Head Shape Heritability in the Hungarian Meadow Viper Vipera ursinii rakosiensis

Author:

Oliveira Duarte,Halpern BálintORCID,Martínez-Freiría FernandoORCID,Kaliontzopoulou AntigoniORCID

Abstract

Understanding heritability patterns in functionally relevant traits is a cornerstone for evaluating their evolutionary potential and their role in local adaptation. In this study, we investigated patterns of heritability in the head shape of the Hungarian meadow viper (Vipera ursinii rakosiensis). To this end, we used geometric morphometric data from 12 families composed of 8 mothers, 6 fathers and 221 offspring, bred in captivity at the Hungarian Meadow Viper Conservation Centre (Hungary). We separately evaluated maternal and paternal contributions to the offspring phenotype, in addition to additive genetic effects, all determined using a mixed animal model. Our results indicate a strong genetic and maternal contribution to head shape variations. In contrast, the paternal effects—which are rarely evaluated in wild-ranging species—as well as residual environmental variance, were minimal. Overall, our results indicate a high evolutionary potential for head shape in the Hungarian meadow viper, which suggests a strong contribution of this ecologically important trait in shaping the ability of this endangered species to adapt to changing conditions and/or habitats. Furthermore, our results suggest that maternal phenotypes should be carefully considered when designing captive breeding parental pairs for reinforcing the adaptive capacity of threatened populations, whereas the paternal phenotypes seem less relevant.

Funder

EU LIFE

Ministry of Innovation and Technology from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund

Foundation for Science and Technology of Portugal

Spanish State Research Agency and the European Social Fund

Publisher

MDPI AG

Subject

General Veterinary,Animal Science and Zoology

Reference72 articles.

1. Heritable variation and evolution under favourable and unfavourable conditions;Hoffmann;Trends. Ecol. Evol.,1999

2. Quantitative genetic analysis of multivariate evolution, applied to brain: Body size allometry;Lande;Evolution,1979

3. Geometric estimates of heritability in biological shape;Monteiro;Evolution,2002

4. Genetic and phenotypic component in head shape of common wall lizard Podarcis muralis;Sacchi;Amphib. Reptil.,2016

5. Analysis of morphological variability and heritability in the head of the Argentine Black and White Tegu (Salvator merianae): Undisturbed vs. disturbed environments;Imhoff;Zoology,2018

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3