TY - JOUR
T1 - Intraspecific variation in a lizard from the Central Mexican Plateau
T2 - Intersexual differences in size and shape explored
AU - Lozano, Abraham
AU - Ramírez-Bautista, Aurelio
AU - Cruz-Elizalde, Raciel
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - Morphological adaptations of individuals are directly (or indirectly) determined by the environment. Depending on sex, these adaptations may vary in different ways, given that different selective forces may be operating on organisms. Here, we evaluate intraspecific morphological variation (size and shape) in two populations of Sceloporus grammicus that occur in different structural habitats (trees and rocks). No difference in overall body size was found between the two populations. However, strong differences were found in body shape; the tree population was characterized by having shorter hindlimb proportions than the rock population, which agrees with the theory of biomechanical models. Furthermore, our results show that this species is dimorphic in size and shape, both in sex and population effects. A review of the literature suggests that the large overall body size and relatively longer distal segments of males could be an advantage for defending their territory, and the observation that females had relatively longer head length may be related to trophic niche divergence; however, this remains to be tested. Detailed quantification of behaviour, performance and reproductive characteristics must be performed to shed light on the evolution of sexual dimorphism in this widely distributed species in Mexico.
AB - Morphological adaptations of individuals are directly (or indirectly) determined by the environment. Depending on sex, these adaptations may vary in different ways, given that different selective forces may be operating on organisms. Here, we evaluate intraspecific morphological variation (size and shape) in two populations of Sceloporus grammicus that occur in different structural habitats (trees and rocks). No difference in overall body size was found between the two populations. However, strong differences were found in body shape; the tree population was characterized by having shorter hindlimb proportions than the rock population, which agrees with the theory of biomechanical models. Furthermore, our results show that this species is dimorphic in size and shape, both in sex and population effects. A review of the literature suggests that the large overall body size and relatively longer distal segments of males could be an advantage for defending their territory, and the observation that females had relatively longer head length may be related to trophic niche divergence; however, this remains to be tested. Detailed quantification of behaviour, performance and reproductive characteristics must be performed to shed light on the evolution of sexual dimorphism in this widely distributed species in Mexico.
KW - Between-sex differences
KW - Body proportions
KW - Ecological intersexual divergence
KW - Multivariate analysis of variance
KW - Sceloporus
KW - Sexual selection
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85102047766&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/BIOLINNEAN/BLAA069
DO - 10.1093/BIOLINNEAN/BLAA069
M3 - Artículo
AN - SCOPUS:85102047766
SN - 0024-4066
VL - 131
SP - 656
EP - 666
JO - Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
JF - Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
IS - 3
ER -