Sexual dimorphism in bite performance drives morphological variation in chameleons.

Phenotypic performance in different environments is central to understanding the evolutionary and ecological processes that drive adaptive divergence and, ultimately, speciation. Because habitat structure can affect an animal's foraging behaviour, anti-predator defences, and communication behav...

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Autores principales:	Jessica M da Silva, Anthony Herrel, G John Measey, Krystal A Tolley
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/e1befd407fc14a418b20b71efcfd86f6
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:e1befd407fc14a418b20b71efcfd86f62021-11-18T08:35:38ZSexual dimorphism in bite performance drives morphological variation in chameleons.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0086846https://doaj.org/article/e1befd407fc14a418b20b71efcfd86f62014-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/24475183/pdf/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203Phenotypic performance in different environments is central to understanding the evolutionary and ecological processes that drive adaptive divergence and, ultimately, speciation. Because habitat structure can affect an animal's foraging behaviour, anti-predator defences, and communication behaviour, it can influence both natural and sexual selection pressures. These selective pressures, in turn, act upon morphological traits to maximize an animal's performance. For performance traits involved in both social and ecological activities, such as bite force, natural and sexual selection often interact in complex ways, providing an opportunity to understand the adaptive significance of morphological variation with respect to habitat. Dwarf chameleons within the Bradypodion melanocephalum-Bradypodion thamnobates species complex have multiple phenotypic forms, each with a specific head morphology that could reflect its use of either open- or closed-canopy habitats. To determine whether these morphological differences represent adaptations to their habitats, we tested for differences in both absolute and relative bite performance. Only absolute differences were found between forms, with the closed-canopy forms biting harder than their open-canopy counterparts. In contrast, sexual dimorphism was found for both absolute and relative bite force, but the relative differences were limited to the closed-canopy forms. These results indicate that both natural and sexual selection are acting within both habitat types, but to varying degrees. Sexual selection seems to be the predominant force within the closed-canopy habitats, which are more protected from aerial predators, enabling chameleons to invest more in ornamentation for communication. In contrast, natural selection is likely to be the predominant force in the open-canopy habitats, inhibiting the development of conspicuous secondary sexual characteristics and, ultimately, enforcing their overall diminutive body size and constraining performance.Jessica M da SilvaAnthony HerrelG John MeaseyKrystal A TolleyPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 9, Iss 1, p e86846 (2014)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Jessica M da Silva Anthony Herrel G John Measey Krystal A Tolley Sexual dimorphism in bite performance drives morphological variation in chameleons.
description	Phenotypic performance in different environments is central to understanding the evolutionary and ecological processes that drive adaptive divergence and, ultimately, speciation. Because habitat structure can affect an animal's foraging behaviour, anti-predator defences, and communication behaviour, it can influence both natural and sexual selection pressures. These selective pressures, in turn, act upon morphological traits to maximize an animal's performance. For performance traits involved in both social and ecological activities, such as bite force, natural and sexual selection often interact in complex ways, providing an opportunity to understand the adaptive significance of morphological variation with respect to habitat. Dwarf chameleons within the Bradypodion melanocephalum-Bradypodion thamnobates species complex have multiple phenotypic forms, each with a specific head morphology that could reflect its use of either open- or closed-canopy habitats. To determine whether these morphological differences represent adaptations to their habitats, we tested for differences in both absolute and relative bite performance. Only absolute differences were found between forms, with the closed-canopy forms biting harder than their open-canopy counterparts. In contrast, sexual dimorphism was found for both absolute and relative bite force, but the relative differences were limited to the closed-canopy forms. These results indicate that both natural and sexual selection are acting within both habitat types, but to varying degrees. Sexual selection seems to be the predominant force within the closed-canopy habitats, which are more protected from aerial predators, enabling chameleons to invest more in ornamentation for communication. In contrast, natural selection is likely to be the predominant force in the open-canopy habitats, inhibiting the development of conspicuous secondary sexual characteristics and, ultimately, enforcing their overall diminutive body size and constraining performance.
format	article
author	Jessica M da Silva Anthony Herrel G John Measey Krystal A Tolley
author_facet	Jessica M da Silva Anthony Herrel G John Measey Krystal A Tolley
author_sort	Jessica M da Silva
title	Sexual dimorphism in bite performance drives morphological variation in chameleons.
title_short	Sexual dimorphism in bite performance drives morphological variation in chameleons.
title_full	Sexual dimorphism in bite performance drives morphological variation in chameleons.
title_fullStr	Sexual dimorphism in bite performance drives morphological variation in chameleons.
title_full_unstemmed	Sexual dimorphism in bite performance drives morphological variation in chameleons.
title_sort	sexual dimorphism in bite performance drives morphological variation in chameleons.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2014
url	https://doaj.org/article/e1befd407fc14a418b20b71efcfd86f6
work_keys_str_mv	AT jessicamdasilva sexualdimorphisminbiteperformancedrivesmorphologicalvariationinchameleons AT anthonyherrel sexualdimorphisminbiteperformancedrivesmorphologicalvariationinchameleons AT gjohnmeasey sexualdimorphisminbiteperformancedrivesmorphologicalvariationinchameleons AT krystalatolley sexualdimorphisminbiteperformancedrivesmorphologicalvariationinchameleons
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Sexual dimorphism in bite performance drives morphological variation in chameleons.

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