Evolutionary allometry reveals a shift in selection pressure on male horn size

Tidière, Morgane; Lemaître, Jean‐François; Pélabon, Christophe; Giménez, Olivier; Gaillard, Jean‐Michel

doi:10.1111/jeb.13142

Cited by 39 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 64 publications

(79 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, Lemaître et al (2014) reported a breakpoint in the evolutionary allometric slope of beam length at 100-120 kg of body mass, and suggested that this reflected an increased cost of producing and maintaining antlers in large species. A similar pattern has been reported in bovids (Tidière et al 2017) and stag beetles (Huxley 1932;Knell et al 2004). Based on our findings, an alternative explanation could be that the breakpoint results from a change in the scaling relationship with size.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Measuring Complex Morphological Traits with 3D Photogrammetry: A Case Study with Deer Antlers

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The increasing availability of 3D-imaging technology provides new opportunities for measuring morphology. Photogrammetry enables easy 3D-data acquisition compared to conventional methods and here we assess its accuracy for measuring the size of deer antlers, a complex morphological structure. Using a proprietary photogrammetry software, we generated 3D images of antlers for 92 individuals from 29 species of cervids that vary widely in antler size and shape and used these to measure antler volume. By repeating the process, we found that the relative error averaged 8.5% of object size. Errors in converting arbitrary voxel units into real volumetric units accounted for 70% of the measurement variance and can therefore be reduced by replicating the conversion. We applied the method to clay models of known volume and found no indication of bias. The estimation was robust against variation in imaging device, distance and operator, but approximately 40 images per specimen were necessary to achieve good precision. We used the method to show that conventional measures of main-beam length are relatively poor estimators of antler volume. Using loose antlers of known weight, we also showed that the volume may be a relatively poor predictor of antler weight due to variation in bone density across species. We conclude that photogrammetry can be an efficient and accurate tool for measuring antlers, and likely many other complex morphological traits.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Measuring Complex Morphological Traits with 3D Photogrammetry: A Case Study with Deer Antlers

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These differences in ontogenetic allometry generate a nonlinear evolutionary allometry similar to the one previously reported (Tidière et al, 2017). It is noteworthy that the evolutionary allometries in both sexes obtained with the current dataset are very similar to those reported by Tidière et al (2017)'s analysis performed on 91 and 54 species for males and females, respectively (Table and Figure 2).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

“…Antilopinae are represented in yellow, Bovinae in red, Caprinae in blue, and other species in gray. For comparison, the evolutionary allometry obtained in Tidière et al (2017) is reported (dotted line, Table )…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In larger species, such as the greater kudu ( Tragelaphus strepsiceros ), fighting behavior such as fencing or wrestling is generally associated with relatively thinner and straighter horns. Finally, mating system and the intensity of sexual selection that both influence the relative horn size in male bovids also covary with body size because sexual selection is more intense in large species that are predominantly polygynous or promiscuous such as bison than in small monogamous species such as duikers (Jarman, 1983; Pérez‐Barbería, Gordon, & Pagel, 2002; Tidière et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a recent study, Tidière, Lemaître, Pélabon, Gimenez, and Gaillard (2017) showed that the evolutionary allometry between horn length and body mass in male bovids is nonlinear, the allometric slope decreasing with an increase in body mass across species. This pattern was interpreted as evidence for a shift in the target of sexual selection in males, from horn length to body mass, when the species body mass increases.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Variation in the ontogenetic allometry of horn length in bovids along a body mass continuum

Tidière

Gaillard

Garel³

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Allometric relationships describe patterns of proportional covariation between morphological, physiological, or life-history traits and the size of the organisms among populations or species (evolutionary allometry), or within population, among individuals measured at similar (static allometry), or different (ontogenetic allometry) age or developmental stages. When expressed on a log-log scale, allometric relationships are often described by a linear regression: log(y) = a + b log(x) where y is the trait size; x the body size; and a and b the allometric intercept and slope, respectively (Huxley, 1932). Because population and species mean trait size and body size used to estimate evolutionary allometry result from the proportional growth of both traits, patterns of evolutionary allometry emerge from variation in ontogenetic allometry (Abstract Allometric relationships describe the proportional covariation between morphological, physiological, or life-history traits and the size of the organisms. Evolutionary allometries estimated among species are expected to result from species differences in ontogenetic allometry, but it remains uncertain whether ontogenetic allometric parameters and particularly the ontogenetic slope can evolve. In bovids, the nonlinear evolutionary allometry between horn length and body mass in males suggests systematic changes in ontogenetic allometry with increasing species body mass. To test this hypothesis, we estimated ontogenetic allometry between horn length and body mass in males and females of 19 bovid species ranging from ca. 5 to 700 kg.Ontogenetic allometry changed systematically with species body mass from steep ontogenetic allometries over a short period of horn growth in small species to shallow allometry with the growth period of horns matching the period of body mass increase in the largest species. Intermediate species displayed steep allometry over long period of horn growth. Females tended to display shallower ontogenetic allometry with longer horn growth compared to males, but these differences were weak and highly variable. These findings show that ontogenetic allometric slope evolved across species possibly as a response to size-related changes in the selection pressures acting on horn length and body mass. K E Y W O R D S comparative analysis, development, ornament, sexual selection, ungulates, weapons | 4105 TIDIÈRE ET al.

show abstract

Positive allometry of sexually selected traits: Do metabolic maintenance costs play an important role?

Somjee

2021

BioEssays

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sexual selection drives the evolution of some of the most exaggerated traits in nature.Studies on sexual selection often focus on the size of these traits relative to body size, but few focus on energetic maintenance costs of the tissues that compose them, and the ways in which these costs vary with body size. The relationships between energy use and body size have consequences that may allow large individuals to invest disproportionally more in sexually selected structures, or lead to the reduced per-gram maintenance cost of enlarged structures. Although sexually selected traits can incur energetic maintenance costs, these costs are not universally high; they are dependent on the relative mass and metabolic activity of tissues associated with them. Energetic costs of maintenance may play a pervasive yet little-explored role in shaping the relative scaling of sexually selected traits across diverse taxa. Also see the video abstract here: https://youtu.be/JyuoQIeA33Q

show abstract

Evolutionary allometry reveals a shift in selection pressure on male horn size

Cited by 39 publications

References 64 publications

Measuring Complex Morphological Traits with 3D Photogrammetry: A Case Study with Deer Antlers

Measuring Complex Morphological Traits with 3D Photogrammetry: A Case Study with Deer Antlers

Variation in the ontogenetic allometry of horn length in bovids along a body mass continuum

Positive allometry of sexually selected traits: Do metabolic maintenance costs play an important role?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About