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The Influence of Body Size on the Expression of Sexually Dimorphic Morphological Traits
Author(s) -
Horbaly Haley E.,
Kenyhercz Michael W.,
Hubbe Mark,
Steadman Dawnie W.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.13850
Subject(s) - sexual dimorphism , trait , biology , sex characteristics , expression (computer science) , population , analysis of variance , evolutionary biology , variation (astronomy) , genetics , demography , zoology , statistics , mathematics , sociology , computer science , programming language , physics , astrophysics
Abstract Skeletal sexual dimorphism manifests as size or shape differences between males and females in a population. Certain dimorphic traits are used in sex estimation methods, and populational variation in the expression of these traits can result in inaccurate sex estimation. However, the underlying causes of variation in trait expression remain unclear. This study explores body size, which also exhibits sexual dimorphism, as a potential factor influencing trait expression. To test this, skeletons of 209 individuals of varying body size were analyzed, and morphological traits were scored according to the Walker (2008), Klales et al. (2012), and Rogers (1999) sex estimation methods. Statistical analyses found significant correlations between body size parameters and expression of traits, with stature explaining more relative variance in trait expression than body mass. However, the relationships are weak and few in number, suggesting that body size has a minimal impact on the expression of these morphological traits.