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A new explanation for unexpected evolution in body size

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  • Loeske E B Kruuk

Abstract

Bigger is apparently frequently fitter, and body size is typically heritable, so why don’t animals in wild populations evolve towards larger sizes? Different explanations have been proposed for this apparent “paradox of stasis.” A new study of snow voles in the Swiss Alps finds higher survival in animals with larger body mass and heritability of body mass, but, surprisingly, a genetic decline in body mass is also indicated. The authors suggest a novel explanation for this observation: the appearance of positive phenotypic selection is driven by a confounding variable of the age at which a juvenile is measured, whereas the evolutionarily relevant selection actually acts negatively on mass via its association with development time. Thus, genes for larger mass are not actually “fitter” because they are associated with longer development times, and juvenile snow voles with longer development times run the risk of not completing development before the first winter snow. However, the genetic decline in body size is not apparent at the phenotypic level, presumably because of countervailing trends in environmental effects on the phenotype.

Suggested Citation

  • Loeske E B Kruuk, 2017. "A new explanation for unexpected evolution in body size," PLOS Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(2), pages 1-6, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pbio00:2001832
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2001832
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jeffrey E. Lane & Loeske E. B. Kruuk & Anne Charmantier & Jan O. Murie & F. Stephen Dobson, 2012. "Delayed phenology and reduced fitness associated with climate change in a wild hibernator," Nature, Nature, vol. 489(7417), pages 554-557, September.
    2. Arpat Ozgul & Dylan Z. Childs & Madan K. Oli & Kenneth B. Armitage & Daniel T. Blumstein & Lucretia E. Olson & Shripad Tuljapurkar & Tim Coulson, 2010. "Coupled dynamics of body mass and population growth in response to environmental change," Nature, Nature, vol. 466(7305), pages 482-485, July.
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