Allometry for sexual size dimorphism (SSD) occurs when the degree of SSD varies with overall body size and is common in animals, including lizards. Previous reviews of allometry for SSD showed ‘Iguanid’ lizards to be comprised of mostly malelarger species which showed weak and statistically non-significant allometry for SSD. Beta-anoles (or Norops) are better suited for analysis, however, because they show extensive, up-to-date phylogenetic support, and presumably share certain ecological and life history traits. Here, I use phylogenetically independent contrasts of log male and log female size to assess allometry for SSD in 23 species of mainland anoles. The species of Norops measured here showed mixed-bias SSD (i.e., both male-larger and female-larger species) and the degree of SSD varied considerably. The slope of MA regression (and its 95% confidence interval) indicated that Norops showed isometry and did not exhibit allometry consistent with Rensch's Rule. Moreover, a pairwise t-test of independent contrasts showed that divergence in body size between male-biased and female-biased species did not significantly differ, further indicating that there was no significant allometric relationship. Lastly, SSD did not regress significantly with overall body size. However, the phylogenetic tree analyzed showed mild but significant phylogenetic signal, and underscores previous suggestions to test for phylogenetic signal and take phylogenetic relationships into account when signal is significant. Some possible explanations for evolution of SSD in mainland anoles are briefly discussed.
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1 December 2009
An Assessment of Allometry for Sexual Size Dimorphism in Mainland Anoles
John E. Steffen
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South American Journal of Herpetology
Vol. 4 • No. 3
December 2009
Vol. 4 • No. 3
December 2009
allometry
anole
beta-Anole
Norops
Sexual Size Dimorphism (SSD)