IBS   24490
INSTITUTO DE BIOLOGIA SUBTROPICAL
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Rensch's rule is broken in Cervidae
Autor/es:
AMADO, TF; RAIMONDI, V; ZURANO, JP; BIDAU, CJ; MARTINEZ, PA; COSTA, GC
Revista:
Research and Teaching in Exact and Natural Sciences
Editorial:
Universidade Federal de Campo Grande
Referencias:
Lugar: Campo Grande; Año: 2019 vol. 3 p. 134 - 141
Resumen:
The difference in body size between males and females is known as sexual size dimorphism (SSD). The existence of SSD is usually attributed to processes of sexual selection, although natural selection can also affect SSD. In some animal groups the extension of SSD is associated with body size, a pattern known as Rensch?s rule. We tested Rensch?s rule in the members of the family Cervidae, a group with strong sexual dimorphism. We analyzed SSD of 35 species by means of phylogenetic reduced major axis regression (RMA). Analyzing the relationships between male size vs female size we observed that SSD changes isometriclly with the increase of body size (RMA = 1.05, p = 0.18). These result evidence that Rensch?s rule does not operate among members of the family Cervidae. In the last decade, many studies have shown diverse taxonomic groups that do not follow Rensch?s rule. Because body size is associated with many ecological characteristics, it is possible that the association of body size with SSD is not always a causal effect in those groups that follow Rensch?s rule.