Title |
The blue lizard spandrel and the island syndrome
|
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Published in |
BMC Ecology and Evolution, September 2010
|
DOI | 10.1186/1471-2148-10-289 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Pasquale Raia, Fabio M Guarino, Mimmo Turano, Gianluca Polese, Daniela Rippa, Francesco Carotenuto, Daria M Monti, Manuela Cardi, Domenico Fulgione |
Abstract |
Many small vertebrates on islands grow larger, mature later, lay smaller clutches/litters, and are less sexually dimorphic and aggressive than their mainland relatives. This set of observations is referred to as the 'Island Syndrome'. The syndrome is linked to high population density on islands. We predicted that when population density is low and/or fluctuating insular vertebrates may evolve correlated trait shifts running opposite to the Island Syndrome, which we collectively refer to as the 'reversed island syndrome' (RIS) hypothesis. On the proximate level, we hypothesized that RIS is caused by increased activity levels in melanocortin receptors. Melanocortins are postranslational products of the proopiomelanocortin gene, which controls pleiotropically pigmentation, aggressiveness, sexual activity, and food intake in vertebrates. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Japan | 1 | 25% |
Unknown | 3 | 75% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 4 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 4 | 2% |
Spain | 3 | 2% |
France | 2 | 1% |
United Kingdom | 1 | <1% |
China | 1 | <1% |
Unknown | 154 | 93% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 40 | 24% |
Student > Master | 27 | 16% |
Researcher | 25 | 15% |
Student > Bachelor | 21 | 13% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 10 | 6% |
Other | 23 | 14% |
Unknown | 19 | 12% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 101 | 61% |
Environmental Science | 15 | 9% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 12 | 7% |
Engineering | 3 | 2% |
Psychology | 2 | 1% |
Other | 7 | 4% |
Unknown | 25 | 15% |