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Dashti Z, Alhaddad H, Alhajeri BH. Skull variation in populations of the Indian gerbil Tatera indica (Gerbillinae, Rodentia) sampled across its broad geographic range. VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.3897/vz.72.e90474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Populations of broadly distributed species often exhibit geographic structuring, which is sometimes reflected in phenotype. The monotypic Indian gerbil (Tatera indica) is an example of a widely distributed species, with its range encompassing much of Asia. This study aims to determine if T. indica populations exhibit marked variation in skull morphology—this structure is particularly adaptable and thus could be amenable to show such variation. Furthermore, the potential drivers of skull variation are examined, including the role of climate and geography. To achieve these goals, 21 linear measurements were measured on the skulls of 509 specimens, coming from 111 different localities, across this species wide range. The specimens were then assigned into one of four broad geographic groups (≈ populations) based on their geographic proximity, and the overall and the pairwise differences in the 21 skull measurements among these groups were assessed. Specimens from Pakistan significantly differed from those belonging to the West Iran, East Iran, and India populations, which in turn did not significantly differ from each other. Pairwise bioclimatic and geographic distances between the localities explained a significant, yet small amount of variation in the measurements. Thus, while the Pakistani T. indica population was distinct in skull measurements, both climatic and non-climatic spatial factors seem not to account largely for its distinctiveness (from the other populations).
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Human Disturbance and Geometric Constraints Drive Small Mammal Diversity and Community Structure along an Elevational Gradient in Eastern China. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12151915. [PMID: 35953902 PMCID: PMC9367490 DOI: 10.3390/ani12151915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Revised: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Biodiversity patterns and mechanisms along elevational gradients have long been the focus of conservation research. However, few studies have been conducted in mountainous areas of eastern China, especially for small mammals. In this study, we used a standard sampling method to survey small mammals along the gradient of Qingliang Mountain in eastern China and analyzed the patterns and mechanisms of diversity and community structure. We found inconsistencies between different diversity dimensions. Functional and phylogenetic structures were mainly clustered but showed opposite elevation patterns. Human disturbance and MDE were the main drivers of the diversity patterns, but with contrasting effects on different dimensions. These findings emphasize the importance of a multiple dimensions approach to biodiversity conservation and call for increased conservation efforts in the low and middle elevation regions. Abstract Understanding the mechanisms influencing patterns and processes of biological diversity is critical to protecting biodiversity, particularly in species-rich ecosystems such as mountains. Even so, there is limited knowledge of biodiversity patterns and processes in the mountains of eastern China, especially about small mammals. In this study, we examined the taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of small mammal distribution and community structure along the elevational gradient of Qingliang Mountain, eastern China. We then evaluated how they are influenced by space (area and mid-domain effect (MDE)), environment (temperature, precipitation, and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)), and human disturbance. The results showed hump-shaped patterns of taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity along elevation gradients, peaking at 1000 m, unlike functional diversity, which peaked at lower elevations (600 m). The mean pairwise distance and mean nearest taxon distance of functional and phylogenetic variance (MFD and MPD, respectively) were also incongruent. The MFD and MPD showed hump-shaped patterns along elevations; however, unlike MFD, which peaked at lower elevations (600 m), MPD peaked at higher elevations (1200 m). The mean nearest functional taxon distance (MNFD) decreased, while the mean nearest phylogenetic taxon distance (MNTD) increased along the elevation gradient. The higher elevations were functionally more clustered, while the lower elevations were phylogenetically more clustered, suggesting that environmental filtering for traits was stronger at higher elevations. In comparison, phylogenetic conservatism of ecological niches had a stronger influence at lower elevations. The diversity and community structure indices were inconsistently explained, with human disturbance and MDE accounting for the biggest proportions of the model-explained variances. Overall, the results confirm that environmental filtering and human disturbance significantly influence small mammals’ diversity and community structure. These findings also emphasize the need for increased conservation efforts in the middle and lower elevation regions of Qingliang Mountain.
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Dashti Z, Alhaddad H, Alhajeri BH. A geometric morphometric analysis of geographic variation in the Cape Short-eared gerbil, Desmodillus auricularis (Rodentia: Gerbillinae). MAMMALIA 2022. [DOI: 10.1515/mammalia-2022-0019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The genus Desmodillus is monospecific, consisting of only the Cape short-eared gerbil (Desmodillus auricularis). Despite being widely distributed across southern Africa, previous studies did not find evidence of intraspecific phenotypic geographic differentiation. The objectives of this study is to use geometric morphometrics to investigate if and how the skull of D. auricularis varies spatially. It examines the covariation of skull morphology with broad spatial (latitude and longitude) and climatic variables, based on a sample of 580 specimens from southern Africa (Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa). The results did not support the differentiation of D. auricularis populations into distinct geographically isolated phenotypic groups. However, there is strong evidence for clinal variation in skull morphology; the most prominent pattern being a decrease in size from the west (closest to the South Atlantic coast) to the east (towards the continent’s interior). Shape variation was not localized in any skull region and seem to be driven mostly by size (allometry), although it also covaried significantly with latitude and longitude. Statistically significant skull shape sexual dimorphism was also detected, with males having larger crania than females. Spatial clinal variation in skull morphology was mostly associated with differences in the aridity of the habitats relative to their distance from the coast as evidenced by precipitation-related bioclimatic variables—annual precipitation (BIO12), precipitation of driest month (BIO14), and precipitation of driest quarter (BIO17)—covarying the most with skull morphology. This could be driven by either the climate influencing local resources available to populations or by the climate directly instigating phenotypic climatic adaptations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zainab Dashti
- Department of Biological Sciences , Kuwait University , Safat 13060 , Kuwait
| | - Hasan Alhaddad
- Department of Biological Sciences , Kuwait University , Safat 13060 , Kuwait
| | - Bader H. Alhajeri
- Department of Biological Sciences , Kuwait University , Safat 13060 , Kuwait
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Villalobos‐Chaves D, Santana SE. Craniodental traits predict feeding performance and dietary hardness in a community of Neotropical free‐tailed bats (Chiroptera: Molossidae). Funct Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- David Villalobos‐Chaves
- Department of Biology and Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture University of Washington Seattle WA USA
| | - Sharlene E. Santana
- Department of Biology and Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture University of Washington Seattle WA USA
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Barbero S, Teta P, Cassini GH. A comprehensive review of dietary strategies of sigmodontine rodents of central-eastern Argentina: linking diet, body mass, and stomach morphology. CAN J ZOOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2021-0042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Information on dietary ecology plays a key role in a wide array of biological research and conservation decisions, but its availability is biased towards large and charismatic taxa, whereas small mammals are underrepresented. Of the scarce publications on the Neotropical sigmodontine rodents, most are concentrated in central-eastern Argentina and, up until now, no revision of the totality of these data has been made available. In this work, we performed a thorough review of the dietary information from over 50 publications on 22 species, finding omissions and errors propagated up to the present time. This resulted in a robust database, the proposal of a posteriori dietary categories, and a list of the species that have been neglected in feeding ecology research. In turn, we used that database to test whether the patterns which associate diet and morphology in medium-sized and large mammals could be replicated in these small rodents, despite their overall generalist habits and the restrictions characteristic to their size. We found that larger species tend towards a low-protein diet. Additionally, we identified some stomach types that are restricted to specific diets. These results are consistent with the observations for larger species and shed light on the biology of small mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofía Barbero
- División Mastozoología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”, Avenida Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Pablo Teta
- División Mastozoología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”, Avenida Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Guillermo H. Cassini
- División Mastozoología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”, Avenida Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Nacional de Luján, Ruta 5 y Avenida Constitución s/n, Luján (6700), Buenos Aires, Argentina
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A Geometric Morphometric Analysis of Geographic Mandibular Variation in the Dwarf Gerbil Gerbillus nanus (Gerbillinae, Rodentia). J MAMM EVOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10914-020-09530-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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das Neves SB, Pardiñas UFJ, Hadler P, Mayer EL, Ribeiro AM. A new fossil cricetid (Rodentia, Sigmodontinae) from northeastern Brazil with remarks on small mammal extinctions in the tropical Quaternary. J Mammal 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyaa066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The rare cricetid rodent Bibimys Massoia, 1980 contains three extant species that are distributed in the lowlands of eastern South America between 35°S and 20°S and distinguished mostly by subtle morphological and genetic features. Several fragmented jaws belonging to this genus were recovered from Late Quaternary deposits located in northeastern Brazil, forming part of a rich archaeological and paleontological small mammal assemblage that has been recovered from caves in the Serra da Capivara, state of Piauí. This material is described herein as belonging to a new species, the most hypsodont member of the genus. The specimens also represent an extralimital occurrence of this sigmodontine, as the nearest extant population of Bibimys is ~1,200 km to the south. Because there are few reliable records of extinct small mammals from the Pleistocene–Holocene transition on the South American continent, in describing this new sigmodontine we extend the records of past biodiversity preserved in the Quaternary deposits of tropical South America. This new species likewise highlights that the Serra da Capivara deposits are promising for understanding the evolutionary history of cricetid rodents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone B das Neves
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Section for Evolutionary Genomics, The GLOBE Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ulyses F J Pardiñas
- Instituto de Diversidad y Evolución Austral (IDEAus-CONICET), Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina
- Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INABIO), Quito, Ecuador
| | - Patrícia Hadler
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geologia, Laboratório de Paleontologia, Departamento de Geologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Santa Catarina, Brazil
| | - Elver L Mayer
- Instituto de Estudos do Xingu, Universidade Federal do Sul e Sudeste do Pará, Rua Constantino Ferreira Viana, Pará, Brazil
| | - Ana M Ribeiro
- Museu de Ciências Naturais, Secretaria do Meio Ambiente e Infraestrutura, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis D. Verde Arregoitia
- Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas Universidad Austral de Chile Campus Isla Teja Valdivia CP 5090000 Chile
| | - Guillermo D’Elía
- Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas Universidad Austral de Chile Campus Isla Teja Valdivia CP 5090000 Chile
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Third upper molar enlargement in sigmodontine rodents (Cricetidae): morphological disparity and evolutionary convergence. MAMMALIA 2020. [DOI: 10.1515/mammalia-2019-0031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
AbstractWe studied the enlargement of the upper third molar (M3), with respect to the upper second molar in sigmodontine rodents, the largest subfamily of living cricetids. M3 is enlarged in extant and extinct members of at least six tribes (Andinomyini, Euneomyini, Oryzomyini, Phyllotini, Reithrodontini and Sigmodontini), all of them also sharing hypsodonty, planate crowns and overall dental simplification in the context of Sigmodontinae. Enlargement is expressed in four ways, including simplification or modest complication of occlusal design on a single plane. M3 enlargement in sigmodontines is primarily associated with increasing herbivory rather than strictly with phylogeny, and thus presents a classic example of evolutionary convergence.
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Renaud S, Delépine C, Ledevin R, Pisanu B, Quéré J, Hardouin EA. A sharp incisor tool for predator house mice back to the wild. J ZOOL SYST EVOL RES 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/jzs.12292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Renaud
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive UMR5558 CNRS Université Lyon 1 Villeurbanne France
| | - Claire Delépine
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive UMR5558 CNRS Université Lyon 1 Villeurbanne France
| | | | - Benoît Pisanu
- Centre d’Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation, UMR 7204, Sorbonne Universités Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris France
| | - Jean‐Pierre Quéré
- Centre de Biologie et Gestion des Populations (INRA/IRD/Cirad/Montpellier SupAgro) Montferrier‐sur‐Lez Cedex France
| | - Emilie A. Hardouin
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Technology Bournemouth University Poole UK
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Kohli BA, Rowe RJ. Beyond guilds: the promise of continuous traits for mammalian functional diversity. J Mammal 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyz054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Brooks A Kohli
- Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
| | - Rebecca J Rowe
- Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
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Alhajeri BH, Steppan SJ. Community structure in ecological assemblages of desert rodents. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/bly068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bader H Alhajeri
- Department of Biological Sciences, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait
| | - Scott J Steppan
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
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Alhajeri BH, Steppan SJ. Ecological and Ecomorphological Specialization Are Not Associated with Diversification Rates in Muroid Rodents (Rodentia: Muroidea). Evol Biol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s11692-018-9449-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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Rossi MF, Mello B, Schrago CG. Comparative evaluation of macroevolutionary regimes of Ruminantia and selected mammalian lineages. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/bly009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mariana F Rossi
- Department of Genetics, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Beatriz Mello
- Department of Genetics, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Carlos G Schrago
- Department of Genetics, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
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