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Testing Bergmann’s rule and the Rosenzweig hypothesis with craniometric studies of the South American sea lion

  • Physiological ecology - Original research
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Abstract

We tested the validity of Bergmann’s rule and Rosenzweig’s hypothesis through an analysis of the geographical variation of the skull size of Otaria flavescens along the entire distribution range of the species (except Brazil). We quantified the sizes of 606 adult South American sea lion skulls measured in seven localities of Peru, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, and the Falkland/Malvinas Islands. Geographical and environmental variables included latitude, longitude, and monthly minimum, maximum, and mean air and ocean temperatures. We also included information on fish landings as a proxy for productivity. Males showed a positive relationship between condylobasal length (CBL) and latitude, and between CBL and the six temperature variables. By contrast, females showed a negative relationship between CBL and the same variables. Finally, female skull size showed a significant and positive correlation with fish landings, while males did not show any relationship with this variable. The body size of males conformed to Bergmann’s rule, with larger individuals found in southern localities of South America. Females followed the converse of Bergmann’s rule at the intraspecific level, but showed a positive relationship with the proxy for productivity, thus supporting Rosenzweig’s hypothesis. Differences in the factors that drive body size in females and males may be explained by their different life-history strategies. Our analyses demonstrate that latitude and temperature are not the only factors that explain spatial variation in body size: others such as food availability are also important for explaining the ecogeographical patterns found in O. flavescens.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Ana Avalos for providing access to the otariid skull collection at Museo de Historia Natural de Valparaíso in 1980. We also thank Enrique González of the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural in Montevideo, and Roberto Portela, Mammal Section Curator, British Museum (National History), London, for providing access to specimens, and Javier Sánchez for help with the measurements. This study was supported by DIPUV Project NO. 44/2005 and CIGREN Project DIPUV-CID NO 01/03. We are indebted to many people from the Laboratorio de Mamíferos Marinos of the Centro Nacional Patagónico for their assistance in the field collecting specimens for the last 40 years. Institutional support for skull collection in Chubut was given by the Centro Nacional Patagónico (CONICET, Argentina). Permits were provided by the Secretaría de Áreas Protegidas y Turismo and Dirección de Fauna y Flora Silvestre, Chubut Province (Argentina). SNP and EAP acknowledge support from ANPCYT (PICT9801-04025), Conservación de la Diversidad Biológica Marina y Prevención de la Contaminación en Patagonia (GEF/PNUD ARG 02/018), Estudio de las amenazas para la conservación de mamíferos marinos de Patagonia (BBVA, BIOCON 04), and the South American Sea Lion Conservation Program of Amnéville Zoo, France. RNP Goodall’s research in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego (TdF), has been supported mainly by grants from the Committee for Research and Exploration (CRE) of the National Geographic Society. She is very grateful for the support of the coastal estancias (farms) in TdF and for the research assistance of many assistants and interns over the years.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigación y Gestión de los Recursos Naturales (CIGREN), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Gran Bretaña 1111, Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile

    Maritza Sepúlveda, Doris Oliva, L. René Duran & Alejandra Urra

  2. Laboratorio de Mamíferos Marinos, Centro Nacional Patagónico (CONICET), Bvd. Brown, 2915, Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina

    Susana N. Pedraza & Enrique A. Crespo

  3. Unidad de Biología de la Conservación, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH), Armendáriz 445, Miraflores, Lima 18, Peru

    Patrícia Majluf

  4. Museo Acatushún de Aves y Mamíferos Marinos Australes (AMMA) y Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC), 9410, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

    Natalie Goodall

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  1. Maritza Sepúlveda
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  2. Doris Oliva
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Correspondence to Maritza Sepúlveda.

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Communicated by Helene Marsh.

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Sepúlveda, M., Oliva, D., René Duran, L. et al. Testing Bergmann’s rule and the Rosenzweig hypothesis with craniometric studies of the South American sea lion. Oecologia 171, 809–817 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-012-2462-1

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