Affiliation:
1. Museu de Zoologia João Moojen, Departamento de Biologia Animal Universidade Federal de Viçosa Viçosa Minas Gerais Brazil
2. Instituto Federal de Rondônia Cacoal Rondônia Brazil
3. Programa de Pós‐Graduação em Ciências Biológicas, Departamento de Sistemática e Ecologia Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB) João Pessoa Paraíba Brazil
4. Instituto Tecnológico Vale (ITV) Belém Pará Brazil
Abstract
AbstractWe investigated variation in body size of the widely distributed Neotropical bat Chiroderma villosum across its entire range. Our objective was to verify if the size‐related geographic variation in the species is related to environmental variables. We took 13 measurements of 410 specimens from 198 localities in Mesoamerica and South America, and collected information on latitude, longitude, altitude, precipitation, and temperature, totalling 22 variables. We detected clinal variation in size related to latitude and longitude, with a pattern that conforms to the Bergmann's rule. Clinal variation of size along longitude was influenced by the taxonomic component, with subspecies C. v. jesupi being smaller than C. v. villosum. In contrast the latitudinal cline was explained by temperature seasonality and precipitation, with a 14% increase in size between the north and south extremes of the range. In other words, size of individuals is larger in areas with more seasonal oscillations in temperature and with lower precipitation. Our results support the notion that low temperatures alone do not explain large size of mammals in high latitudes. One hypothesis is that large size is favoured in more seasonal climates because somatic growth is faster when resources are abundant, and also larger animals can endure food scarcity better than small ones. We also postulate that pressures related to interspecific competition and resource use may be more intense in more areas marked by seasonal climatic variations. Specifically, a larger size in seasonal areas may allow individuals to explore a wider niche. We suggest that future approaches, refining regional variation in the diet of C. villosum may serve as a further test to this hypothesis.
Funder
American Society of Mammalogists
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
Subject
Ecology,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics