Geographic variation in body size: the effects of ambient temperature and precipitation

Oecologia
Yoram Yom-Tov, Eli Geffen

Abstract

Latitudinal trends in body size have been explained as a response to temperature- or water-related factors, which are predictors of primary production. We used the first principal component calculated from three body parameters (weight, body length and the greatest length of the skull) of a sample of mammals from Israel and Sinai to determine those species that vary in size geographically, and whether such variation is related to annual rainfall, average minimum January temperature and average maximum August temperature. We used a conservative approach to discern the effects of precipitation and temperature by applying sequential regression. Variable priorities were assigned according to their bivariate correlation with body size, except for rainfall and its interactions that entered into the model last. Eleven species (Acomys cahirinus, Apodemus mystacinus, Canis lupus, Crocidura suaveolens, Gerbillus dasyurus, Hyaena hyaena, Lepus capensis, Meles meles, Meriones tristrami, Rousettus aegyptius and Vulpes vulpes) of the 17 species examined varied in size geographically. In five of them, rainfall was positively related to body size, while in one species it was negatively related to it. Contrary to the prediction of Bergmann's ru...Continue Reading

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Citations

Oct 10, 2008·Die Naturwissenschaften·Mosheh WolfJorge Salazar-Bravo
Nov 13, 2010·Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·Yoram Yom-Tov, Eli Geffen
Sep 20, 2007·The American Naturalist·R Craig StillwellCharles W Fox
Nov 13, 2014·Journal of Evolutionary Biology·F J Zamora-CamachoG Moreno-Rueda
May 25, 2016·Evolutionary Biology·Jamile de Moura BubaduéCarlo Meloro
Jun 27, 2006·Ecology Letters·Virginie MillienYoram Yom-Tov
Apr 5, 2013·The Journal of Animal Ecology·Pablo A MartinezClaudio J Bidau
Sep 14, 2013·Journal of Anatomy·Jason DunnSarah Elton
Oct 9, 2015·Ecology and Evolution·Raúl Cueva Del CastilloMartín Alejandro Serrano-Meneses
Sep 21, 2016·Ecology and Evolution·Víctor Hugo Ramírez-DelgadoRaúl Cueva Del Castillo
Dec 29, 2016·Insect Science·Yuval BaarInon Scharf
May 5, 2017·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Tina CornioleyArpat Ozgul
Aug 30, 2018·PeerJ·Caterina PenoneIsabelle Le Viol
Jul 27, 2021·Ecology and Evolution·Tao LiangChang-Hu Lu
Sep 18, 2021·Science Advances·Francisco J González-PinillaJulio L Betancourt

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