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420 results for “Body size data”
Data from: The costs of living on the coast: reduction in body size and size-specific reproductive output in coastal populations of a widespread amphibian
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Data from: Decadal heat and drought drive body size of North American bison (Bison bison) along the Great Plains
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Data from: Climatic temperature and precipitation jointly influence body size in species of western rattlesnakes
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Data from: Host identity, nest quality, and parasitism strategy: influences on body size variation in parasitoid bees and wasps
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Data from: A comparative study of body size evolution in moths: Evidence of correlated evolution with feeding and phenology-related traits
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Data from: Characterizing morphological (co)variation using structural equation models: body size, allometric relationships and evolvability in a house sparrow metapopulation
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Data from: Shell constraints on evolutionary body size-limb size allometry can explain morphological conservatism in the turtle body plan
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Data from: Leaf-footed bugs possess multiple hidden contrasting color signals, but only one is associated with increased body size
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Data from: Heat tolerance in ectotherms scales predictably with body size
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Data from: The patterns and possible causes of global geographical variation in the body size of the greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum)
Aim: Geographical variations in endotherm body size (e.g., Bergmann's rule/James's rule and Allen's rule) have long been tested. However, the patterns and causes of geographical variation in body size within bat species, especially within widespread hibernating species, are little known. Here, we evaluated the possible causes of geographical size variation patterns in the greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum), a bat species widely distributed across the Palearctic. Location: Palearctic Methods: We collected body size data (body mass and forearm length) from 1172 adult bats via direct measurements or from the literature. We used high-resolution environmental data for the sampled sites. We applied multiple linear regressions and an information-theoretic approach on separate female and male datasets to estimate the support for various hypotheses. Results: Temperature and latitude failed to predict body mass in both females and males. The best model showed that populations with longer forearms in both sexes were associated with higher mean temperatures (in the warmest quarter) and lower mean temperatures (in the coldest quarter). The independent contribution of these temperature parameters to forearm length in both sexes was higher than that of all other variables. Main conclusion: The observed relationship between temperature and body mass was not consistent with James's rule, and thus failed to support the heat conservation hypothesis. Our results are consistent with the predictions of Allen's rule and indicated that direct heat dissipation from the wing may be the most likely mechanism underlying geographical variation in forearm length. We suggest that the evaluation of the relative importance of multiple causal mechanisms may improve our understanding of patterns of geographical variation in endotherms.
Data from: Associations between habitat quality, body size, and reproductive fitness in the alpine endemic spider Vesubia jugorum
Aim. In theory, the highest-quality habitat across a species' range should support individuals with the highest fitness, making it possible to evaluate the outputs of species distribution models (SDM) by exploring the relation between habitat quality and functional traits related to species' fitness. However, this relation has been tested almost exclusively in plants. We investigated the degree to which morphological and reproductive traits of an alpine spider varied along a gradient of habitat quality projected via species distribution models. Location. Southwestern Alps (France and Italy) Time period. 2007–2018 Major taxa studied. Vesubia jugorum (Arachnida: Araneae: Lycosidae) Methods. We used climatic, topographical and geomorphological variables at a resolution of 250 m to model habitat quality for V. jugorum, with multiple algorithms (generalized additive models, boosted regression trees, and maximum entropy models). We collected spiders in the field and measured their body size and egg-case size (a functional trait related to reproductive success). We tested the relation between functional traits and habitat quality with linear mixed models. Results. All SDM algorithms we tested fit the data well, with similar explanatory ability. Models revealed a positive relation between the probability of presence and cumulative precipitation and percentage of rock. An additional important variable in the SDMs was duration of snow coverage, with optimal projected habitat quality between 40 and 100 days/year with snow. Modeled habitat quality was positively associated with maximum body and egg-case size. Main conclusions. Our work provides evidence of a positive association between projected habitat quality and traits of a terrestrial invertebrate. A model that fits the data well potentially can be used to predict variations in species' traits, thus offering an experimental test of SDM projections with field-collected data. We encourage SDM users to incorporate data on functional traits into their modeling fitting exercises.
Data from: Body size variation in a guild of carrion beetles
<p>Body size is a key biological trait, influencing the biomechanics, physiology, behaviour, and ecology of species. Describing variation in body size within and among co-occurring species within an ecological guild can provide important context for understanding the ecology of species and the structure of ecological communities. Here, we focus on a guild of carrion beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae) co-occurring in southeastern Ontario, Canada. We examine how body size varies (i) among species, (ii) within species, including among sexes, and (iii) across the active season, contrasting estimates of size based on mass with those based on morphological structure (elytron length). We find that body size varies significantly both within and among species. Five focal species show evidence for sexual dimorphism in size. All focal species show significant seasonal variation in size, but these patterns differ across species, and depend on our estimates of size. Overall, the observed variation in body size is most consistent with widespread environmental constraints on size and/or diverse selective pressures favouring different sizes within and among species. We discuss possible selective pressures acting on size within and among species; however, the causes and consequences of the variation in body size that we describe remain to be discovered.</p>
Data from: The effects of age, sex, and habitat on body size and shape of the blackstripe topminnow, Fundulus notatus
Lake and stream habitats pose a variety of challenges to fishes due to differences in variables such as water velocity, habitat structure, prey community, and predator community. These differences can cause divergent selection on body size and/or shape. Here, we measured sex, age, length, and eight different morphological traits of the blackstripe topminnow, Fundulus notatus, from 19 lake and stream populations across four river drainages in central Illinois. Our goal was to determine whether size and shape differed consistently between lake and stream habitats across drainages. We also considered the effects of age and sex as they may affect size and morphology. We found large differences in body size of age 1 topminnows where stream fish were generally larger than lake fish. Body shape mainly varied as a function of sex. Adult male topminnows had larger morphological traits (with the exception of body width) than females, in particular longer dorsal and anal base lengths. Subtle effects of habitat were present. Stream fish had a longer dorsal fin base than lake fish. These phenotypic patterns may be the result of genetic and/or environmental variation. As these lakes are human-made, the observed differences, if genetic, would have had to occur relatively rapidly (within about 100 years).
Data from: Allometric scaling of indirect effects: body size ratios predict non-consumptive effects in multi-predator systems
1. Non-consumptive effects (NCES) frequently lead to non-independent effects of multiple predators. While such emergent predator effects are ubiquitous in natural communities, the strength of these effects varies among studies and systems, making it difficult to predict a priory how changes in predator diversity influence prey suppression. Thus, identifying general scaling rules which can explain this variation of non-independent effects is vital for modeling natural communities and how they respond to biodiversity loss. 2. Body size is a key trait determining the nature and strength of ecological interactions. While great progress has been made using allometric relationships to predict the interaction strength of predator-prey pairs, it is unknown whether similar relationships explain variation in the strength of NCEs, and how they are related to consumptive effects. 3. Here we experimentally manipulate the relative size difference of multiple predators to determine whether NCEs follow general allometric scaling relationships in an aquatic multi-predator system. 4. Results demonstrate that the presence and strength of NCEs can vary dramatically across predator combinations. However, this variation scaled predictably with the size ratio of predators; increasing the size difference among predators increased NCEs. This pattern was driven by a size-mediated shift in "food web motif" from competition to intraguild predation and a positive correlation of NCEs and intraguild predation rate. 5. Results indicate that models which assume that consumers have independent effects are particularly likely to make erroneous predictions when predators differ substantially in size, but simple allometric relationships of NCEs could be used to correct this bias.
Data from: Reductions in body size of benthic macroinvertebrates as a precursor of the Early Toarcian (Early Jurassic) extinction event in the Lusitanian Basin, Portugal
Reduction of body size is a common response of organisms to environmental stress. Studying the Early Toarcian succession in the Lusitanian Basin of Portugal, we tested whether the shell size of benthic marine communities of bivalves and brachiopods changed at and prior to the global, warming-related Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE). Statistical analyses of shell size over time show that the mean shell size of communities decreased significantly prior to the T-OAE. This trend is distinct in brachiopods and is caused by larger-sized species becoming less abundant over time, whereas it is not significant in bivalves, suggesting a decoupled response to environmental stress. Reductions in shell size precede the decline in standardized sample-level species richness associated with the Early Toarcian extinction event. Such decreases in the shell size of marine invertebrates, well before the onset of biodiversity change, suggest that reductions in body size more generally may be a precursor of a subsequent loss of species and turnover at the community-level caused by climate change. Sedimentological evidence is against hypoxia as a driver of extinction and preceding size decrease in the brachiopod fauna in the studied succession, although low oxygen levels are widely held responsible for elevated Early Toarcian extinction rates globally. Reduction of mean shell size in brachiopods but stasis in bivalves is difficult to explain with ocean acidification because experimental work shows that brachiopods can be resilient to lowered pH, albeit long-term metabolic costs and potential evolutionary adaptations are unknown. Rising Early Toarcian temperatures in the Lusitanian Basin seem to be a plausible factor in both diversity decline associated with the T-OAE as well as the preceding reductions in mean shell size because thermal tolerances in modern bivalves are among the highest within marine invertebrates.
Data from: Latitudinal body size trends in Oligo-Miocene mammals
Paleecological data allow not only the study of trends along deep-time chronological transects but can also be used to reconstruct ecological gradients through time, which can help identify causal factors that may be strongly correlated in modern ecosystems. We have applied such an analysis to Bergmann's rule, which posits a causal relationship between temperature and body size in mammals. Bergmann's rule predicts that latitudinal gradients should exist during any interval of time, with larger taxa toward the poles and smaller taxa toward the equator. It also predicts that the strength of these gradients should vary with time, becoming weaker during warmer periods and stronger during colder conditions. We tested these predictions by reconstructing body-mass trends within canid and equid genera at different intervals of the Oligo-Miocene along the West Coast of North America. To allow for comparisons with modern taxa, body mass was reconstructed along the same transect for modern Canis and Odocoileus. Of the 17 fossil genera analyzed, only two showed the expected positive relationship with latitude, nor was there consistent evidence for a relationship between paleotemperature and body mass. Likewise, the strength of body-size gradients does not change predictably with climate through time. The evidence for clear gradients is ambiguous even in the modern genera analyzed. These results suggest that, counter to Bergmann's rule, temperature alone is not a primary driver of body size and underscore the importance of regional-scale paleoecological analyses in identifying such drivers.
Data from: Female-biased gape and body-size dimorphism in the New World watersnakes (tribe: Thamnophiini) oppose predictions from Rensch's Rule
Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is ubiquitous across animals with female bias most prominent in snakes and other ectothermic organisms. To understand how SSD evolves across species, Rensch's Rule predicts that in taxa where males are larger, SSD increases with body size. In contrast, where females are larger, SSD decreases with body size. While this rule holds for many taxa, it may be ambiguous for others, particularly ectothermic vertebrates. Importantly, this rule suggests that the outcomes of SSD over phylogenetic time scales depends on the direction of dimorphism predicated on the difference in reproductive efforts between males and females. Here we examine SSD in the context of Rensch's Rule in Thamnophiini, the garter and waternsakes, a prominent group composing the North American snake biota. Using a dated phylogeny, measurements of gape, body and tail size, we show that these snakes do not follow Rensch's Rule, but rather female-biased SSD increases with body size. We in turn find that this allometry is most pronounced with gape and is correlated with both neonate and litter size, suggesting that acquiring prey of increased size may be directly related to fecundity selection. These changes in SSD are not constrained to any particular clade; we find no evidence of phylogenetic shifts in those traits showing SSD. We suggest several ways forward to better understand the anatomical units of selection for SSD and modularity
Data from: Biogeography and evolution of body size and life history of African frogs: phylogeny of squeakers (Arthroleptis) and long-fingered frogs (Cardioglossa) estimated from mitochondrial data
The evolutionary history of living African amphibians remains poorly understood. This study estimates the phylogeny within the frog genera Arthroleptis and Cardioglossa using approximately 2400 bases of mtDNA sequence data (12S, tRNA-Valine, and 16S genes) from half of the described species. Analyses are conducted using parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian methods. The effect of alignment on phylogeny estimation is explored by separately analyzing alignments generated with different gap costs and a consensus alignment. The consensus alignment results in species paraphyly, low nodal support, and incongruence with the results based on other alignments, which produced largely similar results. Most nodes in the phylogeny are highly supported, yet several topologies are inconsistent with previous hypotheses. The monophyly of Cardioglossa and of miniature species previously assigned to Schoutedenella was further examined using Templeton and Shimodaira–Hasegawa tests. Cardioglossa monophyly is rejected and C. aureoli is transferred to Arthroleptis. These tests do not reject Schoutedenella monophyly, but this hypothesis receives no support from non-parametric bootstrapping or Bayesian posterior probabilities. This phylogeny provides a framework for reconstructing historical biogeography and analyzing the evolution of body size and life history. Direct development and miniaturization appear at the base of Arthroleptis phylogeny concomitant with a range expansion from Central Africa to throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa.
Data from: Crossing the line: increasing body size in a trans-Wallacean lizard radiation (Cyrtodactylus, Gekkota)
The region between the Asian and Australian continental plates (Wallacea) demarcates the transition between two differentiated regional biotas. Despite this striking pattern, some terrestrial lineages have successfully traversed the marine barriers of Wallacea and subsequently diversified in newly colonized regions. The hypothesis that these dispersals between biogeographic realms are correlated with detectable shifts in evolutionary trajectory has however rarely been tested. Here, we analyse the evolution of body size in a widespread and exceptionally diverse group of gekkotan lizards (Cyrtodactylus), and show that a clade that has dispersed eastwards and radiated in the Australopapuan region appears to have significantly expanded its body size 'envelope' and repeatedly evolved gigantism. This pattern suggests that the biotic composition of the proto-Papuan Archipelago provided a permissive environment in which new colonists were released from evolutionary constraints operating to the west of Wallacea.
Data from: Disruptive sexual selection on body size in the polyphenic black scavenger fly Sepsis thoracica
Sexual selection has two main components, female preference and male-male competition, which can lead males to adopt alternative reproductive tactics to optimize their reproductive success. Two traits that significantly influence reproductive success are body size and coloration, as they can facilitate access to females through male contests or as female attractors. We investigated whether, and if so which mechanism of sexual selection contributes to the maintenance, and possibly even the establishment, of two almost discrete male morphs in the polyphenic black scavenger fly Sepsis thoracica (Diptera: Sepsidae): small and black, or large and amber. We performed two complementary laboratory experiments to evaluate the mating success of the different male morphs and the behaviors (of both males and females) presumably mediating their mating success. We found evidence for intraspecific disruptive sexual selection on male body size that is mediated by male-male interactions, and significant positive directional selection on body size that interacted with (directional) selection on coloration, likely contributing to the origin and/or maintenance of the threshold relationship between the two traits in this species. The simultaneous occurrence of disruptive selection and polyphenism in S. thoracica supports the role of sexual selection in the intraspecific diversification of coupled traits (here body size and coloration), which could be a speciation starting point.
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