Is sexual body shape dimorphism consistent in aquatic and terrestrial chelonians?

Bonnet, Xavier; Delmas, Virginie; Mouden, El Hassan El; Slimani, Tahar; Sterijovski, Bogoljub; Kuchling, Gerald

doi:10.1016/j.zool.2010.03.001

Cited by 36 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…However, it is the female abdomen in both vertebrates and invertebrates that is particularly prone to evolutionary changes since it contains reproductive organs. In turtles, fecundity selects for relatively larger interval abdominal volumes in females to provide space for carrying more eggs, whereas sexual selection drives males towards larger shell openings, thereby facilitating mobility (Bonnet et al 2001(Bonnet et al , 2010Kaddour et al 2008). Lizards are another example of SShD, where fecundity favors longer female trunks for holding eggs, whereas males develop greater head size used in male-male combat (Cox et al 2003;Olsson et al 2002;Scharf and Meiri 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…habitat type, also play a role in directing body shape evolution. Aquatic turtles, for example, have flatter and more streamlined shells compared with terrestrial ones (Bonnet et al 2010), and rock-dwelling lizards exhibit relatively flatter heads and bodies, adaptations that enhance locomotion (Goodman et al 2009;Revell et al 2007). These examples of vertebrate SShD, however, are not as extreme as in many invertebrates, yet invertebrates are rarely subject of comparative SShD study (Gidaszewski et al 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Disentangling the Size and Shape Components of Sexual Dimorphism

Cheng

Kuntner

2015

Evol Biol

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Many organisms are sexually dimorphic, reflecting sex-specific selection pressures. But although sexual dimorphism may consist of different variables from size to shape and physiology, most research emphasizes a single aspect of sexual dimorphism, notably size, without specifying its components and their relationship. Among terrestrial animals, spiders exhibit most extreme sex-specific differences in size and abdominal shape, and therefore represent ideal models to address this question. Here, we dissect sexual dimorphism in spiders at two phylogenetic hierarchical levels. At the species level, we employ comparative phylogenetic tests to explore the association between sexual shape dimorphism (SShD) and sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in the orbweb clade Argiopinae. At the genus level, we then explore such patterns on a phylogeny of orb weavers (Araneoidea). Female argiopines had more diverse abdominal morphotypes than the males and the abdominal shape evolution was only poorly correlated between the sexes. Phylogenetic and comparative data suggested that evolution of SShD in argiopines was related to geographic history, but that sexually shape monomorphic cases arose through selection for male size, perhaps acting against fecundity selection. While in argiopines there was no clear association between SShD and SSD, we detected a significant correlation in all orb weavers at the genus level. The shape and the size components of sexual dimorphism may thus respond independently to selection pressures, but at certain phylogenetic levels SSD may be a prerequisite for SShD. Research on other animal groups is needed to establish whether the here detected patterns on spiders are general.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disentangling the Size and Shape Components of Sexual Dimorphism

Cheng

Kuntner

2015

Evol Biol

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“…Limh length could he important as well, hut has heen relatively rarely addressed in morphometric studies (see in Dordevic et al, 2011). Although important for survival (e.g., protection against predators, dehydration, uncomfortable environmental temperatures, or contribution to more efficient digging) (elaborated in Domokos & Varkonyi, 2008), the morphology of the chelonian shell has heen mostly used for describing body size and the extent of sexual size and shape dimorphism -SSD and SShD, respectively Loehr et al, 2006;Bonnet et al, 2010;Dordevic et al, 2011). Within the terrestrial genus Testudo, sexual differences in the overall shell morphology were interpreted as the outcome of different selection pressures predominantly acting on opposite sexes (Bonnet et al, 2001;Carretero et al, 2005;Ben Kaddour et al, 2008;Dordevic et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Within the terrestrial genus Testudo, sexual differences in the overall shell morphology were interpreted as the outcome of different selection pressures predominantly acting on opposite sexes (Bonnet et al, 2001;Carretero et al, 2005;Ben Kaddour et al, 2008;Dordevic et al, 2013). In T. hermanni (the Hermann's tortoise), both SSD and SShD have already heen analyzed in detail (Willemsen & Hailey, 2003;Vetter, 2006;Zuffi & Plaitano, 2007;Dordevic et al, 2011), hut few studies on the relation between aspects of adaptive shell morphology and RT have heen published so far (Zuffi & Plaitano, 2007;Bonnet et al, 2010;Goluhovic et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been evaluated using many different parameters (elaborated by Bonnet et al, 2001;Willemsen & Hailey, 2002; and others); among them, body mass (BM) is considered as the most practical for field biologists (Jackson, 1980). When scaled by size, BM can provide "an integrative nutritional index", individual mobility parameter (Bonnet et al, 2010), or a reflection of the body mass condition (BMC). If BMC reflects the status of body reserves, then it provides indirect information about hahitat quality and reproductive output (Stevenson & Woods Jr., 2006) and could be a decisive factor in righting success (Jackson, 1980; but see in Jacobson et al, 1993).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Righting time versus shell size and shape dimorphism in adult Hermann’s tortoises: Field observations meet theoretical predictions

2013

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We investigated the relation between righting time (RT) and carapace morphology in 303 adult Hermann's tortoises (Testudo hermanni Gmelin, 1789) from two geographically close localities. Their size, shape and body mass, adjusted for size, were significantly different between males and females. Righting time differed among the populations and was related to the ambient temperature and the relative body mass and carapace shape. However, analysis showed that the impact of carapace "form" (shape plus relative body mass) alone had only moderate influence on the variation in righting time ("function"). Both "form" and "function" did not contribute much to the segregation of individuals in geometric space, based on either sex or locality. An interesting detail was that tortoises with a height/width ratio of the shell contour higher than 0.75 had quite a short righting time (less than 100 seconds), which is in accordance with the proposed theoretical model of energy balance of righting in chelonians. We suppose that interactions between general carapace "form", specific components of shell structure, physiological parameters and local environments shape variation in righting response in this species. An interdisciplinary approach combining geometric modehng with traditional biological disciphnes would be needed to support this hypothesis.

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Blood mixtures: impact of puncture site on blood parameters

et al. 2016

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Various puncture routes, veins, arteries, heart, are used to take blood in animals. For anatomical reasons, differences in blood composition are expected among puncture sites. However, this issue has been rarely assessed and contrasted results have been reported: strong effects of puncture site versus a lack of effect. We captured free-ranging freshwater turtles from different locations to compare the mean concentrations of 12 blood parameters (metabolites, hormone, ions, and enzyme) among three puncture sites: (1) a lateral branch of the jugular vein, (2) a dorsal subcarapacial cervical plexus (sometimes incorrectly referred as the 'cervical sinus' in the literature), and (3) a caudal plexus site (sometimes incorrectly referred as the 'caudal sinus'). Because we used very small syringes (27-30G), we were able to separate lymph, blood, or blood-lymph mixtures. Our results show very strong effects of puncture site and of mixture level (mean maximal difference between sites was 250 %). We also found strong sex and geographical effects. Typically, there were differences in concentrations of blood solutes sampled from the lateral jugular vein and subcarapacial plexus, mainly due to sampling a mixture of blood and lymph from the 'blood' at the subcarapacial site and pure blood from the lateral jugular site, and likewise, samples from the caudal site were highly variable due to often sampling a mixture of blood and lymph. These results have technical and fundamental implications, especially when performing comparative analyses. Further, by selecting precise puncture sites, physiological differences between lymph and blood compartments could be investigated.

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Is sexual body shape dimorphism consistent in aquatic and terrestrial chelonians?

Cited by 36 publications

References 74 publications

Disentangling the Size and Shape Components of Sexual Dimorphism

Disentangling the Size and Shape Components of Sexual Dimorphism

Righting time versus shell size and shape dimorphism in adult Hermann’s tortoises: Field observations meet theoretical predictions

Blood mixtures: impact of puncture site on blood parameters

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