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Cranial morphological variation in P eromyscus maniculatus over nearly a century of environmental change in three areas of C alifornia
Author(s) -
Holmes Michael W.,
Boykins Genevieve K. R.,
Bowie Rauri C. K.,
Lacey Eileen A.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of morphology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.652
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1097-4687
pISSN - 0362-2525
DOI - 10.1002/jmor.20482
Subject(s) - biology , abiotic component , generalist and specialist species , ecology , environmental change , morphology (biology) , elevation (ballistics) , peromyscus , adaptation (eye) , deer mouse , climate change , bergmann's rule , habitat , zoology , geography , geometry , mathematics , neuroscience , geodesy , latitude
Determining how species respond to prolonged environmental change is critical to understanding both their evolutionary biology and their conservation needs. In general, organisms can respond to changing environmental conditions by moving, by adapting in situ, or by going locally or globally extinct. Morphological changes, whether plastic or adaptive, are one way that species may respond in situ to local environmental change. Because cranial morphology is influenced by selective pressures arising from an organism's abiotic and biotic environments, including aspects of thermal physiology, diet, and sensory ecology, studies of cranial morphology may generate important insights into how species are responding to environmental change. To assess potential response of deer mice ( Peromyscus maniculatus ) to changing conditions in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, we quantified cranial variation in museum specimens of this species collected approximately 100 years apart. Specifically, we examined how cranial morphology varies in three populations of this geographically widespread, ecological generalist over elevation and time. Our analyses indicate that cranial morphology does not differ with elevation within either modern or historical samples but does vary between time periods, suggesting that in situ responses to environmental change have occurred. Contrary to predictions based on Bergmann's rule, we found no consistent relationship between body size and either elevation or time, suggesting that morphological differences detected between historic and modern specimens are specific to factors influencing cranial structure. Collectively, these analyses demonstrate the potential importance of in situ changes in morphology as a response to changing environmental conditions. J. Morphol. 277:96–106, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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