Body size and craniometry of the herb field mouse from Lithuania in the context of species range

Balčiauskas, Linas; Balčiauskienė, Laima; Juškaitis, Rimvydas

doi:10.2478/s11756-018-0043-4

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 18 publications

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“…Analysing the relationship between rodent, including some root vole sub-species, body weight and their cranial or body traits has been a widely used approach in order to estimate body weight and biomass of mammals consumed by predators [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]. Borowski et al [ 25 ] investigated the relationships between the biometrics of cranial traits and the body weight of Alexandromys oeconomus stimmingi , while Balčiauskas and Balčiauskiené [ 27 ] estimated body weight from 26 cranial and pelvic features of A. oeconomus stimmingi .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biometric Analysis of Cranial and Somatic Features in the Pannonian Root Vole

Baláž¹,

Tulis²,

Ševčík³

2021

Animals

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The Pannonian root vole Alexandromys oeconomus ssp. mehelyi represents a rare glacial relict, whose occurrence is nowadays bound to several areas in Europe. Four somatic and 25 craniological features were analysed, based on 355 measured specimens. Sex is a significant factor affecting the average value of all four somatic features, where all of them achieve higher values in males than in females. While body length and tail length were also affected by seasons, body weight and the length of the hind foot were stable features present across the seasons. In cranial features, the largest variability in the adult population is characterised by neurocranium breadth (LaN), total length of the cranial base (LB), and skull (LCr); whereas the smallest variability of the cranial dimensions is reflected in the values of the greatest palatal breadth (PS) and postorbital breadth (Io). Calculating the weight from cranial remains may be used to estimate the size of the prey and to determine vole biomass consumed by predators, such as raptors, highlighting the utility of studying feeding ecology.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biometric Analysis of Cranial and Somatic Features in the Pannonian Root Vole

Baláž¹,

Tulis²,

Ševčík³

2021

Animals

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Geographical clines in the size of the herb field mouse (Apodemus uralensis)

Balčiauskas

Amshokova

Balčiauskienė

et al. 2020

Integrative Zoology

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Patterns of body size variation along geographical gradients have long been searched for and generalized into eco‐geographical rules. However, no rodent species has yet been analyzed in relation to the 3 dimensions of latitude, longitude and altitude. We analyzed geographical clines and dimorphism of body and skull size in the herb field mouse (Apodemus uralensis) across the species range, based on field data and on data from the literature. Sexual dimorphism in adult A. uralensis was not expressed at a large scale, while local patterns were inconsistent. Age‐dependent size changes were most expressed in adult individuals: most characters of adults exceeded in size those of subadults, while subadult–juvenile size differences were only significant in body weight and length, zygomatic skull width, length of cranial diastema and breadth of braincase. Despite central morphological niches along the clines being separated, A. uralensis populations showed a high degree of size overlap in morphological space. We found the species to be characterized by high size variability, with the largest individuals inhabiting the eastern and southern edges of the distribution range. Tail, hind foot and ear lengths were largest in the southern part of the range, in agreement with Allen's rule. The main measurements that we analyzed, namely body mass, zygomatic skull width and condylobasal skull length, show the presence of 3 clines in the size of adult A. uralensis: (i) a decreasing south–north cline, opposing Bergmann's rule; (ii) an increasing west–east cline, in accordance with Murphy's rule; and (iii) an increasing altitudinal cline.

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Body size and craniometry of the herb field mouse from Lithuania in the context of species range

Cited by 2 publications

References 18 publications

Biometric Analysis of Cranial and Somatic Features in the Pannonian Root Vole

Biometric Analysis of Cranial and Somatic Features in the Pannonian Root Vole

Geographical clines in the size of the herb field mouse (Apodemus uralensis)

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