Skull variation in Dinaric-Balkan and Carpathian gray wolf populations revealed by geometric morphometric approaches
Dinaric-Balkan and Carpathian gray wolf ( Canis lupus L., 1758) populations, although geographically separated, occupy closely situated areas in the territory of Serbia. We studied morphological variation in the skull to investigate whether the two populations are distinguishable despite the animals...
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fthighwire:oai:open-archive.highwire.org:jmammal:91/2/376 2023-05-15T15:50:43+02:00 Skull variation in Dinaric-Balkan and Carpathian gray wolf populations revealed by geometric morphometric approaches Milenvić, Miroljub Šipetić, Vida Jojić Blagojević, Jelena Tatović, Svetislav Vujošević, Mladen 2010-04-16 00:00:00.0 text/html http://jmammal.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/91/2/376 https://doi.org/10.1644/09-MAMM-A-265.1 en eng Oxford University Press http://jmammal.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/91/2/376 http://dx.doi.org/10.1644/09-MAMM-A-265.1 Copyright (C) 2010, Oxford University Press Feature Articles TEXT 2010 fthighwire https://doi.org/10.1644/09-MAMM-A-265.1 2015-02-28T17:52:16Z Dinaric-Balkan and Carpathian gray wolf ( Canis lupus L., 1758) populations, although geographically separated, occupy closely situated areas in the territory of Serbia. We studied morphological variation in the skull to investigate whether the two populations are distinguishable despite the animals being very large and highly mobile and seeming to form one continuous population. The size and shape of the mandible and cranium in the lateral view were compared between sexes and populations using landmark-based geometric morphometrics. Significant differences between sexes and populations were found for size and shape of both structures. Males were larger than females in both populations, and Carpathian were larger than Dinaric-Balkan wolves. Principal component analysis revealed the cranium to be a highly discriminative skull structure. Zygomatic arches were located anteriorly in males and posteriorly in females. Dinaric-Balkan wolves had a more elevated snout and sagittal crest than Carpathian wolves. Difference between Dinaric-Balkan and Carpathian wolves in the cranial flexion was observed for the first time in a comparative study of wolf populations. Present-day separation of Dinaric-Balkan and Carpathian wolf populations could have originated from 2 different glacial refuges. We presume that the observed morphometric divergence between the populations is not only a relic of the last glacial maximum but was further strengthened and shaped by synergistic effects of environmental factors and social behavior (territoriality and a dispersal mechanism influenced by the natal habitat). Text Canis lupus gray wolf HighWire Press (Stanford University) Journal of Mammalogy 91 2 376 386 |
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Feature Articles Milenvić, Miroljub Šipetić, Vida Jojić Blagojević, Jelena Tatović, Svetislav Vujošević, Mladen Skull variation in Dinaric-Balkan and Carpathian gray wolf populations revealed by geometric morphometric approaches |
topic_facet |
Feature Articles |
description |
Dinaric-Balkan and Carpathian gray wolf ( Canis lupus L., 1758) populations, although geographically separated, occupy closely situated areas in the territory of Serbia. We studied morphological variation in the skull to investigate whether the two populations are distinguishable despite the animals being very large and highly mobile and seeming to form one continuous population. The size and shape of the mandible and cranium in the lateral view were compared between sexes and populations using landmark-based geometric morphometrics. Significant differences between sexes and populations were found for size and shape of both structures. Males were larger than females in both populations, and Carpathian were larger than Dinaric-Balkan wolves. Principal component analysis revealed the cranium to be a highly discriminative skull structure. Zygomatic arches were located anteriorly in males and posteriorly in females. Dinaric-Balkan wolves had a more elevated snout and sagittal crest than Carpathian wolves. Difference between Dinaric-Balkan and Carpathian wolves in the cranial flexion was observed for the first time in a comparative study of wolf populations. Present-day separation of Dinaric-Balkan and Carpathian wolf populations could have originated from 2 different glacial refuges. We presume that the observed morphometric divergence between the populations is not only a relic of the last glacial maximum but was further strengthened and shaped by synergistic effects of environmental factors and social behavior (territoriality and a dispersal mechanism influenced by the natal habitat). |
format |
Text |
author |
Milenvić, Miroljub Šipetić, Vida Jojić Blagojević, Jelena Tatović, Svetislav Vujošević, Mladen |
author_facet |
Milenvić, Miroljub Šipetić, Vida Jojić Blagojević, Jelena Tatović, Svetislav Vujošević, Mladen |
author_sort |
Milenvić, Miroljub |
title |
Skull variation in Dinaric-Balkan and Carpathian gray wolf populations revealed by geometric morphometric approaches |
title_short |
Skull variation in Dinaric-Balkan and Carpathian gray wolf populations revealed by geometric morphometric approaches |
title_full |
Skull variation in Dinaric-Balkan and Carpathian gray wolf populations revealed by geometric morphometric approaches |
title_fullStr |
Skull variation in Dinaric-Balkan and Carpathian gray wolf populations revealed by geometric morphometric approaches |
title_full_unstemmed |
Skull variation in Dinaric-Balkan and Carpathian gray wolf populations revealed by geometric morphometric approaches |
title_sort |
skull variation in dinaric-balkan and carpathian gray wolf populations revealed by geometric morphometric approaches |
publisher |
Oxford University Press |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
http://jmammal.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/91/2/376 https://doi.org/10.1644/09-MAMM-A-265.1 |
genre |
Canis lupus gray wolf |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus gray wolf |
op_relation |
http://jmammal.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/91/2/376 http://dx.doi.org/10.1644/09-MAMM-A-265.1 |
op_rights |
Copyright (C) 2010, Oxford University Press |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1644/09-MAMM-A-265.1 |
container_title |
Journal of Mammalogy |
container_volume |
91 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
376 |
op_container_end_page |
386 |
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1766385713096425472 |