SEXUAL SIZE DIMORPHISM, DIET, AND REPRODUCTION IN THE MEXICAN GARTER SNAKE, THAMNOPHIS EQUES

被引：0
|
作者：
Manjarrez, Javier [1 ]
Contreras-Garduno, Jorge [2 ]
Krzysztof Janczur, Mariusz [3 ,4 ]
机构：
[1] Univ Autonoma Estado Mexico, Ctr Invest Recursos Biot, Toluca 50000, Estado De Mexic, Mexico
[2] Univ Guanajuato, Dept Biol, Div Ciencias Nat & Exactas, Guanajuato 36050, Mexico
[3] Autonomous Univ State Mexico, Dept Nat Sci, Res Grp Behav Biol & Conservat, Toluca, Mexico
[4] Jagiellonian Univ, Inst Environm Sci, Res Grp Life Hist Evolut, Krakow, Poland
来源：
HERPETOLOGICAL CONSERVATION AND BIOLOGY | 2014年 / 9卷 / 01期
关键词：
body size; diet; head length; litter size; snout-vent length; tail length; NORTHERN WATER SNAKES; BODY-SIZE; NICHE DIVERGENCE; EVOLUTION; GROWTH; HEAD; ECOLOGY;
D O I：
暂无
中图分类号：
Q95 [动物学];
学科分类号：
071002 ;
摘要：
In this study we examined diet, reproduction, and sexual dimorphism in body size of adult Thamnophis eques. We measured 307 adult snakes within the hydrologic system of High Lerma. Prey was obtained by forced regurgitation when snakes were collected, and gravid females were housed in the laboratory until parturition. Females had a longer snout-vent length and shorter tails than males, but there was no difference in total length between the two sexes. We found no evidence to support the hypothesis that sexual dimorphism is due to differences in prey size for this species because the sexes did not differ in the type and mass of prey they consumed; however, the size of gravid females was positively related to the number, but not size and weight, of their offspring. Our results suggested that sexual size dimorphism in natural populations of T. eques may be determined by fecundity selection rather than the ecological factors associated with the spectrum of available prey sizes. We also discuss possible reasons why the sexes did not differ in total length.
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页码：163 / 169
页数：7
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