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Getting a head in hard soils: Convergent skull evolution and divergent allometric patterns explain shape variation in a highly diverse genus of pocket gophers (Thomomys)

Overview of attention for article published in BMC Ecology and Evolution, October 2016
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  • In the top 5% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (95th percentile)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (94th percentile)

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3 news outlets
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2 blogs
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36 X users
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1 Facebook page
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1 YouTube creator

Citations

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35 Dimensions

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69 Mendeley
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Title
Getting a head in hard soils: Convergent skull evolution and divergent allometric patterns explain shape variation in a highly diverse genus of pocket gophers (Thomomys)
Published in
BMC Ecology and Evolution, October 2016
DOI 10.1186/s12862-016-0782-1
Pubmed ID
Authors

Ariel E. Marcy, Elizabeth A. Hadly, Emma Sherratt, Kathleen Garland, Vera Weisbecker

Abstract

High morphological diversity can occur in closely related animals when selection favors morphologies that are subject to intrinsic biological constraints. A good example is subterranean rodents of the genus Thomomys, one of the most taxonomically and morphologically diverse mammalian genera. Highly procumbent, tooth-digging rodent skull shapes are often geometric consequences of increased body size. Indeed, larger-bodied Thomomys species tend to inhabit harder soils. We used geometric morphometric analyses to investigate the interplay between soil hardness (the main extrinsic selection pressure on fossorial mammals) and allometry (i.e. shape change due to size change; generally considered the main intrinsic factor) on crania and humeri in this fast-evolving mammalian clade. Larger Thomomys species/subspecies tend to have more procumbent cranial shapes with some exceptions, including a small-bodied species inhabiting hard soils. Counter to earlier suggestions, cranial shape within Thomomys does not follow a genus-wide allometric pattern as even regional subpopulations differ in allometric slopes. In contrast, humeral shape varies less with body size and with soil hardness. Soft-soil taxa have larger humeral muscle attachment sites but retain an orthodont (non-procumbent) cranial morphology. In intermediate soils, two pairs of sister taxa diverge through differential modifications on either the humerus or the cranium. In the hardest soils, both humeral and cranial morphology are derived through large muscle attachment sites and a high degree of procumbency. Our results show that conflict between morphological function and intrinsic allometric patterning can quickly and differentially alter the rodent skeleton, especially the skull. In addition, we found a new case of convergent evolution of incisor procumbency among large-, medium-, and small-sized species inhabiting hard soils. This occurs through different combinations of allometric and non-allometric changes, contributing to shape diversity within the genus. The strong influence of allometry on cranial shape appears to confirm suggestions that developmental change underlies mammalian cranial shape divergences, but this requires confirmation from ontogenetic studies. Our findings illustrate how a variety of intrinsic processes, resulting in species-level convergence, could sustain a genus-level range across a variety of extrinsic environments. This might represent a mechanism for observations of genus-level niche conservation despite species extinctions in mammals.

X Demographics

X Demographics

The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 36 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 69 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Japan 1 1%
Unknown 68 99%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Ph. D. Student 12 17%
Student > Master 11 16%
Researcher 9 13%
Student > Bachelor 8 12%
Student > Doctoral Student 5 7%
Other 11 16%
Unknown 13 19%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 37 54%
Environmental Science 3 4%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 3 4%
Earth and Planetary Sciences 3 4%
Medicine and Dentistry 2 3%
Other 1 1%
Unknown 20 29%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 55. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 17 April 2022.
All research outputs
#772,001
of 25,371,288 outputs
Outputs from BMC Ecology and Evolution
#153
of 3,714 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#14,701
of 327,196 outputs
Outputs of similar age from BMC Ecology and Evolution
#5
of 91 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,371,288 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 96th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,714 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 12.5. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 95% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 327,196 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 95% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 91 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 94% of its contemporaries.