Analysis of asymmetries in the African fruit bats Eldolon helvum and Rousettus egyptlacus (Mammalia: Megachiroptera) from the islands of the Gulf of Guinea. II. Integration and levels of multivariate fluctuating asymmetry across a geographical range
Using a set of cranial morphometric characters, trends of variation in multivariate fluctuating asymmetry were evaluated and compared in popu- lations of African fruit bats Rousettus egyptiacus and Eidolon helvum from the Gulf of Guinea islands, and the adjacent mainland. Levels of asymmetry were co...
| Autores: | , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2001 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
| Repositorio: | DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:digital.csic.es:10261/49200 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/49200 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Eidolon helvum fluctuating asymmetry fruit bats Geographical variation Gulf of Guinea Rousettus egyptiacus |
| Sumario: | Using a set of cranial morphometric characters, trends of variation in multivariate fluctuating asymmetry were evaluated and compared in popu- lations of African fruit bats Rousettus egyptiacus and Eidolon helvum from the Gulf of Guinea islands, and the adjacent mainland. Levels of asymmetry were compared across populations and species, and significant differences were found in both comparisons. Differences coincided with species-specific patterns of morphological and genetic differentiation. Concordance of corre- lation matrices of asymmetry was also compared. Results were significant; concordance is hypothesized to be a by-product of developmental processes that produce the ‘fox-like’ morphology shared by these species. Consistency of asymmetry patterns suggests that the developmental pathway producing it is highly canalized. A prediction of the above hypothesis is that a radical change in the ‘fox-like’ structural pattern would result in breakage of the asymmetry parameter associated with it. |
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