Intraspecific body size variation across distributional moments reveals trait filtering processes.

ABSTRACT: Natural populations are composed of individuals that vary in their morphological traits, timing and interactions. The distribution of a trait can be described by several dimensions, or mathematical moments-mean, variance, skew and kurtosis. Shifts in the distribution of a trait across these moments in response to environmental variation can help to reveal which trait values are gained or lost, and consequently how trait filtering processes are altering populations. To examine the role and drivers of intraspecific variation within a trait filtering framework, we investigate variation in body size among five wild bumblebee species in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. First, we examine the relationships between environmental factors (climate and floral food resources) and body size distributions

SUBMITTER: Fitzgerald JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11880653 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature