干旱区生态环境知识资源中心(Arid): New insights into morphological adaptation in common mole-rats (Cryptomys hottentotus hottentotus) along an aridity gradient

Arid

DOI	10.1002/ece3.11301
	New insights into morphological adaptation in common mole-rats (Cryptomys hottentotus hottentotus) along an aridity gradient
	Merchant, Hana N.; Portugal, Steven J.; Bennett, Nigel C.; Janse van Vuuren, Andries K.; Faulkes, Chris G.; Bowen, James; Hart, Daniel W.
通讯作者	Merchant, HN
来源期刊	ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
ISSN	2045-7758
出版年	2024
卷号	14 期号:4
英文摘要	Morphological adaptation is the change in the form of an organism that benefits the individual in its current habitat. Mole-rats (family Bathyergidae), despite being subterranean, are impacted by both local and broad-scale environmental conditions that occur above ground. Common mole-rats (Cryptomys hottentotus hottentotus) present an ideal mammalian model system for the study of morphological variation in response to ecology, as this species is found along an aridity gradient and thus can be sampled from geographically non-overlapping populations of the same species along an environmental longitudinal cline. Using the mass of five internal organs, ten skeletal measurements and 3D morphometric analyses of skulls, we assessed the morphology of wild non-breeding individuals from five common mole-rat populations in South Africa. We found that the body mass and mean relative mass of the spleen and kidneys in arid populations was larger, and individuals from arid regions possessed shorter legs and larger inter-shoulder widths compared to individuals from mesic regions. Additionally, arid populations demonstrated greater skull depth, and shape change of features such as angular processes of the lower jaw than mesic individuals, indicating that these distinct geographic populations show differences corresponding to the aridity gradient, potentially in response to environmental factors such as the variation in food sources found between different habitats, in addition to different soil compositions found in the different regions. Arid populations potentially require a stronger jaw and neck musculature associated with mastication to chew xeric-adapted plants and to dig through hard soil types, whereas mesic populations excavate through soft, looser soil and may make use of their front limbs to aid the movement of soils when digging. Aridity influences the morphology of this species and could indicate the impact of environmental changes on speciation and mammalian skull morphology.
英文关键词	evolution geometric morphometrics local adaptation shape analysis
类型	Article
语种	英语
开放获取类型	gold
收录类别	SCI-E
WOS记录号	WOS:001206431700001
WOS关键词	ALLENS RULE ; GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION ; BITE FORCE ; BODY-SIZE ; RODENTIA ; SHAPE ; HELIOPHOBIUS ; BATHYERGIDAE ; ENVIRONMENTS ; POPULATIONS
WOS类目	Ecology ; Evolutionary Biology
WOS研究方向	Environmental Sciences & Ecology ; Evolutionary Biology
资源类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/403457
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Merchant, Hana N.,Portugal, Steven J.,Bennett, Nigel C.,et al. New insights into morphological adaptation in common mole-rats (Cryptomys hottentotus hottentotus) along an aridity gradient[J],2024,14(4).
APA	Merchant, Hana N..,Portugal, Steven J..,Bennett, Nigel C..,Janse van Vuuren, Andries K..,Faulkes, Chris G..,...&Hart, Daniel W..(2024).New insights into morphological adaptation in common mole-rats (Cryptomys hottentotus hottentotus) along an aridity gradient.ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION,14(4).
MLA	Merchant, Hana N.,et al."New insights into morphological adaptation in common mole-rats (Cryptomys hottentotus hottentotus) along an aridity gradient".ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION 14.4(2024).