Common Noctule Bats Are Sexually Dimorphic in Migratory Behaviour and Body Size but Not Wing Shape.
Within the large order of bats, sexual size dimorphism measured by forearm length and body mass is often female-biased. Several studies have explained this through the effects on load carrying during pregnancy, intrasexual competition, as well as the fecundity and thermoregulation advantages of incr...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:0fca273488834a34a6d00e946d475634 2023-05-15T17:48:39+02:00 Common Noctule Bats Are Sexually Dimorphic in Migratory Behaviour and Body Size but Not Wing Shape. M Teague O'Mara Karla Bauer Dominik Blank Justin W Baldwin Dina K N Dechmann 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0167027 https://doaj.org/article/0fca273488834a34a6d00e946d475634 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5120837?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0167027 https://doaj.org/article/0fca273488834a34a6d00e946d475634 PLoS ONE, Vol 11, Iss 11, p e0167027 (2016) Medicine R Science Q article 2016 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0167027 2022-12-31T06:08:42Z Within the large order of bats, sexual size dimorphism measured by forearm length and body mass is often female-biased. Several studies have explained this through the effects on load carrying during pregnancy, intrasexual competition, as well as the fecundity and thermoregulation advantages of increased female body size. We hypothesized that wing shape should differ along with size and be under variable selection pressure in a species where there are large differences in flight behaviour. We tested whether load carrying, sex differential migration, or reproductive advantages of large females affect size and wing shape dimorphism in the common noctule (Nyctalus noctula), in which females are typically larger than males and only females migrate long distances each year. We tested for univariate and multivariate size and shape dimorphism using data sets derived from wing photos and biometric data collected during pre-migratory spring captures in Switzerland. Females had forearms that are on average 1% longer than males and are 1% heavier than males after emerging from hibernation, but we found no sex differences in other size, shape, or other functional characters in any wing parameters during this pre-migratory period. Female-biased size dimorphism without wing shape differences indicates that reproductive advantages of big mothers are most likely responsible for sexual dimorphism in this species, not load compensation or shape differences favouring aerodynamic efficiency during pregnancy or migration. Despite large behavioural and ecological sex differences, morphology associated with a specialized feeding niche may limit potential dimorphism in narrow-winged bats such as common noctules and the dramatic differences in migratory behaviour may then be accomplished through plasticity in wing kinematics. Article in Journal/Newspaper Nyctalus noctula Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles PLOS ONE 11 11 e0167027 |
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Medicine R Science Q |
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Medicine R Science Q M Teague O'Mara Karla Bauer Dominik Blank Justin W Baldwin Dina K N Dechmann Common Noctule Bats Are Sexually Dimorphic in Migratory Behaviour and Body Size but Not Wing Shape. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Within the large order of bats, sexual size dimorphism measured by forearm length and body mass is often female-biased. Several studies have explained this through the effects on load carrying during pregnancy, intrasexual competition, as well as the fecundity and thermoregulation advantages of increased female body size. We hypothesized that wing shape should differ along with size and be under variable selection pressure in a species where there are large differences in flight behaviour. We tested whether load carrying, sex differential migration, or reproductive advantages of large females affect size and wing shape dimorphism in the common noctule (Nyctalus noctula), in which females are typically larger than males and only females migrate long distances each year. We tested for univariate and multivariate size and shape dimorphism using data sets derived from wing photos and biometric data collected during pre-migratory spring captures in Switzerland. Females had forearms that are on average 1% longer than males and are 1% heavier than males after emerging from hibernation, but we found no sex differences in other size, shape, or other functional characters in any wing parameters during this pre-migratory period. Female-biased size dimorphism without wing shape differences indicates that reproductive advantages of big mothers are most likely responsible for sexual dimorphism in this species, not load compensation or shape differences favouring aerodynamic efficiency during pregnancy or migration. Despite large behavioural and ecological sex differences, morphology associated with a specialized feeding niche may limit potential dimorphism in narrow-winged bats such as common noctules and the dramatic differences in migratory behaviour may then be accomplished through plasticity in wing kinematics. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
M Teague O'Mara Karla Bauer Dominik Blank Justin W Baldwin Dina K N Dechmann |
author_facet |
M Teague O'Mara Karla Bauer Dominik Blank Justin W Baldwin Dina K N Dechmann |
author_sort |
M Teague O'Mara |
title |
Common Noctule Bats Are Sexually Dimorphic in Migratory Behaviour and Body Size but Not Wing Shape. |
title_short |
Common Noctule Bats Are Sexually Dimorphic in Migratory Behaviour and Body Size but Not Wing Shape. |
title_full |
Common Noctule Bats Are Sexually Dimorphic in Migratory Behaviour and Body Size but Not Wing Shape. |
title_fullStr |
Common Noctule Bats Are Sexually Dimorphic in Migratory Behaviour and Body Size but Not Wing Shape. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Common Noctule Bats Are Sexually Dimorphic in Migratory Behaviour and Body Size but Not Wing Shape. |
title_sort |
common noctule bats are sexually dimorphic in migratory behaviour and body size but not wing shape. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0167027 https://doaj.org/article/0fca273488834a34a6d00e946d475634 |
genre |
Nyctalus noctula |
genre_facet |
Nyctalus noctula |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 11, Iss 11, p e0167027 (2016) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5120837?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0167027 https://doaj.org/article/0fca273488834a34a6d00e946d475634 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0167027 |
container_title |
PLOS ONE |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
11 |
container_start_page |
e0167027 |
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1766154778589528064 |