Different solutions lead to similar life history traits across the great divides of the amniote tree of life

Journal of Biological Research-Thessaloniki

Yuval Itescu¹  Gopal Murali²  Uri Roll²  Gabriel Caetano²  Anna Zimin³  Lior Shak³  Shai Meiri⁴ 

[1] Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), 12587, Berlin, Germany;Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195, Berlin, Germany;Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben Gurion, Israel;School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel;School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel;The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv University, 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel;

关键词: Amniotes;    Aves;    Breeding frequency;    Cleidoic egg;    Clutch size;    Ectothermy;    Endothermy;    Litter size;    Mammalia;    Metabolic rates;    Offspring size;    Parental care;    Reproductive investment;    Reptilia;    Squamata;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40709-021-00134-9

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

Amniote vertebrates share a suite of extra-embryonic membranes that distinguish them from anamniotes. Other than that, however, their reproductive characteristics could not be more different. They differ in basic ectothermic vs endothermic physiology, in that two clades evolved powered flight, and one clade evolved a protective shell. In terms of reproductive strategies, some produce eggs and others give birth to live young, at various degrees of development. Crucially, endotherms provide lengthy parental care, including thermal and food provisioning—whereas ectotherms seldom do. These differences could be expected to manifest themselves in major differences between clades in quantitative reproductive traits. We review the reproductive characteristics, and the distributions of brood sizes, breeding frequencies, offspring sizes and their derivatives (yearly fecundity and biomass production rates) of the four major amniote clades (mammals, birds, turtles and squamates), and several major subclades (birds: Palaeognathae, Galloanserae, Neoaves; mammals: Metatheria and Eutheria). While there are differences between these clades in some of these traits, they generally show similar ranges, distribution shapes and central tendencies across birds, placental mammals and squamates. Marsupials and turtles, however, differ in having smaller offspring, a strategy which subsequently influences other traits.

【 授权许可】

CC BY