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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Is sexual body shape dimorphism consistent in aquatic and terrestrial chelonians?
Zoology, Volume 113, No. 4, Year 2010
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Description
Comparisons between aquatic and terrestrial species provide an opportunity to examine how sex-specific adaptations interact with the environment to influence body shape. In terrestrial female tortoises, selection for fecundity favors the development of a large internal abdominal cavity to accommodate the clutch; in conspecific males, sexual selection favors mobility with large openings in the shell. To examine to what extent such trends apply in aquatic chelonians we compared the body shape of males and females of two aquatic turtles (Chelodina colliei and Mauremys leprosa). In both species, females were larger than males. When controlled for body size, females exhibited a greater relative internal volume and a higher body condition index than males; both traits potentially correlate positively with fecundity. Males were more streamlined (hydrodynamic), and exhibited larger openings in the shell providing more space to move their longer limbs; such traits probably improve mobility and copulation ability (the males chase and grab the female for copulation). Overall, although the specific constraints imposed by terrestrial and aquatic locomotion shape the morphology of chelonians differently (aquatic turtles were flatter, hence more hydrodynamic than terrestrial tortoises), the direction for sexual shape dimorphism remained unaffected. Our main conclusion is that the direction of sexual shape dimorphism is probably more consistent than sexual size dimorphism in the animal kingdom. © 2010 Elsevier GmbH.
Authors & Co-Authors
Bonnet, Xavier
France, Paris
Cnrs Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Delmas, Virginie
France, Paris
Cnrs Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
El Mouden, El Hassan
Morocco, Marakech
Faculté Des Sciences Semlalia
Slimani, Tahar
Morocco, Marakech
Faculté Des Sciences Semlalia
Sterijovski, Bogoljub
North Macedonia, Skopje
Ss Cyril and Methodius University
Kuchling, Gerald
Australia, Perth
The University of Western Australia
Statistics
Citations: 47
Authors: 6
Affiliations: 4
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/j.zool.2010.03.001
ISSN:
09442006
Research Areas
Sexual And Reproductive Health
Participants Gender
Female