Proximate causes of altitudinal differences in body size in an agamid lizard

Hong-Liang Lu; Chun-Xia Xu; Yuan-Ting Jin; Jean-Marc Hero; Wei-Guo Du

doi:10.1002/ece3.3686

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Proximate causes of altitudinal differences in body size in an agamid lizard

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Proximate causes of altitudinal differences in body size in an agamid lizard

Hong-Liang Lu, Chun-Xia Xu, Yuan-Ting Jin, Jean-Marc Hero and Wei-Guo Du

Ecology and Evolution, Vol.8(1), pp.645-654

2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3686

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Abstract

Ecology

Evolutionary Biology

body size

elevational variation

growth rate

Phrynocephalus vlangalii

Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Body size is directly linked to key life history traits such as growth, fecundity, and survivorship. Identifying the causes of body size variation is a critical task in ecological and evolutionary research. Body size variation along altitudinal gradients has received considerable attention; however, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we compared the growth rate and age structure of toad-headed lizards (Phrynocephalus vlangalii) from two populations found at different elevations in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. We used mark-recapture and skeletochronological analysis to identify the potential proximate causes of altitudinal variation in body size. Lizards from the high-elevation site had higher growth rates and attained slightly larger adult body sizes than lizards from the low-elevation site. However, newborns produced by high-elevation females were smaller than those by low-elevation females. Von Bertalanffy growth estimates predicted high-elevation individuals would reach sexual maturity at an earlier age and have a lower mean age than low-elevation individuals. Relatively lower mean age for the high-elevation population was confirmed using the skeletochronological analysis. These results support the prediction that a larger adult body size of high-elevation P. vlangalii results from higher growth rates, associated with higher resource availability.

Details

Title: Proximate causes of altitudinal differences in body size in an agamid lizard
Authors: Hong-Liang Lu (Author) - Hangzhou Normal University, China
Chun-Xia Xu (Author) - Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Yuan-Ting Jin (Author) - China Jiliang University, China
Jean-Marc Hero (Author) - Griffith University
Wei-Guo Du (Corresponding Author) - Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Publication details: Ecology and Evolution, Vol.8(1), pp.645-654
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Date published: 2018
DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3686
ISSN: 2045-7758
Copyright note: Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Organisation Unit: University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99450709902621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Ecology; Evolutionary Biology

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