Keywords

body size, latitude, temperature, Bergmann's rule, fish

Abstract

Understanding patterns of variation in body size within and among species is a central question in evolutionary ecology (Schlichting and Pigliucci 1998). The most well known pattern of variation in body size is Bergmann's rule (Bergmann 1847; Mayr 1956). The intraspecific version of Bergmann's rule holds that within endothermic species, body size increases with increasing latitude (or decreasing temperature; Blackburn et al. 1999; Ashton et al. 2000). In general, mammals conform to this rule (Ashton et al. 2000).

Original Publication Citation

The American Naturalist 16.6(Dec 22): 83-88.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2002-12-01

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/2006

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Language

English

College

Life Sciences

Department

Biology

Included in

Biology Commons

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