Bergmann's rule: a biophysiological rule examined in birds

Salewski, Volker; Watt, Cortney A.

doi:10.1111/oik.03698

Cited by 109 publications

(132 citation statements)

References 79 publications

(181 reference statements)

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“…L. atenuata shows the same clines for lengths, but not SA:V, so it follows Allen's rule but would not fullfill Salewski and Watt's (2017) interpretation of Bergmann's rule. C. gallica showed weak but not significant Bergmann clines but no response to the environmental factors, while P. hispanica showed no geographic clines but strong enivronmental responses that would otherwise lead to a Bergmann cline.…”

Section: Bergmann's Allen's and Temperature-size Rules In European mentioning

confidence: 77%

“…Both rules hold well in mammals and birds and can be considered valid ecological generalizations in these endothermic groups (Meiri and Dayan, 2003;Purvis and Orme, 2005;Salewski and Watt, 2017). In ectotherms, however, heat is not generated but absorbed from the external environment (Ray, 1960).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…We estimated surface area (SA, square mm), volume (V, cubic mm), and thoracic circumference (ThC, mm) using BL and the mean of MT and WT with the formulae for these metrics for a cylinder (see also Zeuss et al, 2017). While most Bergmann assays historically only use linear measurements, the use of SA and V allows for the most direct testing of Bergmann's rule via the SA:V ratio's cline over latitude (Salewski and Watt, 2017).…”

Section: Species and Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to the most recent and most thorough critical translation of the original German manuscript (Salewski and Watt, 2017), the rule states that, all else equal, "within species and amongst closely related species of homeothermic animals [those that maintain a constant internal body temperature] a larger size is often achieved in colder climates than in warmer ones, which is linked to the temperature budget of these animals." Bergmann assumed that an animal's surface area determines its rate of heat dissipation, and its volume determines its heat production, meaning the surface-area-tovolume ratio (SA:V) represents its thermoregulatory ability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Must they inherently imply a causative mechanism, and must that always be temperature regulation? (Mayr, 1956;Ray, 1960;Watt et al, 2010;Meiri, 2011;Olalla-Tárraga, 2011) The nuances of Bergmann's rule are particularly highly debated due to the lack of complete English translations of Bergmann's original manuscript (Salewski and Watt, 2017). In addition to thermoregulation, other explanations for Bergmann-type clines include differential dispersal rates, starvation resistances, resource availability, precipitation, primary plant productivity, habitat diversity, seasonality, genetics, and chance (Geist, 1987;Partridge and Coyne, 1997;Blackburn et al, 1999;Meiri et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bergmann's and Allen's Rules in Native European and Mediterranean Phasmatodea

Shelomi

Zeuss

2017

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Bergmann's rule states that organisms at higher latitudes should be larger and thicker than those closer to the equator to better conserve heat, and Allen's rule states that they will have shorter and thicker limbs at higher latitudes. Alternative explanations for latitudinal size clines include plant productivity and seasonality. The rules generally hold in endotherms, but in insects different species within the same genus can respond to latitude in unpredictable ways. We present the first biogeographical analysis of these rules in stick insects (order Phasmatodea), using four European species. Their long and thin bauplan makes the Phasmatodea ideal for ecomorphological studies of body length, which could identify the evolutionary drivers of their remarkable size range (including the world's longest insects). Using preserved specimens from collections across Europe; body segment and limb measurements were taken for both genders of the species Bacillus rossius, Clonopsis gallica, Leptynia attenuata, and Pijnackeria hispanica. Lengths and volumetric features were compared to latitude as well as annual mean temperature, net primary productivity, and annual growing degree days, using weighted linear regressions and ANOVA analyses. At lower latitudes/higher temperatures, B. rossius and L. attenuata had longer limbs [Allen clines] and were larger bodied and/or longer [converse-Bergmann clines], while the other species did not show latitudinal clines per se. This matches what was predicted based on closely related insects and the presence of large Phasmatodea in the tropics, but violates the temperature-size rule. Most variation in size could be attributed to temperature, but untested factors could also play a role Whether these ecogeographic rules hold true for tropical Phasmatodea and whether genetics or environment play are more important in determining adult length are topics for future research.

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Section: Bergmann's Allen's and Temperature-size Rules In European mentioning

confidence: 77%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Species and Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bergmann's and Allen's Rules in Native European and Mediterranean Phasmatodea

Shelomi

Zeuss

2017

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Size reduction and skull shape parallelism following the evolutionary forest‐to‐savanna transition in Platyrrhini monkeys

Cáceres

Cerezer

Bubadué

2022

American J Primatol

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There are strong physiological and behavioral differences that allow animals to live in forests versus savannas. For example, terrestrial forest-dwelling mammals tend to be small compared to species living in savannas. Robust capuchin monkeys (genus Sapajus) are widespread in tropical South America, occurring in both forest and savanna environments, with forest species considered basal in an evolutionary context. Whether or not skull shape and size variations are associated with variation

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Morphological variability or inter‐observer bias? A methodological toolkit to improve data quality of multi‐researcher datasets for the analysis of morphological variation

Schüßler,

Blanco,

Guthrie

et al. 2023

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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ObjectivesThe investigation of morphological variation in animals is widely used in taxonomy, ecology, and evolution. Using large datasets for meta‐analyses has dramatically increased, raising concerns about dataset compatibilities and biases introduced by contributions of multiple researchers.Materials and MethodsWe compiled morphological data on 13 variables for 3073 individual mouse lemurs (Cheirogaleidae, Microcebus spp.) from 25 taxa and 153 different sampling locations, measured by 48 different researchers. We introduced and applied a filtering pipeline and quantified improvements in data quality (Shapiro‐Francia statistic, skewness, and excess kurtosis). The filtered dataset was then used to test for genus‐wide sexual size dimorphism and the applicability of Rensch's, Allen's, and Bergmann's rules.ResultsOur pipeline reduced inter‐observer bias (i.e., increased normality of data distributions). Inter‐observer reliability of measurements was notably variable, highlighting the need to reduce data collection biases. Although subtle, we found a consistent pattern of sexual size dimorphism across Microcebus, with females being the larger (but not heavier) sex. Sexual size dimorphism was isometric, providing no support for Rensch's rule. Variations in tail length but not in ear size were consistent with the predictions of Allen's rule. Body mass and length followed a pattern contrary to predictions of Bergmann's rule.DiscussionWe highlighted the usefulness of large multi‐researcher datasets for testing ecological hypotheses after correcting for inter‐observer biases. Using genus‐wide tests, we outlined generalizable patterns of morphological variability across all mouse lemurs. This new methodological toolkit aims to facilitate future large‐scale morphological comparisons for a wide range of taxa and applications.

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Bergmann's rule: a biophysiological rule examined in birds

Cited by 109 publications

References 79 publications

Bergmann's and Allen's Rules in Native European and Mediterranean Phasmatodea

Bergmann's and Allen's Rules in Native European and Mediterranean Phasmatodea

Size reduction and skull shape parallelism following the evolutionary forest‐to‐savanna transition in Platyrrhini monkeys

Morphological variability or inter‐observer bias? A methodological toolkit to improve data quality of multi‐researcher datasets for the analysis of morphological variation

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