Analysis of asymmetries in the African fruit bats Eldolon helvum and Rousettus egyptlacus (Mammalia: Megachiroptera) from the islands of the Gulf of Guinea. I. Variance and size components of bilateral variation

A set of cranial characters was examined in the fruit bats Rousettus egyptiacus and Eidolon helvum to compare trends and relative importance of major components of bilateral morphometric variation, and their relationship with character size. Using two-way, sides-by-individuals A N O V A , four compo...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Juste, Javier, López-González, C., Strauss, R.E.
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:10261/49202
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/49202
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Asymmetry
Eidolon helvum
fruit bats
Gulf of Guinea
Rousettus egyptiacus
three-dimensional coordinates
variance components
Descripción
Sumario:A set of cranial characters was examined in the fruit bats Rousettus egyptiacus and Eidolon helvum to compare trends and relative importance of major components of bilateral morphometric variation, and their relationship with character size. Using two-way, sides-by-individuals A N O V A , four components of variation were estimated for each bilateral variable: individual variation (I), directional asymmetry (DA), non-directional asymmetry (NDA) and meas- urement error (E). Both species exhibit similar major trends of variation in asymmetry across characters, as shown by principal component analysis, using variance components as variables. Degree of interspecific congruence among characters was confirmed by a two-way A N O V A with species and variance components as fixed factors. Congruence of asymmetry patterns between species suggests that the concept of population asymmetry parameter (PAP) could be extended to higher hierarchies. PAPs above the species level may result from common mechanisms or similar developmental constraints acting on species’ buffering capacities and morphological integration processes