| Full text | |
| Author(s): |
de Oliveira, Marcio Leite
;
Grotta-Neto, Francisco
;
Peres, Pedro Henrique de Faria
;
Caparroz, Renato
;
Duarte, Jose Mauricio Barbanti
Total Authors: 5
|
| Document type: | Journal article |
| Source: | Biological Journal of the Linnean Society; v. 144, n. 3, p. 11-pg., 2025-03-03. |
| Abstract | |
Adaptative convergences of ecomorphological traits are widespread in several animal lineages. Among Neotropical deer there are very similar species characterized by a set of homoplasies: small body sizes, spiked antlers, and front legs shorter than the rear legs. These species are in different phylogenetic clades among larger and branched-antlered sympatric species, which are considered ancestral traits. It is hypothesized that the convergence of these morphological traits is an adaptation to living in dense forests. This study tested whether the spiked-antlered species are more associated with forest environments compared with branched-antlered species, which antler type-spike or branched-represents the ancestral morphotype, and if there is a correlation between phylogenetic distance (PD) and ecological difference (ED) in this species group. We found that spiked-antlered species had a more significant association with forest environments than branched-antlered species, with the latter morphotype being associated with higher body mass. Our ancestral state reconstructions indicate the branched-antlered morphotype as the ancestral trait. The correlation between PD and ED was weak in this group. The evolutionary pathway of this antler morphology underscores the remarkable plasticity of this trait in Neotropical deer. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 21/13187-8 - Use of DNA Sequences from museum specimens for the taxonomic review of Mazama |
| Grantee: | Pedro Henrique de Faria Peres |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral |
| FAPESP's process: | 21/00966-9 - Co-occurrence and ecological drivers of brocket deer occupancy in the Atlantic Forest |
| Grantee: | Francisco Grotta Neto |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral |
| FAPESP's process: | 15/25742-5 - Distribution and density of Mazama genus deer species at the Atlantic Forest |
| Grantee: | Márcio Leite de Oliveira |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral |
| FAPESP's process: | 17/07014-8 - The use of actual topotypes to produce genotypes and cytotypes in the taxonomic review of the Mazama genus: the basis for the species conservation |
| Grantee: | José Maurício Barbanti Duarte |
| Support Opportunities: | BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants |