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Effect of weather during development on cranial morphometrics of American marten (Martes americana)
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- Author / Creator
- Pigeon, Josh
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Globally, climate change is affecting species in a myriad of ways. Rapid morphological change has been proposed to be a consequence of climate change, but evidence is minimal. Furthermore, any such rapid morphological change is expected to be a phenotypic response rather than evolutionary. Adaptive, neutral, and non-adaptive phenotypic plasticity in the form of reaction norms and developmental noise such as fluctuating asymmetry can provide insights into a population’s ability to adapt to increased variability and extremes in weather, which are more common due to climate change. Using geometric morphometrics, I explored patterns of covariation between morphological variation in a population of American marten (Martes americana) near Nordegg, Alberta, and variation in weather metrics during periods when young are growing during prenatal (February–April) and postnatal (May–July) development. Analysis of variation in cranial morphology revealed significant covariation between the symmetric component of morphological variation and weather metrics during early postnatal development. I did not find significant covariation between the asymmetric component of morphological variation (fluctuating asymmetry) and weather during development. My findings are congruent with other studies, and point to both direct and indirect effects of “climate-induced” weather variation, including the potential of a feeding ecology mechanism as an explanation for the covariation.
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- Subjects / Keywords
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- Graduation date
- Spring 2024
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Master of Science
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- License
- This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.