First evidence for a latitudinal body mass effect in extant Crocodylia and the relationships of their reproductive characters

Lakin, Rebecca J, Barrett, Paul M, Stevenson, Colin, Thomas, Robert J ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5256-3313 and Wills, Matthew A 2020. First evidence for a latitudinal body mass effect in extant Crocodylia and the relationships of their reproductive characters. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 129 (4) , pp. 875-887. 10.1093/biolinnean/blz208

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Abstract

Relationships between distribution patterns and body size have been documented in many endothermic taxa. However, the evidence for these trends in ectotherms generally is equivocal, and there have been no studies of effects in crocodylians specifically. Here, we examine the relationship between latitudinal distribution and body mass in 20 extant species of crocodylians, as well as the relationships between seven important reproductive variables. Using phylogenetically independent contrasts to inform generalized linear models, we provide the first evidence of a latitudinal effect on adult female body mass in crocodylians. In addition, we explore the relationships between reproductive variables including egg mass, hatchling mass and clutch size. We report no correlation between egg mass and clutch size, upholding previously reported within-species trends. We also find no evidence of a correlation between measures of latitudinal range and incubation temperature, contrasting with the trends found in turtles.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Biosciences
Additional Information:	This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
Publisher:	Oxford University Press (OUP)
ISSN:	0024-4066
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	4 November 2020
Date of Acceptance:	23 December 2019
Last Modified:	05 May 2023 15:13
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/136125

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