Niche suitability affects development: skull asymmetry increases in less suitable areas

PLoS One. 2015 Apr 15;10(4):e0122412. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0122412. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

For conservation purposes, it is important to take into account the suitability of a species to particular habitats; this information may predict the long-term survival of a species. In this sense, morphological measures of developmental stress, such as fluctuating asymmetry, can be proxies for an individual's performance in different regions. In this study, we conducted tests to determine whether areas with different levels of suitability for a species (generated by ecological niche models) were congruent with morphological markers that reflect environmental stress and morphological variance. We generated a Maxent niche model and compared the suitability assessments of several areas with the skull morphology data (fluctuating asymmetry and morphological disparity) of populations of the Atlantic forest endemic to Brazil rodent Akodon cursor. Our analyses showed a significant negative relationship between suitability levels and fluctuating asymmetry levels, which indicates that in less suitable areas, the individuals experience numerous disturbances during skull ontogeny. We have not found an association between morphological variance and environmental suitability. As expected, these results suggest that in environments with a lower suitability, developmental stress is increased. Such information is helpful in the understanding of the species evolution and in the selection of priority areas for the conservation of species.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biological Evolution
  • Brazil
  • Ecosystem*
  • Forests
  • Geography
  • Models, Theoretical
  • Population Dynamics
  • Rodentia / anatomy & histology*
  • Rodentia / growth & development*
  • Skull / anatomy & histology*

Grants and funding

RM and DG received student fellowships from the Coordenadoria de Aperfeiçoamento Pessoal (CAPES) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), respectively. TROF received financial support from CNPq, CAPES, and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do RS (Fapergs). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.