The converse to Bergmann's rule in bumblebees, a phylogenetic approach.

ABSTRACT: Two patterns commonly emerge when animal body size is analyzed as a function of latitudinal distribution. First, body size increases with latitude, a temperature effect known as Bergmann's rule, and second, the converse to Bergmann's rule, a pattern in which body size decreases with latitude. However, other geographic patterns can emerge when the mechanisms that generate Bergmann's and the converse to Bergmann's clines operate together. Here, we use phylogenetic comparative analysis in order to control for phylogenetic inertia, and we show that bumblebees exhibit the converse to Bergmann's rule. Bumblebee taxa are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical regions. The largest species are found in places with high water availability during the driest time of the year. Nonetheless, lar

SUBMITTER: Ramirez-Delgado VH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5016639 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature