Growth overshoot and seasonal size changes in the skulls of two weasel species

LaPoint, Scott; Keicher, Lara; Wikelski, Martin; Zub, Karol; Dechmann, Dina K. N.

Growth overshoot and seasonal size changes in the skulls of two weasel species

Dateien

LaPoint_0-397906.pdfGröße: 1.38 MBDownloads: 329

Datum

2017

Autor:innen

Zub, Karol

Open Access-Veröffentlichung

Open Access Gold

Sammlungen

Biologie

Publikationstyp

Zeitschriftenartikel

Publikationsstatus

Published

Erschienen in

Royal Society Open Science. 2017, 4, 160947. eISSN 2054-5703. Available under: doi: 10.1098/rsos.160947

Zusammenfassung

Ontogenetic changes in mammalian skulls are complex. For a very few species (i.e. some Sorex shrews), these also include seasonally driven, bidirectional size changes within individuals, presumably to reduce energy requirements during low resource availabilities. These patterns are poorly understood, but are likely most pronounced in high-metabolic species with limited means for energy conservation. We used generalized additive models to quantify the effect of location, Julian day, age and sex on the length and depth of 512 and 847 skulls of stoat (Mustela erminea) and weasel (M. nivalis) specimens collected throughout the northern hemisphere. Skull length of both species varies between sexes and geographically, with stoat skull length positively correlated with latitude. Both species demonstrate seasonal and ontogenetic patterns, including a rare, absolute growth overshoot in juvenile braincase depth. Standardized braincase depths of both species peak in their first summer, then decrease in their first winter, followed by a remarkable regrowth that peaks again during their second summer. This seasonal pattern varies in magnitude and timing between geographical regions and the sexes, matching predictions of Dehnel's phenomenon. This suggests implications for the evolution of over-wintering strategies in mammals, justifying further research on their mechanisms and value, with implications for applied osteology research.

Fachgebiet (DDC)

570 Biowissenschaften, Biologie

Schlagwörter

body size, Dehnel’s phenomenon, morphology, Mustela, ontogeny, sexual dimorphism

Zitieren

ISO 690

LAPOINT, Scott, Lara KEICHER, Martin WIKELSKI, Karol ZUB, Dina K. N. DECHMANN, 2017. Growth overshoot and seasonal size changes in the skulls of two weasel species. In: Royal Society Open Science. 2017, 4, 160947. eISSN 2054-5703. Available under: doi: 10.1098/rsos.160947

BibTex

@article{LaPoint2017-01-25Growt-37970,
  year={2017},
  doi={10.1098/rsos.160947},
  title={Growth overshoot and seasonal size changes in the skulls of two weasel species},
  volume={4},
  journal={Royal Society Open Science},
  author={LaPoint, Scott and Keicher, Lara and Wikelski, Martin and Zub, Karol and Dechmann, Dina K. N.},
  note={Article Number: 160947}
}

RDF

<rdf:RDF
    xmlns:dcterms="http://purl.org/dc/terms/"
    xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
    xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"
    xmlns:bibo="http://purl.org/ontology/bibo/"
    xmlns:dspace="http://digital-repositories.org/ontologies/dspace/0.1.0#"
    xmlns:foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/"
    xmlns:void="http://rdfs.org/ns/void#"
    xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#" > 
  <rdf:Description rdf:about="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/server/rdf/resource/123456789/37970">
    <bibo:uri rdf:resource="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/handle/123456789/37970"/>
    <void:sparqlEndpoint rdf:resource="http://localhost/fuseki/dspace/sparql"/>
    <dcterms:issued>2017-01-25</dcterms:issued>
    <dcterms:rights rdf:resource="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"/>
    <dc:creator>Zub, Karol</dc:creator>
    <foaf:homepage rdf:resource="http://localhost:8080/"/>
    <dc:creator>Wikelski, Martin</dc:creator>
    <dcterms:isPartOf rdf:resource="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/server/rdf/resource/123456789/28"/>
    <dcterms:abstract xml:lang="eng">Ontogenetic changes in mammalian skulls are complex. For a very few species (i.e. some Sorex shrews), these also include seasonally driven, bidirectional size changes within individuals, presumably to reduce energy requirements during low resource availabilities. These patterns are poorly understood, but are likely most pronounced in high-metabolic species with limited means for energy conservation. We used generalized additive models to quantify the effect of location, Julian day, age and sex on the length and depth of 512 and 847 skulls of stoat (Mustela erminea) and weasel (M. nivalis) specimens collected throughout the northern hemisphere. Skull length of both species varies between sexes and geographically, with stoat skull length positively correlated with latitude. Both species demonstrate seasonal and ontogenetic patterns, including a rare, absolute growth overshoot in juvenile braincase depth. Standardized braincase depths of both species peak in their first summer, then decrease in their first winter, followed by a remarkable regrowth that peaks again during their second summer. This seasonal pattern varies in magnitude and timing between geographical regions and the sexes, matching predictions of Dehnel's phenomenon. This suggests implications for the evolution of over-wintering strategies in mammals, justifying further research on their mechanisms and value, with implications for applied osteology research.</dcterms:abstract>
    <dc:creator>Keicher, Lara</dc:creator>
    <dspace:isPartOfCollection rdf:resource="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/server/rdf/resource/123456789/28"/>
    <dc:creator>Dechmann, Dina K. N.</dc:creator>
    <dc:contributor>Keicher, Lara</dc:contributor>
    <dc:creator>LaPoint, Scott</dc:creator>
    <dc:rights>Attribution 4.0 International</dc:rights>
    <dc:contributor>Zub, Karol</dc:contributor>
    <dc:contributor>Wikelski, Martin</dc:contributor>
    <dc:contributor>Dechmann, Dina K. N.</dc:contributor>
    <dcterms:title>Growth overshoot and seasonal size changes in the skulls of two weasel species</dcterms:title>
    <dc:language>eng</dc:language>
    <dc:date rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime">2017-03-13T14:28:01Z</dc:date>
    <dcterms:hasPart rdf:resource="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/bitstream/123456789/37970/1/LaPoint_0-397906.pdf"/>
    <dspace:hasBitstream rdf:resource="https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/bitstream/123456789/37970/1/LaPoint_0-397906.pdf"/>
    <dcterms:available rdf:datatype="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime">2017-03-13T14:28:01Z</dcterms:available>
    <dc:contributor>LaPoint, Scott</dc:contributor>
  </rdf:Description>
</rdf:RDF>

Universitätsbibliographie

Ja