest that the cline experiences significant levels of gene flow between populations.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kha Sach Ngo ◽  
Berta R‐Almási ◽  
Zoltán Barta ◽  
Jácint Tökölyi

2006 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 562-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Reigada ◽  
W.A.C. Godoy

The effect of larval density on the survival, fecundity and body size at two temperatures in experimental populations of C. megacephala was studied. No effect from simultaneous influence of density and temperature on life history characteristics of C. megacephala was found. Significant effects of density and temperature on survival, fecundity and body size were observed. The importance of these results for the population dynamics of C. megacephala is discussed.


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