"Bergmann's Rule in Ectotherms: A Test Using Freshwater Fishes" by Mark C. Belk and Derek D. Houston
 

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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