Sexual dimorphism in lizard body shape: the roles of sexual selection and fecundity selection |
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Authors: | Olsson Mats Shine Richard Wapstra Erik Uivari Beata Madsen Thomas |
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Affiliation: | The University of Sydney, School of Biological Sciences, Heydon-Laurence Building AO8, Sydney, New South Wales, 2006 Australia;The University of Gothenburg, Department of Zoology, Division of Animal Ecology, Medicinaregatan 18, SE 413 90 Gothenburg, Sweden;School of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, 2109 Australia;Molecular Population Biology Laboratory, Department of Animal Ecology, Lund University, S-223 62 Lund, Sweden |
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Abstract: | Sexual dimorphism is widespread in lizards, with the most consistently dimorphic traits being head size (males have larger heads) and trunk length (the distance between the front and hind legs is greater in females). These dimorphisms have generally been interpreted as follows: (1) large heads in males evolve through male-male rivalry (sexual selection); and (2) larger interlimb lengths in females provide space for more eggs (fecundity selection). In an Australian lizard (the snow skink, Niveoscincus microlepidotus), we found no evidence for ongoing selection on head size. Trunk length, however, was under positive fecundity selection in females and under negative sexual selection in males. Thus, fecundity selection and sexual selection work in concert to drive the evolution of sexual dimorphism in trunk length in snow skinks. |
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Keywords: | Fecundity selection lizards sexual dimorphism sexual selection |
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