Developmental stability and canalization of limb bones of brown hares Lepus europaeus with varying levels of heterozygosity

Sert H., SUCHENTRUNK F., LUDESCHER B., HACKLANDER M.

ACTA THERIOLOGICA, cilt.50, sa.2, ss.213-226, 2005 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 50 Sayı: 2
  • Basım Tarihi: 2005
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1007/bf03194485
  • Dergi Adı: ACTA THERIOLOGICA
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.213-226
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Lepus europaeus, heterozygosity, developmental homeostasis, long bones, FLUCTUATING ASYMMETRY, MORPHOLOGICAL VARIATION, PROTEIN HETEROZYGOSITY, ALLOZYMIC DIVERSITY, GENETIC-VARIABILITY, POPULATION, DIFFERENTIATION, FITNESS, HYBRIDS, PALLAS
  • Akdeniz Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

We have studied fluctuating asymmetry (FA), as indicator of developmental stability, and between-individual variation, as surrogate of developmental canalization (DC), in long bones (humerus, ulna, radius, femur, tibia) of 72 wild-living adult-sized brown hares Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778 with variable individual heterozygosity (H). H was calculated from 13 polymorphic allozyme loci. According to the "over-dominance hypothesis", we expected increased developmental stability and canalization at higher H-levels. But at the individual level we did not find any significant correlation between overall FA (FA(I)) and H. Also, standard deviations (SD) of mean length (over both body sides) of bones did not differ between individuals from two intentionally created groups of hares, namely one with high and one with low H. FA-indices and variances of FA-indices of bone lengths did not differ significantly when compared between two intentionally created groups of hares with high and low SD of bone lengths, respectively. These latter findings suggest that developmental stability and DC are two separate or partly separate mechanisms of developmental homeostasis in the studied appendicular skeleton, and that H has no traceable effect on developmental homeostasis. If there is still such an effect, it should be clearly smaller than a possibly combined effect of (presently uncontrolled) environmental stressors.