Allometric relationships among body mass, MUZZLE-tail length, and tibia length during the growth of Wistar rats1

Abstract Phenotypic plasticity and local adaptation are viewed as the main factors that result in between-population variation in phenotypic traits, but contributions of these factors to phenotypic variation vary between traits and between species and have only been explored in a few species of reptiles. Here, we incubated eggs of the Chinese skink (Plestiodon chinensis) from 7 geographically separated populations in Southeast China at 3 constant temperatures (24, 28, and 32 °C) to evaluate the combined effects of clutch origin, source population, and incubation temperature on hatchling traits. The relative importance of these factors varied between traits. Nearly all examined hatchling traits, including body mass, snout–vent length (SVL), tail length, head size, limb length, tympanum diameter, and locomotor speed, varied among populations and were affected by incubation temperature. Measures for hatchling size (body mass and SVL) varied considerably among clutches. Source population explained much of the variation in hatchling body mass, whereas incubation temperature explained much of the variation in other examined traits. Our results indicate that between-population variation in hatchling traits of P. chinensis likely reflects the difference in natural incubation conditions and genetic divergence.

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Macroecological analyses support an overkill scenario for late Pleistocene extinctions

Brazilian Journal of Biology ◽

10.1590/s1519-69842004000300005 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 64 (3a) ◽

pp. 407-414 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

J. A. F. Diniz-Filho

Keyword(s):

Body Mass ◽

Population Dynamic ◽

High Selectivity ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Dynamic Parameters ◽

Allometric Relationships ◽

Ecological Data ◽

Predator Prey ◽

A Value ◽

Complex Models

The extinction of megafauna at the end of Pleistocene has been traditionally explained by environmental changes or overexploitation by human hunting (overkill). Despite difficulties in choosing between these alternative (and not mutually exclusive) scenarios, the plausibility of the overkill hypothesis can be established by ecological models of predator-prey interactions. In this paper, I have developed a macroecological model for the overkill hypothesis, in which prey population dynamic parameters, including abundance, geographic extent, and food supply for hunters, were derived from empirical allometric relationships with body mass. The last output correctly predicts the final destiny (survival or extinction) for 73% of the species considered, a value only slightly smaller than those obtained by more complex models based on detailed archaeological and ecological data for each species. This illustrates the high selectivity of Pleistocene extinction in relation to body mass and confers more plausibility on the overkill scenario.

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Exploratory analyses of migration timing and morphometrics of the Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca)

Ornis Hungarica ◽

10.1515/orhu-2016-0019 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

pp. 109-126 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Andrea Harnos ◽

Péter Fehérvári ◽

Imre Sándor Piross ◽

Zsolt Karcza ◽

Nóra Ágh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Mass ◽

Tail Length ◽

Descriptive Statistics ◽

Cumulative Distribution ◽

Pied Flycatcher ◽

Comprehensive Overview ◽

Migration Timing ◽

Arrival Dates ◽

Annual Means ◽

Fat Score

Abstract Ornithological studies often rely on large temporal scale ringing datasets as source of information. However, basic descriptive statistics of collected data are rarely provided. In order to fill this gap, here we present the first item of a series of exploratory analyses of migration timing and body size measurements of the most frequent Passerine species at a ringing station located in Central Hungary (1984–2015). First, we give a concise description of foreign ring recoveries of the Pied Flycatcher in relation to Hungary. We then shift focus to data of 2860 individuals deriving from the ringing station, where birds have been trapped, handled and ringed with standardized methodology since 1984. Timing is described through annual and daily capture and recapture frequencies and their descriptive statistics. We show annual mean arrival dates within the study period and we present the cumulative distribution of first captures with stopover durations. We present the distributions of wing, third primary, tail length and body mass, and the annual means of these variables. Furthermore, we show the distribution of individual fat and muscle scores, and the distribution of body mass within each fat score category. We distinguish migration periods (spring and autumn), age (i.e. juveniles and adults) and sex groups. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of the analysed variables. However, we do not aim to interpret the obtained results, merely draw attention to interesting patterns, that may be worth exploring in detail. Data used here are available upon request for further analyses.

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Exploratory analyses of migration timing and morphometrics of the Thrush Nightingale (Luscinia luscinia)

Ornis Hungarica ◽

10.1515/orhu-2018-0010 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 149-170

Author(s):

Tibor Csörgő ◽

Péter Fehérvári ◽

Zsolt Karcza ◽

Péter Ócsai ◽

Andrea Harnos

Keyword(s):

Body Mass ◽

Age Groups ◽

Tail Length ◽

Descriptive Statistics ◽

Data Sets ◽

Sources Of Information ◽

Comprehensive Overview ◽

Migration Timing ◽

Annual Means ◽

Thrush Nightingale

Abstract Ornithological studies often rely on long-term bird ringing data sets as sources of information. However, basic descriptive statistics of raw data are rarely provided. In order to fill this gap, here we present the seventh item of a series of exploratory analyses of migration timing and body size measurements of the most frequent Passerine species at a ringing station located in Central Hungary (1984–2017). First, we give a concise description of foreign ring recoveries of the Thrush Nightingale in relation to Hungary. We then shift focus to data of 1138 ringed and 547 recaptured individuals with 1557 recaptures (several years recaptures in 76 individuals) derived from the ringing station, where birds have been trapped, handled and ringed with standardized methodology since 1984. Timing is described through annual and daily capture and recapture frequencies and their descriptive statistics. We show annual mean arrival dates within the study period and present the cumulative distributions of first captures with stopover durations. We present the distributions of wing, third primary, tail length and body mass, and the annual means of these variables. Furthermore, we show the distributions of individual fat and muscle scores, and the distributions of body mass within each fat score category. We present data only for the autumn migratory period since there were only 27 spring captures in the study period. We distinguish the age groups (i.e. juveniles and adults) in the analyses. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of the analysed variables. However, we do not aim to interpret the obtained results, merely to draw attention to interesting patterns that may be worth exploring in detail. Data used here are available upon request for further analyses.

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Can snakes use yolk reserves to maximize body size at hatching?

Current Zoology ◽

10.1093/cz/zoy098 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 65 (6) ◽

pp. 627-631 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yan-Fu Qu ◽

Shu-Zhan Zhao ◽

Xu-Fei Jiang ◽

Long-Hui Lin ◽

Xiang Ji

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

Body Mass ◽

Tail Length ◽

Linear Size ◽

Egg Mass ◽

Fat Bodies ◽

Free Body ◽

Species Specific ◽

Naja Atra

Abstract We experimentally miniaturized freshly laid eggs of the Chinese cobra Naja atra (Elapidae) by removing ∼10% and ∼20% of original yolk. We tested if yolk-reduced eggs would produce 1) normal-sized hatchlings with invariant yolk-free body mass (and thus invariant linear size) but dramatically reduced or even completely depleted residual yolk, 2) smaller hatchlings with normal-sized residual yolk but reduced yolk-free body mass, or 3) smaller hatchlings of which both yolk-free body mass and residual yolk are proportionally reduced. Yolk quantity affected hatchling linear size (both snout-vent length and tail length) and body mass. However, changes in yolk quantity did not affect incubation length or any hatchling trait examined after accounting for egg mass at laying (for control and sham-manipulated eggs) or after yolk removal (for manipulated eggs). Specifically, yolk-reduced eggs produced hatchlings of which all major components (carcass, residual yolk, and fat bodies) were scaled down proportionally. We show that snakes cannot use yolk reserves to maximize their body size at hatching. Furthermore, our data also suggest that the partitioning of yolk in embryonic snakes is species-specific.

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Exploratory analyses ofmigration timing andmorphometrics of the European Robin (Erithacus rubecula)

Ornis Hungarica ◽

10.1515/orhu-2018-0009 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 124-148 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Andrea Harnos ◽

Nóra Ágh ◽

Péter Fehérvári ◽

Zsolt Karcza ◽

Péter Ócsai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Mass ◽

Age Groups ◽

Tail Length ◽

Descriptive Statistics ◽

Data Sets ◽

Sources Of Information ◽

Comprehensive Overview ◽

European Robin ◽

Migration Timing ◽

Annual Means

Abstract Ornithological studies often rely on long-term bird ringing data sets as sources of information. However, basic descriptive statistics of raw data are rarely provided. In order to fill this gap, here we present the sixth item of a series of exploratory analyses of migration timing and body size measurements of the most frequent passerine species at a ringing station located in Central Hungary (1984–2017). First, we give a concise description of foreign ring recoveries of the European Robin in relation to Hungary. We then shift focus to data of 40,128 ringed and 11,231 recaptured individuals with 24,056 recaptures (several years recaptures in 313 individuals) derived from the ringing station, where birds have been trapped, handled and ringed with standardized methodology since 1984. Timing is described through annual and daily capture and recapture frequencies and their descriptive statistics. We show annual mean arrival dates within the study period and present the cumulative distributions of first captures with stopover durations. We present the distributions of wing, third primary, tail length and body mass, and the annual means of these variables. Furthermore, we show the distributions of individual fat and muscle scores, and the distributions of body mass within each fat score category.We distinguish the spring and autumn migratory periods and age groups (i.e. juveniles and adults). Our aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of the analysed variables. However, we do not aim to interpret the obtained results, merely to draw attention to interesting patterns that may be worth exploring in detail. Data used here are available upon request for further analyses.

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Exploratory analyses of migration timing and morphometrics of the Common Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos)

Ornis Hungarica ◽

10.1515/orhu-2017-0019 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 116-140

Author(s):

Tibor Csörgő ◽

Péter Fehérvári ◽

Zsolt Karcza ◽

Andrea Harnos

Keyword(s):

Body Mass ◽

Age Groups ◽

Tail Length ◽

Descriptive Statistics ◽

Data Sets ◽

Sources Of Information ◽

Comprehensive Overview ◽

Migration Timing ◽

The Common ◽

Annual Means

AbstractOrnithological studies often rely on long-term bird ringing data sets as sources of information. However, basic descriptive statistics of raw data are rarely provided. In order to fill this gap, here we present the fifth item of a series of exploratory analyses of migration timing and body size measurements of the most frequent Passerine species at a ringing station located in Central Hungary (1984–2016). First, we give a concise description of foreign ring recoveries of the Common Nightingale in relation to Hungary. We then shift focus to data of 3892 ringed and 1499 recaptured individuals derived from the ringing station, where birds have been trapped, handled and ringed with standardized methodology since 1984. Timing is described through annual and daily capture and recapture frequencies and their descriptive statistics. We show annual mean arrival dates within the study period and present the cumulative distributions of first captures with stopover durations. We present the distributions of wing, third primary, tail length and body mass, and the annual means of these variables. Furthermore, we show the distributions of individual fat and muscle scores, and the distributions of body mass within each fat score category. We distinguish the spring and autumn migratory periods and breeding season and age groups (i.e. juveniles and adults). Our aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of the analysed variables. However, we do not aim to interpret the obtained results, merely to draw attention to interesting patterns that may be worth exploring in detail. Data used here are available upon request for further analyses.

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Electrocardiographic Scaling Reveals Differences in Electrocardiogram Interval Durations Between Marine and Terrestrial Mammals

Frontiers in Physiology ◽

10.3389/fphys.2021.690029 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Rhea L. Storlund ◽

David A. S. Rosen ◽

Andrew W. Trites

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Body Mass ◽

Marine Mammals ◽

Physiological State ◽

P Wave ◽

Breath Hold ◽

Allometric Relationships ◽

Heart Rates ◽

Terrestrial Mammals ◽

Qt Intervals

Although the ability of marine mammals to lower heart rates for extended periods when diving is well documented, it is unclear whether marine mammals have electrophysiological adaptations that extend beyond overall bradycardia. We analyzed electrocardiographic data from 50 species of terrestrial mammals and 19 species of marine mammals to determine whether the electrical activity of the heart differs between these two groups of mammals. We also tested whether physiological state (i.e., anesthetized or conscious) affects electrocardiogram (ECG) parameters. Analyses of ECG waveform morphology (heart rate, P-wave duration, and PQ, PR, QRS, and QT intervals) revealed allometric relationships between body mass and all ECG intervals (as well as heart rate) for both groups of mammals and specific differences in ECG parameters between marine mammals and their terrestrial counterparts. Model outputs indicated that marine mammals had 19% longer P-waves, 24% longer QRS intervals, and 21% shorter QT intervals. In other words, marine mammals had slower atrial and ventricular depolarization, and faster ventricular repolarization than terrestrial mammals. Heart rates and PR intervals were not significantly different between marine and terrestrial mammals, and physiological state did not significantly affect any ECG parameter. On average, ECG interval durations of marine and terrestrial mammals scaled with body mass to the power of 0.21 (range: 0.19–0.23) rather than the expected 0.25—while heart rate scaled with body mass to the power of –0.22 and was greater than the widely accepted –0.25 derived from fractal geometry. Our findings show clear differences between the hearts of terrestrial and marine mammals in terms of cardiac timing that extend beyond diving bradycardia. They also highlight the importance of considering special adaptations (such as breath-hold diving) when analyzing allometric relationships.

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Do Nectar- and Fruit-Eating Birds Have Lower Nitrogen Requirements Than Omnivores? an Allometric Test

The Auk ◽

10.1093/auk/123.4.1004 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 123 (4) ◽

pp. 1004-1012 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ella Tsahar ◽

Zeev Arad ◽

Ido Izhaki ◽

Carlos Martínez del Rio

Keyword(s):

Body Mass ◽

Nitrogen Loss ◽

Interspecific Variation ◽

Allometric Relationships ◽

Frugivorous Birds ◽

Two Parameters ◽

Low Nitrogen

Abstract We used an allometric approach to compare the minimum nitrogen requirements (MNR) and the total endogenous nitrogen loss (TENL) of nectar- and fruit-eating birds with those of omnivorous birds. These two parameters were 4× higher in omnivores than in nectarivores and frugivores. In nectarivorous-frugivorous birds, MNR was 152.8 mg N kg−0.76 day−1; in omnivorous birds, it was 575.4 mg N kg−0.76 day−1. Similarly, TENL was 54.1 mg N kg−0.69 day−1 in nectarivores-frugivores, and 215.3 mg N kg−0.69 day−1 in omnivores. The residuals of the allometric relationships between TENL and MNR and body mass were positively correlated, which suggests that a large proportion of the interspecific variation in MNR is explained by variation in TENL. Although our results show that nectar- and fruit-eating birds have low nitrogen requirements, the mechanisms that these animals use to conserve nitrogen remain unclear. ¿Tienen las Aves Nectrarívoras y Frugívoras Requerimientos de Nitrógeno Menores que las Omnívoras? Una Prueba Alométrica

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Population structure, body mass, activity, and orientation of an aquatic snake (Seminatrix pygaea) during a drought

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z93-177 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 71 (7) ◽

pp. 1281-1288 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

C. Kenneth Dodd Jr.

Keyword(s):

Body Mass ◽

Tail Length ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Pitfall Trap ◽

Temporary Ponds ◽

Temporary Pond ◽

Central Florida ◽

Sampling Regime ◽

Large Water ◽

Seminatrix Pygaea

The snout – vent length, tail length, weight, sex, activity, and orientation of a population of swamp snakes (Seminatrix pygaea) in north – central Florida were recorded from 1985 through 1990. A small temporary pond was monitored for 1343 days, using a drift fence – pitfall trap sampling regime. I captured 123 different snakes, plus 45 recaptures. Juveniles comprised 89% of the snakes at the pond. Females were generally longer and weighed more than males, although regression analysis showed no differences between the sexes in the relationship of length versus wet body mass. Males had longer tails than females. The sex ratio of snakes with a snout – vent length of more than 150 mm was 1:1. Activity occurred throughout the year but peaked during summer. Hydroperiod and weather conditions did not appear to influence snake activity. During the latter years of the study, a regional drought that began in the mid-1980s became quite severe. However, drought had little direct effect on overland migration or body condition but caused snakes to leave or to shorten the amount of time they spent within the pond basin. Snakes immigrated and emigrated nonrandomly; orientation was directed to and from the nearest large water body. Certain temporary ponds may comprise developmental habitat for Seminatrix pygaea. The dynamic wet – dry climatic cycles in southeastern North America may lead to the formation of metapopulations in some aquatic snakes.

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