Effects of Environmental Disturbance on Phenotypic Variation: An Integrated Assessment of Canalization, Developmental Stability, Modularity, and Allometry in Lizard Head Shape
2015
Аутори:
Lazic, Marko M.Carretero, Miguel A.
Crnobrnja-Isailović, Jelka M.
Kaliontzopoulou, Antigoni
Тип документа:
Чланак у часопису (Објављена верзија)
Метаподаци
Приказ свих података о документуАпстракт:
When populations experience suboptimal conditions, the mechanisms
involved in the regulation of phenotypic variation can be challenged,
resulting in increased phenotypic variance. This kind of disturbance can
be diagnosed by using morphometric tools to study morphological patterns
at different hierarchical levels and evaluate canalization,
developmental stability, integration, modularity, and allometry. We
assess the effect of urbanization on phenotypic variation in the common
wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) by using geometric morphometrics to
assess disturbance to head shape development. The head shapes of urban
lizards were more variable and less symmetric, suggesting that urban
living is more likely to disturb development. Head shape variation was
congruent within and across individuals, which indicated that
canalization and developmental stability are two related phenomena in
these organisms. Furthermore, urban lizards exhibited smaller mean head
sizes, divergent size-shape allometries, and increased deviation from
within-group allometric lines. This suggests that mechanisms regulating
head shape allometry may also be disrupted. The integrated evaluation of
several measures of developmental instability at different hierarchical
levels, which provided in this case congruent results, can be a powerful
methodological guide for future studies, as it enhances the detection of
environmental disturbances on phenotypic variation and aids biological
interpretation of the results.