Ecological correlates and determinants in the geographical variation of deer morphology
Ecological correlates and determinants in the geographical variation of deer morphology
复制标题
DOI：
10.1007/s00442-012-2270-7
复制
发表时间：
2012-02
期刊：
影响因子：
2.7
通讯作者：
Chisato Terada;S. Tatsuzawa;T. Saitoh
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Chisato Terada;S. Tatsuzawa;T. Saitoh
先前对有蹄类动物大小变化模式的研究强调了特定环境因素的影响，例如伯格曼规则和岛屿规则。然而，虽然多种环境因素可能影响身体尺寸，但这些研究集中于单一因素，并且使用可能受不同环境因素（至少部分）影响的各种测量值作为身体尺寸的指标。在这项研究中，考虑到多种环境因素的影响，我们使用了一些头骨和四肢测量来检查日本南部梅花鹿（Cervus nippon）岛屿种群的体型变化。我们发现所有测量值在人群之间存在显着差异。我们重点关注颅骨和四肢髁叶长度（CBL）和掌骨长度，因为它们在人群中具有最重要的差异且样本量最大。影响CBL和掌骨长度的常见环境因素是岛屿面积和降水量。由于这些环境因素反映了食物资源的可获得性，因此体型变化的致病因素可能是食物资源。掌骨长度的群体间变异大于 CBL，表明除了与 CBL 共有的共同因素外，掌骨长度可能还受到其他因素的影响。影响相对（CBL 调整）掌骨长度的具体环境因素是降水量和坡度。讨论了与地形有关的这些环境因素的常见直接原因。使用多种环境因素的多次测量来分析表型变异有助于深入了解根本原因，并可以识别具有特定驱动力的测量特定变异。
Previous studies on patterns in ungulate size variations have emphasized the effect of a particular environmental factor such as Bergmann’s rule and the island rule. However, although multiple environmental factors may influence the body size, these studies focused on a single factor, and various measurements that may be influenced by different environmental factors (at least partly) were used as indices of body size. In this study, we used several skull and limb measurements to examine size variations among island populations of sika deer (Cervus nippon) in southern Japan considering the effects of multiple environmental factors. We found that all measurements differed markedly between populations. We focused on the skull and limb condylobasal length (CBL) and metacarpal length because they had the most important variations among the populations and the largest sample sizes. The common environmental factors influencing CBL and metacarpal length were island area and precipitation. Since these environmental factors reflect the availability of food resources, the causal factor of body size variation may be food resources. Interpopulation variation in metacarpal length was greater than that of CBL, indicating that metacarpal length may be affected by additional factors besides the common factors shared with CBL. Specific environmental factors influencing relative (CBL adjusted) metacarpal length were precipitation and slope. A common direct cause of those environmental factors was discussed in relation to topography. Analyses of phenotypic variation using multiple measurements with multiple environmental factors are useful to gain insight into underlying causes and can lead to identification of a measurement-specific variation with a specific driving force.