Dataset Information

The converse to Bergmann's rule in bumblebees, a phylogenetic approach.

ABSTRACT: Two patterns commonly emerge when animal body size is analyzed as a function of latitudinal distribution. First, body size increases with latitude, a temperature effect known as Bergmann's rule, and second, the converse to Bergmann's rule, a pattern in which body size decreases with latitude. However, other geographic patterns can emerge when the mechanisms that generate Bergmann's and the converse to Bergmann's clines operate together. Here, we use phylogenetic comparative analysis in order to control for phylogenetic inertia, and we show that bumblebees exhibit the converse to Bergmann's rule. Bumblebee taxa are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical regions. The largest species are found in places with high water availability during the driest time of the year. Nonetheless, large body size is constrained by extreme temperatures. Bumblebees' body size could be related to a higher extent to the size of food rewards to be harvested than to the energetic advantages of thermoregulation. Moreover, we found that the body size of eusocial and cuckoo species responded in the same way to environmental variables, suggesting that they have not diverged due to different selective pressures.

SUBMITTER: Ramirez-Delgado VH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5016639 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The converse to Bergmann's rule in bumblebees, a phylogenetic approach.

Ramírez-Delgado Víctor Hugo VH Sanabria-Urbán Salomón S Serrano-Meneses Martin A MA Cueva Del Castillo Raúl R

Ecology and evolution 20160802 17

Two patterns commonly emerge when animal body size is analyzed as a function of latitudinal distribution. First, body size increases with latitude, a temperature effect known as Bergmann's rule, and second, the converse to Bergmann's rule, a pattern in which body size decreases with latitude. However, other geographic patterns can emerge when the mechanisms that generate Bergmann's and the converse to Bergmann's clines operate together. Here, we use phylogenetic comparative analysis in order to ...[more]

PMID: 27648233

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Project description:Bergmann's rule is a well-established, ecogeographical principle that states that body size varies positively with latitude, reflecting the thermoregulatory benefits of larger bodies as temperatures decline. However, this principle does not seem to easily apply to migratory species that are able to avoid the extreme temperatures during winter at higher latitudes. Further, little is known about the ontogeny of this relationship across life stages or how it is influenced by ongoing global climate change. To address these knowledge gaps, we assessed the contemporary relationship between latitude and body size in a long-distance migratory species, the prothonotary warbler (Protonotaria citrea) across life stages (egg to adult) on their breeding grounds. We also measured historic eggs (1865-1961) to assess if the relationship between latitude and size during this life stage has changed over time. In accordance with Bergmann's rule, we found a positive relationship between latitude and body mass during all post-embryonic life stages, from early nestling stage through adulthood. We observed this same predicted pattern with historic eggs, but contemporary eggs exhibited the reverse (negative) relationship. We suggest that these results indicate a genetic component to this pattern and speculate that selection for larger body size in altricial nestlings as latitude increases may possibly drive the pattern in migratory species as even rare extreme cold weather events may cause mortality during early life stages. Furthermore, the opposite relationships observed in eggs, dependent on time period, may be related to the rapidly warming environments of higher latitudes that is associated with climate change. Although it is unclear what mechanism(s) would allow for this recent reversal in eggs (but still allow for its maintenance in later life stages). This evidence of a reversal suggests that anthropogenic climate change may be in the process of altering one of the longest-standing principles in ecology.

Dataset Information

The converse to Bergmann's rule in bumblebees, a phylogenetic approach.

Publications

The converse to Bergmann's rule in bumblebees, a phylogenetic approach.

Similar Datasets

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