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Relationships between head morphology, bite performance and ecology in two species of Podarcis wall lizards

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Abstract

Understanding the relationship between form and function is central to our comprehension of how phenotypic diversity evolves. Traits involved in multiple activities, such as social interactions and ecological resource use, are under the influence of different evolutionary forces potentially acting in opposite directions. Such systems provide the opportunity of understanding how potential constraints on morphological variation may influence whole-organism performance. In this study we examined morphology and bite performance in two closely related species of Podarcis wall lizards with divergent microhabitat preferences, to investigate how natural and sexual selection interact to shape the evolution of head traits. Our results show that although head morphology is markedly different between species and sexes, only sexes differ in bite force, indicating that the ecological differentiation between species is reflected in their morphology but does not constrain performance. Rather, the modification of the relative size of head components between species and a shift in the form-function relationship provide a potential explanation of how equal performance is attained by different morphological configurations. Geometric morphometrics provide a clear, biomechanically meaningful image of how this is achieved and show a bisexual pattern of head shape-bite force association in both species. This, together with a strong allometry of head size on body size and head shape on head size, provides indirect morphological evidence for the importance of sexual selection in shaping morphological and functional patterns. Finally, our findings suggest that the differences observed between species and sexes in head traits and bite performance are not reflected in their dietary ecology, implying that if trophic niche segregation between groups occurs, the reasons behind it are not primarily related to head morphology and functional variation.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Catarina Rato and Fatima Jorge for help during fieldwork and experimental treatments. Anthony Herrel kindly provided the force transducer used for bite-force measurements. Two anonymous reviewers provided insightful comments that aided in improving a previous version of the manuscript. AK, AvdM and AP were supported by post-doctoral grants (SFRH/BPD/68493/2010, SFRH/BPD/48042/2008 and SFRH/BPD/26546/2006 respectively), all from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal), and DCA was supported in part by NSF grant DEB-0446758. Capture and handling of the animals used were performed under a scientific permit provided by Instituto para a Conservação da Natureza e Biodiversidade (ICNB, Portugal).

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  1. CIBIO/UP, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Campus Agrario de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal

    Antigoni Kaliontzopoulou, Arie van der Meijden, Ana Perera & Miguel A. Carretero

  2. Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA

    Antigoni Kaliontzopoulou & Dean C. Adams

  3. Department of Statistics, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA

    Dean C. Adams

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  1. Antigoni Kaliontzopoulou
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Correspondence to Antigoni Kaliontzopoulou.

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Kaliontzopoulou, A., Adams, D.C., van der Meijden, A. et al. Relationships between head morphology, bite performance and ecology in two species of Podarcis wall lizards. Evol Ecol 26, 825–845 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-011-9538-y

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