Low size dimorphism does not lead to reduced sexual segregation: exploring effects of habitat divergence and activity

Wang, Muyang; Liu, Wei; Silva, António Alves da; Xu, Wenxuan; Ruckstuhl, Kathreen E.; Alves, Joana

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.07.010

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 53 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…It is worth highlighting the importance of studies that describe in detail the diet composition of each sex, perhaps combining traditional methods with new techniques. Sexual differences in non-dimorphic species should also be studied because differences in habitat use can be much greater than predicted for species with small SSD in body size (Wang et al, 2021), so the diets of males and females can also differ. We acknowledge that diet over- Optimal body size is often associated with the ability to exploit specific food resources efficiently.…”

Section: Ta B L Ementioning

confidence: 99%

Revisiting niche divergence hypothesis in sexually dimorphic birds: Is diet overlap correlated with sexual size dimorphism?

Bravo,

Bautista‐Sopelana,

Alonso

2024

Journal of Animal Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The evolution of sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is a long‐standing topic in evolutionary biology, but there is little agreement on the extent to which SSD is driven by the different selective forces. While sexual selection and fecundity selection have traditionally been proposed as the two leading hypotheses, SSD may also result from natural selection through mechanisms such as sexual niche divergence, which might have reduced resource competition between sexes. Here, we revisited the niche divergence hypothesis by testing the relationship between the sexual overlap in diet and SSD of 56 bird species using phylogenetic comparative analyses. We then assessed how SSD variation relates to the three main hypotheses: sexual selection, fecundity selection, and sexual niche divergence using phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS). Then, we compared sexual selection, fecundity selection and niche divergence selection as SSD drivers through phylogenetic confirmatory path analyses to disentangle the possible causal evolutionary relationships between SSD and the three hypotheses. Phylogenetic generalized least squares showed that SSD was negatively correlated with diet overlap, that is, the greater the difference in body size between males and females, the less diet overlap. As predicted by sexual selection theory, the difference in body size between sexes was higher in polygynous species. Confirmatory phylogenetic path analyses suggested that the most likely evolutionary path might include the mating system as a main driver in SSD and niche divergence as a result of SSD. We found no evidence of a role of fecundity selection in the evolution of female‐biased SSD. Our study provides evidence that sexual selection has likely been the main cause of SSD and that dietary divergence is likely an indirect effect of SSD.

show abstract

Section: Ta B L Ementioning

confidence: 99%

Revisiting niche divergence hypothesis in sexually dimorphic birds: Is diet overlap correlated with sexual size dimorphism?

Bravo,

Bautista‐Sopelana,

Alonso

2024

Journal of Animal Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The goitered gazelle is a mid-sized antelope that lives in the semi-deserts and deserts of the Asian continent. This species lives in sexually-segregated groups [ 24 , 25 ] of typically 2–5 individuals across its distribution range [ 26 , 27 , 28 ]. Goitered gazelle in the Kalamaili Mountain Ungulate Nature Reserve (hereafter KNR) suffer from habitat degradation and fragmentation caused by human disturbances, such as roads, mining, and competition with grazing livestock [ 29 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Goitered Gazelle Gazella subgutturosa Responded to Human Disturbance by Increasing Vigilance Rather than Changing the Group Size

Wang

Blank

et al. 2022

Biology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Nonlethal human disturbances have been confirmed to have a negative effect on wildlife in a variety of ways, including on behaviors. In many studies, the impact of human disturbances on gregarious species of wildlife is assessed through changes in their social organization and vigilance. In our study in the Kalamaili Nature Reserve, China, we wanted to estimate the impacts of differing levels of human disturbances on two different group types (mixed-sex and all-male) of goitered gazelle, Gazella subgutturosa, living in three functional zones (experimental, buffer, and core zones), which represent high, medium, and low human disturbance levels, respectively. In addition, we studied the time spent vigilant as a function of group size with different levels of human disturbances in the three zones. In general, mixed-sex gazelle groups were of similar sizes in the three different zones, while all-male groups slightly differed in their sizes between the experimental and buffer zones. This may indicate that human disturbances have varying effects on the different group types, with smaller-sized, single-sex groups being more significantly affected by human disturbances than larger-sized, mixed-sex groups. Goitered gazelle showed higher vigilance levels in the experimental zone than in the two other zones. A trend of decreasing vigilance varying linearly with group size was also found in the three zones, and the rate of decrease was higher in the experimental zone. Increased habitat fragmentation and human activities brought goitered gazelle and humans closer together in the core zone. Therefore, stopping mining activities and returning the reserve to a continuous habitat with fewer environmental disturbances is the best way to establish and protect a stable population of this endangered species of gazelle.

show abstract

The effect of mining and road development on habitat fragmentation and connectivity of khulan (Equus hemionus) in Northwestern China

Zhuo

Xu²,

Wang³

et al. 2022

Biological Conservation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Low size dimorphism does not lead to reduced sexual segregation: exploring effects of habitat divergence and activity

Cited by 3 publications

References 53 publications

Revisiting niche divergence hypothesis in sexually dimorphic birds: Is diet overlap correlated with sexual size dimorphism?

Revisiting niche divergence hypothesis in sexually dimorphic birds: Is diet overlap correlated with sexual size dimorphism?

Goitered Gazelle Gazella subgutturosa Responded to Human Disturbance by Increasing Vigilance Rather than Changing the Group Size

The effect of mining and road development on habitat fragmentation and connectivity of khulan (Equus hemionus) in Northwestern China

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About