Article
Zoology
T. Liang, W. Dai, Z. Zhang, G. Bempah, L. Shi, C. Lu
Summary: Spatial patterns of body size are influenced by environmental factors such as temperature, seasonality, precipitation, resources, and altitude. However, there has been limited research on altitudinal gradients of body size and the variations in the relationship between environmental factors and body size within different altitudes. This study examined 211 lizard species in China and found that body size decreases with increasing altitude. Additionally, the altitudinal gradients and drivers of body size vary within different terrain stages.
JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Christian M. Ibanez, Mauricio J. Carter, Moises A. Aguilera, M. Cecilia Pardo-Gandarillas, Enrico L. Rezende
Summary: This study evaluates the latitudinal pattern of body size in chiton species in the south-eastern Pacific, finding that body size consistently increases with latitude following Bergmann's rule. Variation in sea surface temperature provided a better explanation for body size variation compared to chlorophyll-a and dissolved oxygen. The presence of body size heterogeneity may reduce interspecific competition and contribute to species coexistence in chiton communities.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nicolas J. Betancourt, Subhash Rajpurohit, Esra Durmaz, Daniel K. Fabian, Martin Kapun, Thomas Flatt, Paul Schmidt
Summary: The insulin/insulin-like growth factor signalling pathway is proposed as a major determinant of adaptive life-history profiles in natural populations, with the allelic variation at foxo gene contributing to the genetic variance of size-related traits varying adaptively with latitude. Patterns of variation were examined among natural populations along a latitudinal transect, showing significant latitudinal clines for thorax length, wing area, wing loading, and starvation tolerance, with foxo allelic variation associated with these traits varying with latitude.
Article
Ecology
Gabor L. Lovei, Tibor Magura
Summary: Body size is a key trait that influences various characteristics, processes, functions, and services at individual, community, and ecosystem levels. While temperature-size relationships have been widely studied for individual species along thermal geographic gradients, the relationship for community-wide body size is still largely unknown.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Ying Jiang, Li Zhao, Xiaofeng Luan, Wenbo Liao
Summary: The study examines the variation in age and body size of Andrew's toad across a geographical gradient. The results show that age structure increases with decreasing temperature, while body size does not show a clear trend. Precipitation seasonality is negatively correlated with longevity and mean age, while precipitation of the driest month is positively correlated with body size. UV-B seasonality is positively associated with age structure traits and body size.
Article
Ecology
Yoan Fourcade, Bader H. Alhajeri
Summary: This study investigates the links between environmental factors, body size, range size, and extinction risk in rodents. The results show that body size is mainly influenced by vegetative index rather than latitude/temperature and smaller range size relative to body size is associated with increased risk of extinction.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Soumia Loulida, Mohammed Znari, Mohamed Naimi, Safaa Bendami
Summary: The study revealed that the Saharan blue-eyed pond turtle population in the Lower Draa Valley is threatened by extreme environmental conditions and anthropogenic activities, with a small population structure dominated by adult individuals and significant sexual size dimorphism. The low productivity of the habitat may be the reason for the reduced Sexual Dimorphism Index.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Jun-Kyu Park, Ki Wha Chung, Ji Yoon Kim, Yuno Do
Summary: The genetic and morphological range of black-spotted pond frog populations in the Geum River watershed in South Korea was analyzed, revealing no significant genetic differences among sub-watershed areas but a correlation between morphological differences and geographic distance. The results suggest the need for integrated management of frogs in this watershed area and comparison of population genetics response and adaptation across and beyond the watershed range.
Article
Ecology
Jack V. Johnson, Catherine Finn, Jacinta Guirguis, Luke E. B. Goodyear, Lilly P. Harvey, Ryan Magee, Santiago Ron, Daniel Pincheira-Donoso
Summary: This study used the most comprehensive dataset of amphibian body size worldwide and found that climate and elevation are the main drivers of body size patterns in amphibians. Other factors such as resource availability, biogeographic settings, and niche partitioning do not significantly affect body size evolution.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gen Morinaga, John J. Wiens, Daniel S. Moen
Summary: The contribution of adaptive radiation to the diversity of species and phenotypes in a major group has not been well studied. This study analyzes data from 1226 frog species across 43 families and finds that less than half of the frog families resemble adaptive radiations. However, these adaptive-radiation-like families contain a significant proportion of both morphological and species diversity.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Claudia Wrozyna, Steffen Mischke, Marlene Hoehle, Martin Gross, Werner E. Piller
Summary: Body-size variability of ostracodes is influenced by various factors, and this study investigated the geographical size variability of Cyprideis torosa within a large geographical area. The results showed that the distribution of size clusters of C. torosa is framed within two large-scale geographical patterns. The correlation between valve size and environmental parameters depends on taxonomic resolution, and there is a continuous increase in valve size with latitude.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Review
Biology
Robert Poulin
Summary: Functional biogeography studies trait-based distributional patterns to complement our understanding of spatial patterns in biodiversity, particularly focusing on variations in species traits at different latitudes. While some rules predict that species in the tropics have smaller body sizes, narrower niches, and smaller geographic ranges, empirical evidence for latitudinal gradients in parasite traits is weak and inconsistent, with host-related ecological traits likely playing a primary role.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Zoology
Lukasz Kaczmarek, Diego Fontaneto, Diane R. Nelson, Anna Budka, Agnieszka Lacka, Tomasz Bartylak, Piotr Rzymski
Summary: An analysis of terrestrial tardigrades from various habitats worldwide revealed that their body size generally decreases as the environmental temperature increases, confirming the temperature-size rule. This is the first biogeographical analysis of its kind for terrestrial tardigrades.
ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Erik I. Svensson, Miguel Gomez-Llano, John T. Waller
Summary: This study investigated the ecological and evolutionary drivers of global latitudinal size gradients in the insect order Odonata. The results revealed that both temperature and avian diversity have a negative influence on the size variation of Odonata, and larger-bodied dragonflies show a steeper size-latitude relationship compared to smaller damselflies. Additionally, fossil data suggest that the relationship between wing size and latitude changed over time with the emergence and radiation of birds.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Steven Ni, Jean-Francois Doherty, Robert Poulin
Summary: The study found that parasitic worm body sizes are primarily determined by the size of their hosts, with no significant effects of latitude or local temperature. Egg diameter was positively correlated with parasite length, while variation in egg diameter was negatively correlated with latitude.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2021)