Geographic variation in body size of American mink ( Mustela vison ) / Variation géographique de la taille du corps chez le vison d'Amérique ( Mustela vison )

Mammalia ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 70 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard T. Stevens ◽  
Michael L. Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
American Mink ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Mustela Vison ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Geographic Proximity ◽  
Multivariate Statistical ◽  
Components Analysis ◽  
Individual Variables ◽  
Variation Géographique

AbstractSpatial variation in 26 morphological characters of American mink ( Mustela vison ) from 35 localities in North America was investigated using univariate and multivariate statistical analyses. Localities were chosen based on watersheds, and it was hypothesized that high levels of gene flow in minks would prevent partitioning of body size variation within watersheds. All 26 characters in males and 25 of 26 in females exhibited significant interlocality variation. The patterns of variation in body size resulting from principal components analysis indicated that, for both sexes, minks were largest in Alaska, Manitoba, and Alberta; smallest minks were found in Florida and Quebec. There did not appear to be a relationship between body size and geographic proximity. Environmental factors collectively were found to be related to body size, although individual variables were not typically significant. Of 16 environmental variables examined, only longitude was correlated with body size in both sexes, with largest minks in the west and smallest in the east. Latitude was also correlated with body size in females. It was concluded that variation in body size of mink was likely the result of more than one factor that includes both biotic and abiotic features.

Geographic variation in body size of American mink ( Mustela vison ) / Variation géographique de la taille du corps chez le vison d'Amérique ( Mustela vison )

Mammalia ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 70 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard T. Stevens ◽  
Michael L. Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
American Mink ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Mustela Vison ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Geographic Proximity ◽  
Multivariate Statistical ◽  
Components Analysis ◽  
Individual Variables ◽  
Variation Géographique

AbstractSpatial variation in 26 morphological characters of American mink ( Mustela vison ) from 35 localities in North America was investigated using univariate and multivariate statistical analyses. Localities were chosen based on watersheds, and it was hypothesized that high levels of gene flow in minks would prevent partitioning of body size variation within watersheds. All 26 characters in males and 25 of 26 in females exhibited significant interlocality variation. The patterns of variation in body size resulting from principal components analysis indicated that, for both sexes, minks were largest in Alaska, Manitoba, and Alberta; smallest minks were found in Florida and Quebec. There did not appear to be a relationship between body size and geographic proximity. Environmental factors collectively were found to be related to body size, although individual variables were not typically significant. Of 16 environmental variables examined, only longitude was correlated with body size in both sexes, with largest minks in the west and smallest in the east. Latitude was also correlated with body size in females. It was concluded that variation in body size of mink was likely the result of more than one factor that includes both biotic and abiotic features.

scholarly journals Correcting for Body Size Variation in Morphometric Analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kin Onn Chan ◽  
Lee Grismer
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
R Package ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Relative Efficacy ◽  
Allometric Growth ◽  
Body Size Variation ◽  
Components Analysis ◽  
Size Correction ◽  
Negative Impacts

Using an allometric growth model to correct for body size variation has been known for many decades to be superior to several other widely used methods such as ratios, analysis of covariance, principal components analysis, and residual analysis. However, this technique remains relatively obscure and rarely applied. We optimize the implementation of this method through a newly developed and easy-to-use R package GroupStruct and use empirical datasets to test its relative efficacy compared to several commonly used methods. Our results demonstrate the superiority of the allometric method and highlights the negative impacts of applying improper body size correction methods.

scholarly journals Independent evolution towards larger body size in the distinctive Faroe Island mice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo Wilches ◽  
William H Beluch ◽  
Ellen McConnell ◽  
Diethard Tautz ◽  
Yingguang Frank Chan
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Small Body ◽  
Laboratory Mouse ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Island Population ◽  
Multiple Loci

Abstract Most phenotypic traits in nature involve the collective action of many genes. Traits that evolve repeatedly are particularly useful for understanding how selection may act on changing trait values. In mice, large body size has evolved repeatedly on islands and under artificial selection in the laboratory. Identifying the loci and genes involved in this process may shed light on the evolution of complex, polygenic traits. Here, we have mapped the genetic basis of body size variation by making a genetic cross between mice from the Faroe Islands, which are among the largest and most distinctive natural populations of mice in the world, and a laboratory mouse strain selected for small body size, SM/J. Using this F2 intercross of 841 animals, we have identified 111 loci controlling various aspects of body size, weight and growth hormone levels. By comparing against other studies, including the use of a joint meta-analysis, we found that the loci involved in the evolution of large size in the Faroese mice were largely independent from those of a different island population or other laboratory strains. We hypothesize that colonization bottleneck, historical hybridization, or the redundancy between multiple loci have resulted in the Faroese mice achieving an outwardly similar phenotype through a distinct evolutionary path.

scholarly journals Mammalian body size is determined by interactions between climate, urbanization, and ecological traits

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maggie M. Hantak ◽  
Bryan S. McLean ◽  
Daijiang Li ◽  
Robert P. Guralnick
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Resource Availability ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Species Traits ◽  
Body Size Variation ◽  
Resource Availability Hypothesis ◽  
Urban Heat ◽  
Thermal Buffering

AbstractAnthropogenically-driven climate warming is a hypothesized driver of animal body size reductions. Less understood are effects of other human-caused disturbances on body size, such as urbanization. We compiled 140,499 body size records of over 100 North American mammals to test how climate and human population density, a proxy for urbanization, and their interactions with species traits, impact body size. We tested three hypotheses of body size variation across urbanization gradients: urban heat island effects, habitat fragmentation, and resource availability. Our results demonstrate that both urbanization and temperature influence mammalian body size variation, most often leading to larger individuals, thus supporting the resource availability hypothesis. In addition, life history and other ecological factors play a critical role in mediating the effects of climate and urbanization on body size. Larger mammals and species that utilize thermal buffering are more sensitive to warmer temperatures, while flexibility in activity time appears to be advantageous in urbanized areas. This work highlights the value of using digitized, natural history data to track how human disturbance drives morphological variation.

Distribution of proazulenes in Achillea millefolium s.l. wild populations in relation to phytosociological dependence and morphological characters

2005 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolita Radušiene ◽  
Odeta Gudaityte
Keyword(s):  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Hierarchical Cluster ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Rapid Identification ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Achillea Millefolium ◽  
Wild Populations ◽  
Multivariate Statistical ◽  
Morphological Marker ◽  
Node Number

Millefolii herba is one of the oldest and most important drugs in Lithuania, used both in folk and official medicine. The raw material is usually gathered from spontaneous populations. It would be reasonable to develop methods to identify the populations which produce high plant biomass and accumulate high levels of proazulenes. The quantitative variation of proazulenes and their relationships with phytosociological dependence and morphological characters of Achillea millefolium from wild populations has been examined. The vegetation records were made at 140 growing sites of A. millefolium. The species was found in 29 types of community representing different growing habitats. The resources of milfoils prevailed in dry grasslands of Arrhenatheretalia communities and ruderal habitats of Dauco-Meliliotion. The data on productivity and morphological characters were subjected to multivariate statistical analysis. A hierarchical cluster analysis indicated that higher productivity of A. millefolium populations was associated with their dependence on ruderal and segetal communities. The testing of A. millefolium plants revealed high variation for proazulenes in different communities. The proazulene-containing plants have been identified in 38% of all analysed cases. In the highest segetal and wasteland communities of Agropyretalia repentis, Sisybietalia, Digitario-Setarion, Aperion spicae-venti, Senecion fluviatilis only proazulene-free plants were found. Results of the ANOVA showed the proazulene-containing and proazulene-free plants significantly differed (P<0.05) for width of leaves and number of nodes. The presence of nodes in high number and narrow leaves in high proazulene-containing plants distinctly marked them from the proazulene-free plants. The study raised the possibility that selection based on the two morphological marker traits (node number and leaf width) and proazulene distribution in the populations would be effective for rapid identification of highly productive population(s) of pharmaceutical importance.

Chromosome localization of the genes for ENO1, HK1, ADK, ACP2, MPI, ITPA, ACON1 and ?-GAL in the American mink (Mustela vison)

1983 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. A. Gradov ◽  
N. B. Rubtsov ◽  
A. G. Shilov ◽  
M. N. Bochkarev ◽  
O. L. Serov
Keyword(s):  
American Mink ◽  
Mustela Vison ◽  
Chromosome Localization

Immunocytological analysis of meiotic recombination in the American mink (Mustela vison)

2009 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. M. Borodin ◽  
E. A. Basheva ◽  
A. I. Zhelezova
Keyword(s):  
Meiotic Recombination ◽  
American Mink ◽  
Mustela Vison

scholarly journals Have Patagonian waterfowl been affected by the introduction of the American mink Mustela vison?

Oryx ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 43 (04) ◽  
pp. 648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salvador J. Peris ◽  
Javier Sanguinetti ◽  
Moisés Pescador
Keyword(s):  
American Mink ◽  
Mustela Vison

scholarly journals Intraspecific Variation in Maximum Ingested Food Size and Body Mass in Varecia rubra and Propithecus coquereli

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Hartstone-Rose ◽  
Jonathan M. G. Perry
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Individual Variation ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Maximum Size ◽  
Least Squares Regression ◽  
Scaling Relationship ◽  
Varecia Rubra ◽  
Food Size ◽  
The Relationship

In a recent study, we quantified the scaling of ingested food size (Vb )—the maximum size at which an animal consistently ingests food whole—and found that Vb scaled isometrically between species of captive strepsirrhines. The current study examines the relationship between Vb and body size within species with a focus on the frugivorous Varecia rubra and the folivorous Propithecus coquereli. We found no overlap in Vb between the species (all V. rubra ingested larger pieces of food relative to those eaten by P. coquereli), and least-squares regression of Vb and three different measures of body mass showed no scaling relationship within each species. We believe that this lack of relationship results from the relatively narrow intraspecific body size variation and seemingly patternless individual variation in Vb within species and take this study as further evidence that general scaling questions are best examined interspecifically rather than intraspecifically.

scholarly journals The role of local versus biogeographical processes in influencing diversity and body‐size variation in mammal assemblages

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 1447-1456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiz Carlos S. Lopez ◽  
Marcos S. L. Figueiredo ◽  
Maria Paula de Aguiar Fracasso ◽  
Daniel Oliveira Mesquita ◽  
Ulisses Umbelino Anjos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Body Size Variation ◽  
Mammal Assemblages
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