1
|
Evolution from monogamy to polygyny: insights from the solitary Japanese serow. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-023-03304-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
|
2
|
Escobedo-Morales LA, León-Paniagua L, Martínez-Meyer E, Mandujano S. Reevaluation of the status of the Central American brocket deer Mazama temama (Artiodactyla: Cervidae) subspecies based on morphological and environmental evidence. J Mammal 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyac105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The Central American brocket deer (Mazama temama) is widespread across the Mesoamerican forests, yet it remains largely unknown. Three subspecies are recognized currently within M. temama using pelage coloration as the primary diagnostic character. However, it remains unclear if there is any pattern of morphological variation throughout its distribution. We compared two models of morphological subdivision, namely the traditional subspecies and another based on biogeographic provinces via 2D geometric morphometrics and ecological niche modeling. The second model presented a better fit to the observed variation in cranial shape and size. We found divergence in skull size between individuals from Mexico and Guatemala (northern group) relative to specimens from Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama (southern group), the latter being 8% larger than the northern group. Centroid size showed a significant correlation with geographic distance suggesting an isolation-by-distance pattern. Low geographical overlap between the two clusters suggests niche conservatism. Late Pleistocene dispersal from South to Central America and differences in available resources with subsequent isolation due to climatic barriers therefore may have promoted differentiation in size albeit without extensive changes in shape. In this context, the Motagua-Polochic-Jolotán fault system probably plays a key role in promoting morphological differentiation by climatic isolation. Finally, we suggest that M. t. temama (Kerr, 1792) and M. t. reperticia Goldman, 1913 should remain as valid names for the two morphological and ecologically differentiated groups detected here.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Luis A Escobedo-Morales
- Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Edificio D, Primer piso, Circuito de Posgrados, Apartado Postal 70-153, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City 04510 , Mexico
| | - Livia León-Paniagua
- Museo de Zoología “Alfonso L. Herrera,” Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Circuito Exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City 04510 , Mexico
| | - Enrique Martínez-Meyer
- Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Circuito Exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City 04510 , Mexico
| | - Salvador Mandujano
- Red de Biología y Conservación de Vertebrados, Instituto de Ecología , A.C., Carretera antigua a Coatepec 351, Colonia El Haya, Xalapa 91070 , Mexico
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Zhang VY, Buck CL. Seasonal patterns in behavior and glucocorticoid secretion of a specialist Holarctic tree squirrel (Sciurus aberti). J Comp Physiol B 2022; 192:541-559. [DOI: 10.1007/s00360-022-01429-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2021] [Revised: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
|
4
|
Furness AI, Venditti C, Capellini I. Terrestrial reproduction and parental care drive rapid evolution in the trade-off between offspring size and number across amphibians. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001495. [PMID: 34982764 PMCID: PMC8726499 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The trade-off between offspring size and number is central to life history strategies. Both the evolutionary gain of parental care or more favorable habitats for offspring development are predicted to result in fewer, larger offspring. However, despite much research, it remains unclear whether and how different forms of care and habitats drive the evolution of the trade-off. Using data for over 800 amphibian species, we demonstrate that, after controlling for allometry, amphibians with direct development and those that lay eggs in terrestrial environments have larger eggs and smaller clutches, while different care behaviors and adaptations vary in their effects on the trade-off. Specifically, among the 11 care forms we considered at the egg, tadpole and juvenile stage, egg brooding, male egg attendance, and female egg attendance increase egg size; female tadpole attendance and tadpole feeding decrease egg size, while egg brooding, tadpole feeding, male tadpole attendance, and male tadpole transport decrease clutch size. Unlike egg size that shows exceptionally high rates of phenotypic change in just 19 branches of the amphibian phylogeny, clutch size has evolved at exceptionally high rates in 135 branches, indicating episodes of strong selection; egg and tadpole environment, direct development, egg brooding, tadpole feeding, male tadpole attendance, and tadpole transport explain 80% of these events. By explicitly considering diversity in parental care and offspring habitat by stage of offspring development, this study demonstrates that more favorable conditions for offspring development promote the evolution of larger offspring in smaller broods and reveals that the diversity of parental care forms influences the trade-off in more nuanced ways than previously appreciated. What selective pressures alter the tradeoff between offspring size and number? A phylogenetic comparative approach shows that amphibians with direct development and those that lay eggs in terrestrial environments have larger eggs and smaller clutches, while different care behaviours and adaptations vary in their effects on the tradeoff.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew I. Furness
- Department of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Hull, Hull, United Kingdom
- Energy and Environment Institute, University of Hull, Hull, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (AIF); (IC)
| | - Chris Venditti
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
| | - Isabella Capellini
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (AIF); (IC)
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
|
6
|
Cassini MH. Evolution of sexual size dimorphism and sexual segregation in artiodactyls: the chicken or the egg? Mamm Biol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s42991-021-00193-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
|
7
|
Shannon G, Sadler P, Smith J, Roylance-Casson E, Cordes LS. Contrasting selection pressure on body and weapon size in a polygynous megaherbivore. Biol Lett 2021; 17:20210368. [PMID: 34610251 PMCID: PMC8492169 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2021.0368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is a common morphological trait in ungulates, with polygyny considered the leading driver of larger male body mass and weapon size. However, not all polygynous species exhibit SSD, while molecular evidence has revealed a more complex relationship between paternity and mating system than originally predicted. SSD is, therefore, likely to be shaped by a range of social, ecological and physiological factors. We present the first definitive analysis of SSD in the common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) using a unique morphological dataset collected from 2994 aged individuals. The results confirm that hippos exhibit SSD, but the mean body mass differed by only 5% between the sexes, which is rather limited compared with many other polygynous ungulates. However, jaw and canine mass are significantly greater in males than females (44% and 81% heavier, respectively), highlighting the considerable selection pressure for acquiring larger weapons. A predominantly aquatic lifestyle coupled with the physiological limitations of their foregut fermenting morphology likely restricts body size differences between the sexes. Indeed, hippos appear to be a rare example among ungulates whereby sexual selection favours increased weapon size over body mass, underlining the important role that species-specific ecology and physiology have in shaping SSD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Graeme Shannon
- School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2DG, UK
| | - Phoebe Sadler
- School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2DG, UK
| | - Joanna Smith
- School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2DG, UK
| | | | - Line S. Cordes
- School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Menai Bridge, Anglesey LL59 5AB, UK
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Degree of anisogamy is unrelated to the intensity of sexual selection. Sci Rep 2021; 11:19424. [PMID: 34593863 PMCID: PMC8484679 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-98616-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Males and females often display different behaviours and, in the context of reproduction, these behaviours are labelled sex roles. The Darwin–Bateman paradigm argues that the root of these differences is anisogamy (i.e., differences in size and/or function of gametes between the sexes) that leads to biased sexual selection, and sex differences in parental care and body size. This evolutionary cascade, however, is contentious since some of the underpinning assumptions have been questioned. Here we investigate the relationships between anisogamy, sexual size dimorphism, sex difference in parental care and intensity of sexual selection using phylogenetic comparative analyses of 64 species from a wide range of animal taxa. The results question the first step of the Darwin–Bateman paradigm, as the extent of anisogamy does not appear to predict the intensity of sexual selection. The only significant predictor of sexual selection is the relative inputs of males and females into the care of offspring. We propose that ecological factors, life-history and demography have more substantial impacts on contemporary sex roles than the differences of gametic investments between the sexes.
Collapse
|
9
|
Calede JJM, Brown A. Sexual dimorphism in cranial shape and size in geomyoid rodents: multivariate and evolutionary perspectives. Curr Zool 2021; 68:469-488. [PMID: 36090141 PMCID: PMC9450181 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoab070] [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: 06/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Geomyoid rodents provide a great study system for the analysis of sexual dimorphism. They are polygynic and many inhabit harsh arid environments thought to promote sexual dimorphism. In fact, there has been extensive work published on the sexual size dimorphism of individual populations and species within this rodent clade. However, little work has been undertaken to assess the evolutionary patterns and processes associated with this sexual dimorphism. We use multivariate analyses of cranial measurements in a phylogenetic framework to determine the distribution of size and shape dimorphism among geomyoids and test for Rensch’s rule. Our results suggest that sexual dimorphism is more common in geomyids than heteromyids, but it is not in fact universal. There is evidence for variation in sexual dimorphism across populations. Additionally, in many taxa, geographic variation appears to overwhelm existing sexual dimorphism. We find support for the repeated independent evolution of shape and size dimorphism across geomyoid taxa, but we do not find support for an association between size and shape dimorphism. There is no evidence for Rensch’s rule in geomyoids, whether at the superfamily or family level. Together, our findings suggest that there is no single explanation for the evolution of sexual dimorphism in geomyoids and that, instead, it is the product of numerous evolutionary events. Future studies incorporating phylogenetic relationships will be necessary to paint a more complete picture of the evolution of sexual dimorphism in geomyoids.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan J M Calede
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, 318 W. 12th Ave., 300 Aronoff Laboratory, Columbus, OH 43210, USA and
- The Ohio State University at Marion, 1459 Mount Vernon Avenue, Marion, OH 43302, USA
| | - Andrew Brown
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, 318 W. 12th Ave., 300 Aronoff Laboratory, Columbus, OH 43210, USA and
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Mattioli S, Ferretti F, Nicoloso S, Corlatti L. Spatial variation in antler investment of Apennine red deer. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:7850-7864. [PMID: 34188856 PMCID: PMC8216977 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2020] [Revised: 03/14/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Heterogeneity in resource availability and quality can trigger spatial patterns in the expression of sexually selected traits such as body mass and weaponry. While relationships between habitat features and phenotypic quality are well established at broad geographical scales, information is poor on spatial patterns at finer, intrapopulation scales. We analyzed biometric data collected on 1965 red deer Cervus elaphus males over 20 years from a nonmigratory population living on two sides of a mountainous ridge, with substantial differences in land cover and habitat quality but similar climate and population density. We investigate spatial patterns in (i) body mass, (ii) antler mass, and (iii) antler investment. We also tested for site- and age-specific patterns in allometric relationship between body mass and antler mass. Statistically significant fine-scale spatial variations in body mass, antler mass, and, to a lesser extent, antler allocation matched spatial differences in land cover. All three traits were greater in the northern slope, characterized by higher habitat heterogeneity and greater availability of open habitats, than in the southern slope. Moreover, the allometric relationship between body mass and antler mass differed among age-classes, in a pattern that was consistent between the two mountain slopes. Our results support the occurrence of spatial patterns in the expression of individual attributes also at a fine, intrapopulation scale. Our findings emphasize the role of environmental heterogeneity in shaping spatial variations of key life-history traits, with potential consequences for reproductive success.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Sandro Nicoloso
- Research, Ecology and Environment Dimensions (D.R.E.Am. Italia)PistoiaItaly
| | - Luca Corlatti
- Chair of Wildlife Ecology and ManagementUniversity of FreiburgFreiburgGermany
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Reuland C, Simmons LW, Lüpold S, Fitzpatrick JL. Weapons Evolve Faster Than Sperm in Bovids and Cervids. Cells 2021; 10:cells10051062. [PMID: 33947050 PMCID: PMC8145498 DOI: 10.3390/cells10051062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2021] [Revised: 04/25/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In polyandrous species, males face reproductive competition both before and after mating. Sexual selection thus shapes the evolution of both pre- and postcopulatory traits, creating competing demands on resource allocation to different reproductive episodes. Traits subject to strong selection exhibit accelerated rates of phenotypic divergence, and examining evolutionary rates may inform us about the relative importance and potential fitness consequences of investing in traits under either pre- or postcopulatory sexual selection. Here, we used a comparative approach to assess evolutionary rates of key competitive traits in two artiodactyl families, bovids (family Bovidae) and cervids (family Cervidae), where male–male competition can occur before and after mating. We quantified and compared evolutionary rates of male weaponry (horns and antlers), body size/mass, testes mass, and sperm morphometrics. We found that weapons evolve faster than sperm dimensions. In contrast, testes and body mass evolve at similar rates. These results suggest strong, but differential, selection on both pre- and postcopulatory traits in bovids and cervids. Furthermore, we documented distinct evolutionary rates among different sperm components, with sperm head and midpiece evolving faster than the flagellum. Finally, we demonstrate that, despite considerable differences in weapon development between bovids and cervids, the overall evolutionary patterns between these families were broadly consistent.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Charel Reuland
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 18b, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden;
| | - Leigh W. Simmons
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia;
| | - Stefan Lüpold
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland;
| | - John L. Fitzpatrick
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 18b, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden;
- Correspondence:
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Pérez-Barbería FJ, Arroyo-González I, García AJ, Serrano MP, Gallego L, Landete-Castillejos T. Water sprinkling as a tool for heat abatement in farmed Iberian red deer: Effects on calf growth and behaviour. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0249540. [PMID: 33886602 PMCID: PMC8062043 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Accepted: 03/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Climatic models predict scenarios in which ambient temperature will continue increasing worldwide. Under these climatic conditions, fitness and animal welfare of many populations are expected to suffer, especially those that live in captive or semi-natural conditions, where opportunities of heat abatement are limited. We undertook an experimental design to assess the effect of heat abatement that water sprinkling might have on Iberian red deer calf growth and behaviour from birth to weaning (135 days). One group of ten mother-calf pairs lived on plots with water sprinkling (treatment) available during summer’s hottest time of the day, while the control group (nine mother-calf pairs) occupied plots with no available water sprinkling. Treatment and control groups were fed ad libitum and swapped between plots every seven days to minimise any plot effect. Body weight was monitored weekly and individual behaviour was recorded once or twice a week at mid-day. We observed that calves had showers under the sprinklers and wallowed in mud puddles. The results clearly indicated that calves of the treatment group showed a significant increase in body weight at weaning in comparison with the control group, with no differences between sexes (treatment: male = 56.5 kg, female = 50.3 kg; control: male = 50.3 kg, female = 46.5 kg). Mother weight and mother age effects were negligible on calf body weight at weaning. The heavier the mother the faster was the rate of growth of its offspring, irrespective of calf sex. The model indicated that although males grew significantly slower than female calves in the control group, males grew faster than females when exposed to the treatment. Calves of the treatment group spent less time drinking, less time in the shade, similar time eating and more time in motion than calves of the control group. There were no behavioural differences between calf sexes of treatment and control groups. The results indicate the importance of providing animals with opportunities of heat abatement in hot environments to improve animal growth and welfare in farmed Iberian red deer.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- F. J. Pérez-Barbería
- Department of Agroforestry Science and Technology and Genetics, Game and Livestock Resources Unit, University of Castilla-La Mancha, IDR, IREC, Albacete, Spain
- * E-mail:
| | - I. Arroyo-González
- Department of Agroforestry Science and Technology and Genetics, Game and Livestock Resources Unit, University of Castilla-La Mancha, IDR, IREC, Albacete, Spain
| | - A. J. García
- Department of Agroforestry Science and Technology and Genetics, Game and Livestock Resources Unit, University of Castilla-La Mancha, IDR, IREC, Albacete, Spain
| | - M. P. Serrano
- Department of Agroforestry Science and Technology and Genetics, Game and Livestock Resources Unit, University of Castilla-La Mancha, IDR, IREC, Albacete, Spain
| | - L. Gallego
- Department of Agroforestry Science and Technology and Genetics, Game and Livestock Resources Unit, University of Castilla-La Mancha, IDR, IREC, Albacete, Spain
| | - T. Landete-Castillejos
- Department of Agroforestry Science and Technology and Genetics, Game and Livestock Resources Unit, University of Castilla-La Mancha, IDR, IREC, Albacete, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Size is not everything: differing activity and foraging patterns between the sexes in a monomorphic mammal. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-021-03010-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Animals balance foraging with other activities, and activity patterns may differ between sexes due to differing physical requirements and reproductive investments. Sex-specific behavioural differences are common in sexually dimorphic mammals, but have received limited research attention in monomorphic mammals where the sexes are similar in body size. Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) are obligate monogamous and monomorphic mammals and a good model species to study sex-specific differences. As females increase energy expenditure during reproduction, we hypothesized differing seasonal activity budgets, circadian activity rhythms and foraging patterns between male and reproducing female beavers. To test this hypothesis, we equipped adult beavers with VHF transmitters (N=41; 16 female, 25 male) and observed them throughout their active period at night from spring to late summer. Occurrence of their main activities (foraging, travelling and being in lodge) and use of food items (trees/shrubs, aquatic vegetation and herbs/grasses) were modelled to investigate sex-specific seasonal activity budgets and circadian activity rhythms. The sexes did not differ in time spent foraging across the season or night, but during spring, females resided more in the lodge and travelled less. Males and females both foraged on aquatic vegetation during spring, but females used this food source also during late summer, whereas males mostly foraged on trees/shrubs throughout the year. We conclude that seasonal activity budgets and foraging differ subtly between the sexes, which may relate to different energy budgets associated with reproduction and nutritional requirements. Such subtle seasonal behavioural adaptions may be vital for survival and reproduction of monomorphic species.
Significance statement
Activity budgets and foraging patterns of animals are key to their survival and may differ between males and females with different body sizes and physical requirements. In monomorphic species, where males and females have similar body sizes, fewer differences are expected, but may still be pronounced during certain times of the year. We modelled sex-specific seasonal activity budgets and circadian activity rhythms and use of food items in a monomorphic mammal, the Eurasian beaver. By treating season and time of day as a continuous variable rather than modelling differences within distinct predefined periods, we identified subtle sex-specific seasonal trends in activity budgets and use of food items.
Collapse
|
14
|
Szemán K, Liker A, Székely T. Social organization in ungulates: Revisiting Jarman's hypotheses. J Evol Biol 2021; 34:604-613. [PMID: 33706412 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2020] [Revised: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Ungulates (antelopes, deer and relatives) have some of the most diverse social systems among mammals. To understand the evolution of ungulate social organization, Jarman (1974) proposed an ecological scenario of how distribution of resources, habitat and feeding style may have influenced social organization. Although Jarman's scenario makes intuitive sense and remains a textbook example of social evolution, it has not been scrutinized using modern phylogenetic comparative methods. Here we use 230 ungulate species from ten families to test Jarman's hypotheses using phylogenetic analyses. Consistent with Jarman's proposition, both habitat and feeding style predict group size, since grazing ungulates typically live in open habitats and form large herds. Group size, in turn, has a knock-on effect on mating systems and sexual size dimorphism, since ungulates that live in large herds exhibit polygamy and extensive sexual size dimorphism. Phylogenetic confirmatory path analyses suggest that evolutionary changes in habitat type, feeding style and body size directly (or indirectly) induce shifts in social organization. Taken together, these phylogenetic comparative analyses confirm Jarman's conjectures, although they also uncover novel relationships between ecology and social organization. Further studies are needed to explore the relevance of Jarman (1974) scenario for mammals beyond ungulates.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Karola Szemán
- Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - András Liker
- MTA-PE Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, University of Pannonia, Veszprém, Hungary.,Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Center for Natural Sciences, University of Pannonia, Veszprém, Hungary
| | - Tamás Székely
- Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.,Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Barsbai T, Lukas D, Pondorfer A. Local convergence of behavior across species. Science 2021; 371:292-295. [PMID: 33446557 DOI: 10.1126/science.abb7481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2020] [Accepted: 11/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Behavior is a way for organisms to respond flexibly to the environmental conditions they encounter. Our own species exhibits large behavioral flexibility and occurs in all terrestrial habitats, sharing these environments with many other species. It remains unclear to what extent a shared environment constrains behavior and whether these constraints apply similarly across species. Here, we show that foraging human populations and nonhuman mammal and bird species that live in a given environment exhibit high levels of similarity in their foraging, reproductive, and social behaviors. Our findings suggest that local conditions may select for similar behaviors in both humans and nonhuman animals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Toman Barsbai
- School of Economics, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. .,Research Center International Development, Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Kiel, Germany
| | - Dieter Lukas
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Andreas Pondorfer
- Department of Economics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany. .,TUMCS for Biotechnology and Sustainability, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Pinto P, Hirata S. Does size matter? Examining the possible mechanisms of multi-stallion groups in horse societies. Behav Processes 2020; 181:104277. [PMID: 33096141 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2020] [Revised: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
In some feral horse populations, adult females are either associated with a single male or multiple males (stallions). However, little is known on why such groups with more than one male exist, considering that stallions fight to monopolize females. Body size is often an important determinant of male fighting ability and/or dominance rank and, consequently, reproductive success. Stallions may, therefore, vary in "quality" which could be a differentiating factor between single-stallion and multi-stallion males. We observed feral Garrano horses in Northern Portugal and examined the relationship between body size, sex, group type and number of females. Using a non-invasive laser distance meter, we determined individual body length and height by overlapping photos of the horses and a measuring tape. We tested the accuracy of remote measurements by comparison with manually measuring domestic horses and found no statistical differences between the two methods. Thus, we assume the values obtained were reliable and the methodology used was a useful tool for assessing morphological characteristics. Results showed no significant differences in body length and height for all parameters assessed, suggesting that size is not a determinant factor for feral horse society. Thus, other factors may be more important to explain the existence of single and multi-stallion groups.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pandora Pinto
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, 2-24 Tanaka-Sekiden-cho, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8203, Japan.
| | - Satoshi Hirata
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, 2-24 Tanaka-Sekiden-cho, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8203, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Segar J, Keane A. Species and demographic responses to
wildlife‐friendly
fencing on ungulate crossing success and behavior. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Josiane Segar
- School of GeoSciences University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
| | - Aidan Keane
- School of GeoSciences University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Saitta ET, Stockdale MT, Longrich NR, Bonhomme V, Benton MJ, Cuthill IC, Makovicky PJ. An effect size statistical framework for investigating sexual dimorphism in non-avian dinosaurs and other extinct taxa. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blaa105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Despite reports of sexual dimorphism in extinct taxa, such claims in non-avian dinosaurs have been rare over the last decade and have often been criticized. Since dimorphism is widespread in sexually reproducing organisms today, under-reporting in the literature might suggest either methodological shortcomings or that this diverse group exhibited highly unusual reproductive biology. Univariate significance testing, especially for bimodality, is ineffective and prone to false negatives. Species recognition and mutual sexual selection hypotheses, therefore, may not be required to explain supposed absence of sexual dimorphism across the grade (a type II error). Instead, multiple lines of evidence support sexual selection and variation of structures consistent with secondary sexual characteristics, strongly suggesting sexual dimorphism in non-avian dinosaurs. We propose a framework for studying sexual dimorphism in fossils, focusing on likely secondary sexual traits and testing against all alternate hypotheses for variation in them using multiple lines of evidence. We use effect size statistics appropriate for low sample sizes, rather than significance testing, to analyse potential divergence of growth curves in traits and constrain estimates for dimorphism magnitude. In many cases, estimates of sexual variation can be reasonably accurate, and further developments in methods to improve sex assignments and account for intrasexual variation (e.g. mixture modelling) will improve accuracy. It is better to compare estimates for the magnitude of and support for dimorphism between datasets than to dichotomously reject or fail to reject monomorphism in a single species, enabling the study of sexual selection across phylogenies and time. We defend our approach with simulated and empirical data, including dinosaur data, showing that even simple approaches can yield fairly accurate estimates of sexual variation in many cases, allowing for comparison of species with high and low support for sexual variation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Evan T Saitta
- Life Sciences Section, Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, USA
| | | | - Nicholas R Longrich
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry and Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - Vincent Bonhomme
- Institut des sciences de l’évolution, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | | | - Innes C Cuthill
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Peter J Makovicky
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Bowyer RT, McCullough DR, Rachlow JL, Ciuti S, Whiting JC. Evolution of ungulate mating systems: Integrating social and environmental factors. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:5160-5178. [PMID: 32551090 PMCID: PMC7297761 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2019] [Revised: 03/12/2020] [Accepted: 03/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Ungulates exhibit diverse mating systems that range from monogamous pair territories to highly polygynous leks. We review mating systems and behaviors across ungulates and offer a new approach synthesizing how interacting factors may shape those mating systems. Variability exists in mating systems among and within species of ungulates and likely is affected by predation risk, availability of resources (food and mates), habitat structure, and sociality. Ungulate mating systems may be labile as a consequence of the varying strength of those interacting factors. In addition, degree of polygyny and sexual dimorphism in size are associated with the evolution of mating systems. Neither male-male combat nor paternal care, however, can completely explain differences in sexual size dimorphism for ungulates, a necessary component in understanding the development of some mating systems. Whatever the evolutionary pathway, sexual segregation limits paternal care allowing more intense male-male competition. Selection of habitat structure, because it modifies risk of predation, is a major determinant of sociality for ungulates. Likewise, ruggedness and steepness of terrain limit the types of mating systems that can occur because of limitations in group size and cohesiveness, as well as the ability of males to herd even small groups of females effectively. The quality and defensibility of resources affect mating systems, as does the defensibility of females. Population density of females also may be a critical determinant of the types of mating systems that develop. Size of groups likewise constrains the types of mating tactics that males can employ. Our aim was to use those relationships to create a broad conceptual model that predicts how various environmental and social factors interact to structure mating systems in ungulates. This model provides a useful framework for future tests of the roles of both ecological and social conditions in influencing the social systems of ungulates.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- R. Terry Bowyer
- Institute of Arctic BiologyUniversity of Alaska FairbanksFairbanksAKUSA
| | - Dale R. McCullough
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy and ManagementUniversity of CaliforniaBerkeleyCAUSA
| | - Janet L. Rachlow
- Department of Fish and Wildlife SciencesUniversity of IdahoMoscowIDUSA
| | - Simone Ciuti
- Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and BehaviourSchool of Biology and Environmental ScienceUniversity College DublinDublinIreland
| | | |
Collapse
|
20
|
Pérez-Barbería FJ, García AJ, Cappelli J, Landete-Castillejos T, Serrano MP, Gallego L. Heat stress reduces growth rate of red deer calf: Climate warming implications. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0233809. [PMID: 32480402 PMCID: PMC7263848 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0233809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2020] [Accepted: 05/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate models agree in predicting scenarios of global warming. In endothermic species heat stress takes place when they are upper their thermal neutral zone. Any physiological or behavioural mechanism to mitigate heat stress is at the cost of diverting energy from other physiological functions, with negative repercussions for individual fitness. Tolerance to heat stress differs between species, age classes and sexes, those with the highest metabolic rates being the most sensitive to stressing thermal environments. This is especially important during the first months of life, when most growth takes place. Red deer (Cervus elaphus) is supposedly well adapted to a wide range of thermal environments, based on its worldwide distribution range, but little is known about the direct effect that heat stress may have on calf growth. We assessed the effect that heat stress, measured by heat stress indices and physical environment variables (air temperature, relative air humidity, wind speed and solar radiation), have on calf and mother body weights from calf´s birth to weaning. We used 9265 longitudinal weekly body weight records of calf and mother across 19 years in captive Iberian red deer. We hypothesised that (i) heat stress in hot environments has a negative effect on calf growth, especially in males, as they are more energetically demanding to produce than females; and that (ii) the body weight of the mother through lactation should be negatively affected by heat stress. Our results supported hypothesis (i) but not so clearly hypothesis (ii). By weaning (day 143) calves growing under low heat stress environment grew up to 1.2 kg heavier than those growing in high heat stress environment, and males were more affected by heat stress than females. The results have implications in animal welfare, geographical clines in body size and adaptation to climate change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- F. J. Pérez-Barbería
- Game and Livestock Resources Unit, University of Castilla-La Mancha, IDR, IREC, Albacete, Spain
| | - A. J. García
- Game and Livestock Resources Unit, University of Castilla-La Mancha, IDR, IREC, Albacete, Spain
| | - J. Cappelli
- Game and Livestock Resources Unit, University of Castilla-La Mancha, IDR, IREC, Albacete, Spain
| | - T. Landete-Castillejos
- Game and Livestock Resources Unit, University of Castilla-La Mancha, IDR, IREC, Albacete, Spain
| | - M. P. Serrano
- Game and Livestock Resources Unit, University of Castilla-La Mancha, IDR, IREC, Albacete, Spain
| | - L. Gallego
- Game and Livestock Resources Unit, University of Castilla-La Mancha, IDR, IREC, Albacete, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Jaeggi AV, Miles MI, Festa-Bianchet M, Schradin C, Hayes LD. Variable social organization is ubiquitous in Artiodactyla and probably evolved from pair-living ancestors. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20200035. [PMID: 32370675 PMCID: PMC7282923 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2020] [Accepted: 04/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies to understand the evolution of interspecific variation in mammalian social organization (SO; composition of social units) produced inconsistent results, possibly by ignoring intraspecific variation. Here we present systematic data on SO in artiodactyl populations, coding SO as solitary, pair-living, group-living, sex-specific or variable (different kinds of SOs in the same population). We found that 62% of 245 populations and 83% of species (83/100) exhibited variable SO. Using Bayesian phylogenetic mixed-effects models, we simultaneously tested whether research effort, habitat, sexual dimorphism, breeding seasonality or body size predicted the likelihood of different SOs and inferred the ancestral SO. Body size and sexual dimorphism were strongly associated with different SOs. Contingent on the small body size (737 g) and putative sexual monomorphism of the earliest fossil artiodactyl, the ancestral SO was most likely to be pair-living (probability = 0.76, 95% CI = 0-1), followed by variable (p = 0.19, 95% CI = 0-0.99). However, at body size values typical of extant species, variable SO becomes the dominant form (p = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.18-1.00). Distinguishing different kinds of 'variable' highlights transitions from SOs involving pair-living to SOs involving solitary and/or group-living with increasing body size and dimorphism. Our results support the assumption that ancestral artiodactyl was pair-living and highlight the ubiquity of intraspecific variation in SO.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- A. V. Jaeggi
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Wintherthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - M. I. Miles
- Department of Biology, Geology, and Environmental Science, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, USA
| | - M. Festa-Bianchet
- Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, CanadaJ1K 2R1
| | - C. Schradin
- School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa
- IPHC, UNISTRA, CNRS, 23 rue du Loess, 67200 Strasbourg, France
| | - L. D. Hayes
- Department of Biology, Geology, and Environmental Science, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, USA
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Tidière M, Gaillard J, Garel M, Lemaître J, Toïgo C, Pélabon C. Variation in the ontogenetic allometry of horn length in bovids along a body mass continuum. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:4104-4114. [PMID: 32489634 PMCID: PMC7244813 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2019] [Revised: 02/04/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Allometric relationships describe the proportional covariation between morphological, physiological, or life-history traits and the size of the organisms. Evolutionary allometries estimated among species are expected to result from species differences in ontogenetic allometry, but it remains uncertain whether ontogenetic allometric parameters and particularly the ontogenetic slope can evolve. In bovids, the nonlinear evolutionary allometry between horn length and body mass in males suggests systematic changes in ontogenetic allometry with increasing species body mass. To test this hypothesis, we estimated ontogenetic allometry between horn length and body mass in males and females of 19 bovid species ranging from ca. 5 to 700 kg. Ontogenetic allometry changed systematically with species body mass from steep ontogenetic allometries over a short period of horn growth in small species to shallow allometry with the growth period of horns matching the period of body mass increase in the largest species. Intermediate species displayed steep allometry over long period of horn growth. Females tended to display shallower ontogenetic allometry with longer horn growth compared to males, but these differences were weak and highly variable. These findings show that ontogenetic allometric slope evolved across species possibly as a response to size-related changes in the selection pressures acting on horn length and body mass.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Morgane Tidière
- Department of BiologyCentre for Biodiversity DynamicsNTNUNorwegian University of Science and TechnologyTrondheimNorway
| | - Jean‐Michel Gaillard
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR5558 - CNRSUniversité Claude Bernard Lyon 1Université de LyonVilleurbanneFrance
| | | | - Jean‐François Lemaître
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR5558 - CNRSUniversité Claude Bernard Lyon 1Université de LyonVilleurbanneFrance
| | - Carole Toïgo
- Office Français pour la BiodiversitéGièresFrance
| | - Christophe Pélabon
- Department of BiologyCentre for Biodiversity DynamicsNTNUNorwegian University of Science and TechnologyTrondheimNorway
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Vander Linden A, Dumont ER. Intraspecific male combat behaviour predicts morphology of cervical vertebrae in ruminant mammals. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20192199. [PMID: 31718495 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cranial weapons of all shapes and sizes are common throughout the animal kingdom and are frequently accompanied by the evolution of additional traits that enhance the use of those weapons. Bovids (cattle, sheep, goats, antelope) and cervids (deer) within the mammal clade Ruminantia are particularly well known for their distinct and varied cranial appendages in the form of horns and antlers, which are used as weapons in intraspecific combat between males for access to mates. Combat in these species takes many forms, including head-on collisions (ramming); stabbing an opponent's head or body with horn tips (stabbing); rearing and clashing downwards with horns (fencing); or interlocking antlers or horns while vigorously pushing and twisting (wrestling). Some aspects of weapon and skull morphology have been linked to combat behaviours in bovid and cervid species, but the contribution of postcranial structures that support these weapons, such as the neck, has not been explored. To investigate the role of the neck in intraspecific combat, we quantified biomechanically relevant linear variables of the cervical vertebrae (C1-C7) from males and females of 55 ruminant species. We then used phylogenetic generalized least-squares regression to assess differences among species that display primarily ramming, stabbing, fencing and wrestling combat styles. In males, we found that wrestlers have longer vertebral centra and longer neural spines than rammers, stabbers or fencers, while rammers have shorter and wider centra and taller neural spine lever arms. These results suggest a supportive role for the cervical vertebrae in resisting forces generated by male-male combat in ruminant mammals and indicate that evolutionary forces influencing cranial weapons also play a role in shaping the supporting anatomical structures.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Abby Vander Linden
- Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Elizabeth R Dumont
- School of Natural Sciences, University of California Merced, Merced, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Cassini MH. A mixed model of the evolution of polygyny and sexual size dimorphism in mammals. Mamm Rev 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/mam.12171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marcelo H. Cassini
- Laboratorio de Biología del Comportamiento IBYME CONICET Obligado 2490, 1429 Buenos Aires Argentina
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Blank DA. Female-female aggression in goitered gazelles: the desire for isolation. Behav Processes 2019; 164:186-192. [PMID: 31091464 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.05.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2018] [Revised: 05/10/2019] [Accepted: 05/11/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
In contrast to males, which compete with other males for access to mates, females compete with each other for forage-rich sites, birthing grounds, comfortable resting places, and access to sources of water and salt licking locations. This behavior has been observed in many species. However, many agonistic interactions between females occur where resources are not immediately at stake, and the reasons for their rivalry are often unclear. Therefore in this paper, I want to analyze the main causes of female-female aggression in the yearly cycle of goitered gazelles. I found that adult females had conflicts moistly with sub-adult females and less with other adult females; and these behaviors were observed mainly in May, with less in June, and only a few cases displayed during the rest of the year. The months of May-June had the most abundant and highest quality forage of the year, when competition for resources would seem to be least expected. Struggles for resting places occurred throughout the entire year, with only some bias for May that did not represent a primary level of aggression. In reality, the high rate of female-female aggressive interactions was related to the protection of birthing grounds, where mothers isolated themselves to give births, establish a strong selective mother-young bonds, keep their hiding fawns separated from alien offspring (having initial problems with distant visual recognition), and protect them against disturbance from all other females, which can undermine a fawn's hidden status and make it more vulnerable to predation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- D A Blank
- Research Center for Ecology and Environment of Central Asia, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan; Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresources in Arid Land, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China; Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan.
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Cai YL, Mai CL, Yu X, Liao WB. Effect of population density on relationship between pre- and postcopulatory sexual traits. ANIM BIOL 2019. [DOI: 10.1163/15707563-20181057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Sexual selection theory states that the premating (ornaments and armaments) sexual traits should trade off with the postmating (testes and ejaculates) sexual traits, assuming that growing and maintaining these traits is expensive and that total reproductive investments are limited. Male-male competition and sperm competition are predicted to affect how males allocate their finite resources to these traits. Here, we studied relative expenditure on pre- and postmating sexual traits among 82 species for three mammalian orders with varying population density using comparative phylogenetic analysis. The results showed that population density affected sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in both Artiodactyla and Carnivora, but not in Primates. However, relative testis mass and sperm size were not affected by population density. Moreover, we did not find associations between the SSD and testis mass or sperm size in three taxonomic groups. The interspecific relationships between pre- and postcopulatory sexual traits did not change with increased population density. Our findings suggest that population density did not affect variation in the relationship between pre- and postcopulatory sexual traits for these three mammalian orders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yun Lin Cai
- 1Department of Urology, the Second Clinical Medical College of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, 637000, China
| | - Chun Lan Mai
- 2Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637009, China
| | - Xin Yu
- 2Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637009, China
| | - Wen Bo Liao
- 2Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637009, China
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Effects of the physical and social environment on flight response and habitat use in a solitary ungulate, the Japanese serow (Capricornis crispus). Behav Processes 2019; 158:228-233. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.10.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2018] [Revised: 10/19/2018] [Accepted: 10/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
|
28
|
Mora MS, Becerra F, Vassallo AI. An allometric analysis of sexual dimorphism in Ctenomys australis : integrating classic morphometry and functional performance in vivo. ZOOLOGY 2018; 127:27-39. [DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2018.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2016] [Revised: 08/16/2017] [Accepted: 02/17/2018] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
|
29
|
Gersick AS, Rubenstein DI. Physiology modulates social flexibility and collective behaviour in equids and other large ungulates. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 372:rstb.2016.0241. [PMID: 28673917 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2016.0241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Though morphologically very similar, equids across the extant species occupy ecological niches that are surprisingly non-overlapping. Occupancy of these distinct niches appears related to subtle physiological and behavioural adaptations which, in turn, correspond to significant differences in the social behaviours and emergent social systems characterizing the different species. Although instances of intraspecific behavioural variation in equids demonstrate that the same body plan can support a range of social structures, each of these morphologically similar species generally shows robust fidelity to its evolved social system. The pattern suggests a subtle relationship between physiological phenotypes and behavioural flexibility. While environmental conditions can vary widely within relatively short temporal or spatial scales, physiological changes and changes to the behaviours that regulate physiological processes, are constrained to longer cycles of adaptation. Physiology is then the limiting variable in the interaction between ecological variation and behavioural and socio-structural flexibility. Behavioural and socio-structural flexibility, in turn, will generate important feedbacks that will govern physiological function, thus creating a coupled web of interactions that can lead to changes in individual and collective behaviour. Longitudinal studies of equid and other large-bodied ungulate populations under environmental stress, such as those discussed here, may offer the best opportunities for researchers to examine, in real time, the interplay between individual behavioural plasticity, socio-structural flexibility, and the physiological and genetic changes that together produce adaptive change.This article is part of the themed issue 'Physiological determinants of social behaviour in animals'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew S Gersick
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Daniel I Rubenstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Dynamics of social behaviour at parturition in a gregarious ungulate. Behav Processes 2018; 150:75-84. [PMID: 29360558 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.01.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2017] [Revised: 01/18/2018] [Accepted: 01/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Group living is the behavioural response that results when individuals assess the costs vs benefits of sociality, and these trade-offs vary across an animal's life. Here we quantitatively assess how periparturient condition (mother/non-mother) and births affect the dynamics of social interactions of a gregarious ungulate, and how such can help to explain evolutionary hypotheses of the mother-offspring bond. To achieve this we used data of the individual movement of a group of Scottish blackface sheep (Ovis aries) marked with GPS collars and properties of mathematical graphs (networks). Euclidean pair-wise distance between sheep were threshold at different percentiles to determine network links, and these thresholds have a profound effect on the connectivity of the resulting network. Births increased the average pair-wise distance between mothers, and between mothers and non-mothers, with less effect on the distance between non-mothers. Mothers occupied peripheral positions within the flock, more evident following births. Associations between individuals (i.e. network community change) were highly dynamic, though mothers were less likely to change community than non-mothers, especially after births. Births hampered individual communication within the flock (assessed via network closeness centrality), especially in mothers. Overall leadership (lead positioning relative to flock movement) was not associated to reproductive condition, and individual leadership rank was not affected by births. A ten minute GPS acquisition time was adequate to capture complex social dynamics in sheep movement. The results on mother's isolation behaviour support the hypotheses of selection for maternal imprint facilitation, reducing risks to nursing alien offspring, and group/multilevel selection on group formation.
Collapse
|
31
|
Male group size, female distribution and changes in sexual segregation by Roosevelt elk. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0187829. [PMID: 29121076 PMCID: PMC5679572 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0187829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2017] [Accepted: 10/26/2017] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual segregation, or the differential use of space by males and females, is hypothesized to be a function of body size dimorphism. Sexual segregation can also manifest at small (social segregation) and large (habitat segregation) spatial scales for a variety of reasons. Furthermore, the connection between small- and large-scale sexual segregation has rarely been addressed. We studied a population of Roosevelt elk (Cervus elaphus roosevelti) across 21 years in north coastal California, USA, to assess small- and large-scale sexual segregation in winter. We hypothesized that male group size would associate with small-scale segregation and that a change in female distribution would associate with large-scale segregation. Variation in forage biomass might also be coupled to small and large-scale sexual segregation. Our findings were consistent with male group size associating with small-scale segregation and a change in female distribution associating with large-scale segregation. Females appeared to avoid large groups comprised of socially dominant males. Males appeared to occupy a habitat vacated by females because of a wider forage niche, greater tolerance to lethal risks, and, perhaps, to reduce encounters with other elk. Sexual segregation at both spatial scales was a poor predictor of forage biomass. Size dimorphism was coupled to change in sexual segregation at small and large spatial scales. Small scale segregation can seemingly manifest when all forage habitat is occupied by females and large scale segregation might happen when some forage habitat is not occupied by females.
Collapse
|
32
|
Nuñez-Rosas L, Arizmendi M, Cueva del Castillo R, Serrano-Meneses M. Mating system, male territoriality and agility as predictors of the evolution of sexual size dimorphism in hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae). BEHAVIOUR 2017. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Male and female animals often exhibit differences in body size; this difference is known as sexual size dimorphism (SSD). Hummingbirds are an excellent model system to test functional hypotheses of SSD because they exhibit a wide range of body sizes and reproductive behaviour between the sexes. Here, using phylogenetic comparative methods, we tested whether mating system, male territoriality and agility predicted the evolution of SSD in this avian family. Our results first suggest that evolutionary increases in male-biased SSD are related to increases in lekking behaviour. Second, we found that male agility is positively related to increases in male biased-SSD albeit this is only likely to occur in males of territorial species. Finally, we found an allometric pattern for SSD consistent with Rensch’s rule that was not explained by our estimates of male competition and agility.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- L. Nuñez-Rosas
- aLaboratorio de Biología Evolutiva, Centro Tlaxcala de Biología de la Conducta, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Carretera Tlaxcala-Puebla km 1.5, C. P. 90070 Tlaxcala, México
- cDoctorado en Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Carretera Tlaxcala-Puebla km 1.5, C. P. 90070 Tlaxcala, México
| | - M.C. Arizmendi
- bFacultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Laboratorio de Ecología, UBIPRO, Av. de los Barrios 1, Los Reyes Iztacala, C. P. 54090 Tlanepantla, México
| | - R. Cueva del Castillo
- bFacultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Laboratorio de Ecología, UBIPRO, Av. de los Barrios 1, Los Reyes Iztacala, C. P. 54090 Tlanepantla, México
| | - M.A. Serrano-Meneses
- dDepartamento de Ciencias Químico-Biológicas, Universidad de las Américas Puebla, San Andrés Cholula, C. P. 72810 Puebla, México
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Čanády A, Mošanský L, Krišovský P. Sexual size monomorphism and body variation in the fat dormouse Glis glis in Slovakia. Biologia (Bratisl) 2016. [DOI: 10.1515/biolog-2016-0123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
|
34
|
Ofstad EG, Herfindal I, Solberg EJ, Sæther BE. Home ranges, habitat and body mass: simple correlates of home range size in ungulates. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 283:20161234. [PMID: 28003441 PMCID: PMC5204158 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.1234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2016] [Accepted: 11/23/2016] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The spatial scale of animal space use, e.g. measured as individual home range size, is a key trait with important implications for ecological and evolutionary processes as well as management and conservation of populations and ecosystems. Explaining variation in home range size has therefore received great attention in ecological research. However, few studies have examined multiple hypotheses simultaneously, which is important provided the complex interactions between life history, social system and behaviour. Here, we review previous studies on home range size in ungulates, supplementing with a meta-analysis, to assess how differences in habitat use and species characteristics affect the relationship between body mass and home range size. Habitat type was the main factor explaining interspecific differences in home range size after accounting for species body mass and group size. Species using open habitats had larger home ranges for a given body mass than species using closed habitats, whereas species in open habitats showed a much weaker allometric relationship compared with species living in closed habitats. We found no support for relationships between home range size and species diet or mating system, or any sexual differences. These patterns suggest that the spatial scale of animal movement mainly is a combined effect of body mass, group size and the landscape structure. Accordingly, landscape management must acknowledge the influence of spatial distribution of habitat types on animal behaviour to ensure natural processes affecting demography and viability of ungulate populations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Endre Grüner Ofstad
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Ivar Herfindal
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | | | - Bernt-Erik Sæther
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Noonan MJ, Johnson PJ, Kitchener AC, Harrington LA, Newman C, Macdonald DW. Sexual size dimorphism in musteloids: An anomalous allometric pattern is explained by feeding ecology. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:8495-8501. [PMID: 28031801 PMCID: PMC5167046 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2016] [Revised: 08/17/2016] [Accepted: 08/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Rensch's rule states that sexual size dimorphism (SSD) increases with body size in taxa where males are larger, and decreases when females are larger. The dominant explanation for the trend is currently that competitive advantage for males is greater in larger individuals, whereas female size is constrained by the energetics of rearing offspring. This rule holds for a variety of vertebrate taxa, and opposing trends are rare. We examine the allometry of SSD within the Musteloidea and demonstrate a hypo-allometry contrary to Rensch's rule, with lower SSD associated with larger body size. We provide evidence that feeding ecology is involved. Where diet promotes group-living, the optimal strategy for the males of larger species is often not to attempt to defend access to multiple females, obviating any competitive advantage of relatively greater size. We conclude that the effect of feeding ecology on mating systems may be a hitherto neglected factor explaining variation in SSD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. Noonan
- Wildlife Conservation Research UnitZoology DepartmentThe Recanati‐Kaplan CentreUniversity of OxfordTubneyAbingdonUK
| | - Paul J. Johnson
- Wildlife Conservation Research UnitZoology DepartmentThe Recanati‐Kaplan CentreUniversity of OxfordTubneyAbingdonUK
| | - Andrew C. Kitchener
- Department of Natural SciencesNational Museums ScotlandEdinburghUK
- Institute of GeographySchool of GeosciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Lauren A. Harrington
- Wildlife Conservation Research UnitZoology DepartmentThe Recanati‐Kaplan CentreUniversity of OxfordTubneyAbingdonUK
| | - Chris Newman
- Wildlife Conservation Research UnitZoology DepartmentThe Recanati‐Kaplan CentreUniversity of OxfordTubneyAbingdonUK
| | - David W. Macdonald
- Wildlife Conservation Research UnitZoology DepartmentThe Recanati‐Kaplan CentreUniversity of OxfordTubneyAbingdonUK
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Lack of Evolution of Sexual Size Dimorphism in Heteromyidae (Rodentia): The Influence of Resource Defense and the Trade-Off between Pre- and Post-Copulatory Trait Investment. Evol Biol 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s11692-016-9390-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
|
37
|
Holman L, Bro-Jørgensen J. Ornament Complexity Is Correlated with Sexual Selection: (A Comment on Raia et al., "Cope's Rule and the Universal Scaling Law of Ornament Complexity"). Am Nat 2016; 188:272-5. [PMID: 27420791 DOI: 10.1086/687251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Raia et al. propose that the evolution of the shape and complexity of animal ornaments (e.g., deer antlers) can be explained by interspecific variation in body size and is not influenced by sexual selection. They claim to show that ornament complexity is related to body size by an 0.25-power law and argue that this finding precludes a role for sexual selection in the evolution of ornament complexity. However, their study does not test alternative hypotheses and mismeasures antler shape allometry by omitting much of the published data. We show that an index of sexual selection (sexual size dimorphism) is positively correlated with size-corrected antler complexity and that the allometric slope of complexity is substantially greater than 0.25, contra Raia et al. We conclude that sexual selection and physical constraints both affect the evolution of antler shape.
Collapse
|
38
|
An experimental demonstration that predation influences antelope sex ratios and resource-associated mortality. Basic Appl Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2015.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
|
39
|
Oliveira MLD, Peres PHDF, Vogliotti A, Grotta-Neto F, Azevedo ADKD, Cerveira JF, Nascimento GBD, Peruzzi NJ, Carranza J, Duarte JMB. Phylogenetic signal in the circadian rhythm of morphologically convergent species of Neotropical deer. Mamm Biol 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mambio.2016.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|
40
|
Horcajada-Sánchez F, Barja I. Local Ecotypes of Roe Deer Populations (Capreolus capreolusL.) in Relation to Morphometric Features and Fur Colouration in the Centre of the Iberian Peninsula. POLISH JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY 2016. [DOI: 10.3161/15052249pje2016.64.1.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
|
41
|
García‐Navas V, Bonnet T, Bonal R, Postma E. The role of fecundity and sexual selection in the evolution of size and sexual size dimorphism in New World and Old World voles (Rodentia: Arvicolinae). OIKOS 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.03026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Vicente García‐Navas
- Inst. of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies Univ. of Zurich Winterthurerstrasse 190 CH‐8057 Zurich Switzerland
| | - Timothée Bonnet
- Inst. of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies Univ. of Zurich Winterthurerstrasse 190 CH‐8057 Zurich Switzerland
| | - Raúl Bonal
- Forest Research Group, INDEHESA Univ. of Extremadura Plasencia Spain
| | - Erik Postma
- Inst. of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies Univ. of Zurich Winterthurerstrasse 190 CH‐8057 Zurich Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Pérez-Barbería FJ, Small M, Hooper RJ, Aldezabal A, Soriguer-Escofet R, Bakken GS, Gordon IJ. State-Space Modelling of the Drivers of Movement Behaviour in Sympatric Species. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0142707. [PMID: 26580801 PMCID: PMC4651358 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0142707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2015] [Accepted: 10/26/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding animal movement behaviour is key to furthering our knowledge on intra- and inter-specific competition, group cohesion, energy expenditure, habitat use, the spread of zoonotic diseases or species management. We used a radial basis function surface approximation subject to minimum description length constraint to uncover the state-space dynamical systems from time series data. This approximation allowed us to infer structure from a mathematical model of the movement behaviour of sheep and red deer, and the effect of density, thermal stress and vegetation type. Animal movement was recorded using GPS collars deployed in sheep and deer grazing a large experimental plot in winter and summer. Information on the thermal stress to which animals were exposed was estimated using the power consumption of mechanical heated models and meteorological records of a network of stations in the plot. Thermal stress was higher in deer than in sheep, with less differences between species in summer. Deer travelled more distance than sheep, and both species travelled more in summer than in winter; deer travel distance showed less seasonal differences than sheep. Animal movement was better predicted in deer than in sheep and in winter than in summer; both species showed a swarming behaviour in group cohesion, stronger in deer. At shorter separation distances swarming repulsion was stronger between species than within species. At longer separation distances inter-specific attraction was weaker than intra-specific; there was a positive density-dependent effect on swarming, and stronger in deer than in sheep. There was not clear evidence which species attracted or repelled the other; attraction between deer at long separation distances was stronger when the model accounted for thermal stress, but in general the dynamic movement behaviour was hardly affected by the thermal stress. Vegetation type affected intra-species interactions but had little effect on inter-species interactions. Our modelling approach is useful in interpreting animal interactions, in order to unravel complex cooperative or competitive behaviours, and to the best of our knowledge is the first modelling attempt to make predictions of multi-species animal movement under different habitat mosaics and abiotic environmental conditions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- F. J. Pérez-Barbería
- Ungulate Research Unit, CRCP, University of Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
- Grupo PAIDI RNM118, Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Sevilla, 41092, Spain
- James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - M. Small
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia, 6009
| | - R. J. Hooper
- James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - A. Aldezabal
- Landare Biologia eta Ekologia Saila, Zientzia eta Teknologia Fakultatea, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV-EHU), 644 p.k., 48080 Bilbo (Bizkaia), Euskal Herria, Spain
| | | | - G. S. Bakken
- Department of Biology, Indiana State University, 200 North Seventh Street, Terre Haute, Indiana, United States of America, 47809–1902
| | - I. J. Gordon
- Deputy Vice Chancellor, Tropical Environments & Societies, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4811, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
|
44
|
Gallina S, Sánchez-Rojas G, Buenrostro-Silva A, López-González C. Comparison of faecal nitrogen concentration between sexes of white-tailed deer in a tropical dry forest in southern Mexico. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2015. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2014.891537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
|
45
|
Kubo MO, Takatsuki S. Geographical Body Size Clines in Sika Deer: Path Analysis to Discern Amongst Environmental Influences. Evol Biol 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s11692-015-9303-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
|
46
|
Blank DA, Yang W. Does social status of males change their aggressive behavior repertoire in goitered gazelle (gazella subgutturosa guld., 1780)? Behav Processes 2014; 108:20-6. [PMID: 25242724 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2014.09.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2014] [Revised: 08/23/2014] [Accepted: 09/11/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Aggression in ungulates is a very common behavior which serves a great variety of social functions, the most important of which is territorial protection from intruders. Typically during the rut, territorial males in Antilopinae species have access to mating females, and territoriality leads to a drastic change in the males' lifestyle as they spend most of their aggressive efforts on protecting their territories from other males. In contrast, non-territorial males generally behave in a constant manner all year round, with most of their aggression spent on hierarchical interactions within groups. In this paper, we discuss the differences in aggressive behaviors between territorial and non-territorial males of goitered gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa). We found that territorial males of this species demonstrated most of their aggressive displays, such as threat postures and space-claim patterns, to other territorial males-neighbors, but rarely chased after them at the end of a conflict. Inversely, territorial males frequently chased non-territorial and immature males while only occasionally demonstrating aggressive patterns. Non-territorial males mostly chased other males in their agonistic interactions, displaying threat postures less often than territorial males, but also showing aggressive patterns not found in territorial males. So we concluded that territorial and non-territorial males of goitered gazelles had different repertoires of aggressive behaviors, and when adult males switched their social status from territorial during the rut to non-territorial outside the rut, they obviously changed their preference in aggressive behaviors accordingly.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- D A Blank
- Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresource in Arid Land, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China; Institute of Zoology, Kazakh Academy of Sciences, Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan.
| | - W Yang
- Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresource in Arid Land, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China.
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Cheng RC, Kuntner M. Phylogeny suggests nondirectional and isometric evolution of sexual size dimorphism in argiopine spiders. Evolution 2014; 68:2861-72. [PMID: 25130435 DOI: 10.1111/evo.12504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2014] [Accepted: 06/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Sexual dimorphism describes substantial differences between male and female phenotypes. In spiders, sexual dimorphism research almost exclusively focuses on size, and recent studies have recovered steady evolutionary size increases in females, and independent evolutionary size changes in males. Their discordance is due to negative allometric size patterns caused by different selection pressures on male and female sizes (converse Rensch's rule). Here, we investigated macroevolutionary patterns of sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in Argiopinae, a global lineage of orb-weaving spiders with varying degrees of SSD. We devised a Bayesian and maximum-likelihood molecular species-level phylogeny, and then used it to reconstruct sex-specific size evolution, to examine general hypotheses and different models of size evolution, to test for sexual size coevolution, and to examine allometric patterns of SSD. Our results, revealing ancestral moderate sizes and SSD, failed to reject the Brownian motion model, which suggests a nondirectional size evolution. Contrary to predictions, male and female sizes were phylogenetically correlated, and SSD evolution was isometric. We interpret these results to question the classical explanations of female-biased SSD via fecundity, gravity, and differential mortality. In argiopines, SSD evolution may be driven by these or additional selection mechanisms, but perhaps at different phylogenetic scales.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ren-Chung Cheng
- Institute of Biology, Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
| | | |
Collapse
|
48
|
Ferretti F, Costa A, Corazza M, Pietrocini V, Cesaretti G, Lovari S. Males are faster foragers than females: intersexual differences of foraging behaviour in the Apennine chamois. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1744-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
|
49
|
Buzatto BA, Tomkins JL, Simmons LW, Machado G. CORRELATED EVOLUTION OF SEXUAL DIMORPHISM AND MALE DIMORPHISM IN A CLADE OF NEOTROPICAL HARVESTMEN. Evolution 2014; 68:1671-86. [DOI: 10.1111/evo.12395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2013] [Accepted: 02/19/2014] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bruno A. Buzatto
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Animal Biology (M092); The University of Western Australia; 35 Stirling Highway Crawley WA 6009 Australia
| | - Joseph L. Tomkins
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Animal Biology (M092); The University of Western Australia; 35 Stirling Highway Crawley WA 6009 Australia
| | - Leigh W. Simmons
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Animal Biology (M092); The University of Western Australia; 35 Stirling Highway Crawley WA 6009 Australia
| | - Glauco Machado
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências; Universidade de São Paulo; Rua do Matão; trav. 14, nº 321, Cidade Universitária São Paulo 05508-090 SP Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
50
|
Krüger O, Wolf JBW, Jonker RM, Hoffman JI, Trillmich F. DISENTANGLING THE CONTRIBUTION OF SEXUAL SELECTION AND ECOLOGY TO THE EVOLUTION OF SIZE DIMORPHISM IN PINNIPEDS. Evolution 2014; 68:1485-96. [DOI: 10.1111/evo.12370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2013] [Accepted: 01/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Oliver Krüger
- Department of Animal Behaviour; Bielefeld University; PO Box 10 01 31 33501 Bielefeld Germany
| | - Jochen B. W. Wolf
- Department of Evolutionary Biology; Evolutionary Biology Centre; Uppsala University; Norbyvägen 18D 75236 Uppsala Sweden
| | - Rudy M. Jonker
- Department of Animal Behaviour; Bielefeld University; PO Box 10 01 31 33501 Bielefeld Germany
| | - Joseph I. Hoffman
- Department of Animal Behaviour; Bielefeld University; PO Box 10 01 31 33501 Bielefeld Germany
| | - Fritz Trillmich
- Department of Animal Behaviour; Bielefeld University; PO Box 10 01 31 33501 Bielefeld Germany
| |
Collapse
|