Contrasting selection pressure on body and weapon size in a polygynous megaherbivore.

Graeme Shannon,Phoebe Sadler,Eleanor Roylance-Casson,Joanna Smith,Line S Cordes

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2021.0368

Abstract

Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is a common morphological trait in ungulates, with polygyny considered the leading driver of larger male body mass and weapon size. However, not all polygynous species exhibit SSD, while molecular evidence has revealed a more complex relationship between paternity and mating system than originally predicted. SSD is, therefore, likely to be shaped by a range of social, ecological and physiological factors. We present the first definitive analysis of SSD in the common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) using a unique morphological dataset collected from 2994 aged individuals. The results confirm that hippos exhibit SSD, but the mean body mass differed by only 5% between the sexes, which is rather limited compared with many other polygynous ungulates. However, jaw and canine mass are significantly greater in males than females (44% and 81% heavier, respectively), highlighting the considerable selection pressure for acquiring larger weapons. A predominantly aquatic lifestyle coupled with the physiological limitations of their foregut fermenting morphology likely restricts body size differences between the sexes. Indeed, hippos appear to be a rare example among ungulates whereby sexual selection favours increased weapon size over body mass, underlining the important role that species-specific ecology and physiology have in shaping SSD.

Highlights

Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is a common morphological trait whereby male and female animals exhibit significant differences in body size [1]
We explore the extent of sexual dimorphism in body size and weaponry for one of the largest and yet one of the least studied ungulate species, the common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius)
There was a clear top model for all three body size model sets, where the relationship between the body size metrics and age was best described by a Generalized additive models (GAMs) with four knots royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsbl Biol

Summary

Evolutionary biology

Contrasting selection pressure on body and weapon size in a polygynous megaherbivore Graeme Shannon, Phoebe Sadler, Joanna Smith, Eleanor Roylance-Casson and Line S. Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is a common morphological trait in ungulates, with polygyny considered the leading driver of larger male body mass and weapon size. SSD is, likely to be shaped by a range of social, ecological and physiological factors. The results confirm that hippos exhibit SSD, but the mean body mass differed by only 5% between the sexes, which is rather limited compared with many other polygynous ungulates. A predominantly aquatic lifestyle coupled with the physiological limitations of their foregut fermenting morphology likely restricts body size differences between the sexes. Hippos appear to be a rare example among ungulates whereby sexual selection favours increased weapon size over body mass, underlining the important role that species-specific ecology and physiology have in shaping SSD

Introduction

Results

Discussion