Living on the edge: morphological and behavioral adaptations to a marginal high-elevation habitat in an arboreal mammal  

作　　者：Claudia TRANQUILLO Lucas Armand WAUTERS Francesca SANTICCHIA Damiano PREATONI Adriano MARTINOLI 

机构地区：[1]Environment Analysis and Management Unit-Guido Tosi Research Group-Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences,Universitàdegli Studi dell’Insubria,Varese,Italy [2]Evolutionary Ecology Group,Department of Biology,University of Antwerp,Wilrijk,Belgium

出　　处：《Integrative Zoology》2023年第4期746-761,共16页整合动物学（英文版）

摘　　要：Habitats are characterized by different local environmental conditions that influence both behavior and morphology of species,which can result in habitat-dependent phenotypic differences among animals living in heterogeneous environments.We studied 3 alpine populations of Eurasian red squirrels(Sciurus vulgaris),1 living in a marginal high-elevation habitat at the edge of the species’altitudinal distribution,and 2 occurring in higher-quality habitats.Here,we investigated whether squirrels living in the marginal area differed in 2 morphological parameters(body size and body mass)and/or in the expression of 4 personality traits estimated with an openfield test and a mirror image stimulation test(activity,exploration,activity-exploration,and social tendency).Furthermore,we tested whether within-individual variance of the traits(behavioral plasticity)was higher in the edge habitat.Male squirrels in the edge habitat were smaller and weighed less than in the other study areas,while among females,size–habitat relationships were less marked.These sex-specific patterns were explained by a strong association between body mass and reproductive success in female squirrels.Squirrels in the marginal habitat were more active,explorative,and had a more social personality than in the other habitats.However,in contrast to our predictions,behavioral plasticity was smaller in the marginal habitat,but only for the trait exploration.Our results suggest that animals choose the habitat that bestfits their personality,and that habitat-related differences in selective pressures may shape animals’morphology.

关 键 词：behavioral plasticity marginal edge-habitat morphology personality Sciurus vulgaris 

分 类 号：Q95[生物学—动物学]