Variación morfométrica a escala temporal en la liebre del Istmo, Lepus flavigularis de México

Abstract

MORPHOMETRIC VARIATION IN 29 CRANIAL VARIABLES IN THE ISTHMUS JACKRABBIT, LEPUS FLAVIGULARIS, WAS ANAYZED STATISTICALLY IN SPECIMENS OF THREE CENTURIES (NINETIETH TO TWENTY-FIRST). UNIVARIATE ANALYSES SHOWED THAT VARIABILITY DUE TO SEX AND INDIVIDUAL VARIATION WAS SMALL AND NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. MULTI-VARIATE ANALYSES REVEALED THAT: 1) DIFFERENCES IN SIZE EXPLAIN THE GREATEST PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL CRANIAL INTRASPECIFIC VARIATION; 2) THE INDIVIDUALS SHOWED SMAIL INTRASPECIFIC VARIATION, AND A TOTAL INTRASPECIFIC SEPARATION TO CRANIAL LEVEL, AND 3) THE MORPHOMETRIC DISTANCES BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS OF DIFFERENT CENTURIES SHOWED NEGLIGIBLE VARIATION, ALTHOUGH THE SHORTEST MORPHOMETRIC DISTANCE WAS BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS OF THE TWENTIETH AND TWENTY-FIRST CENTURIES, WHERES THE LARGEST ONE WAS BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS OF THE NINETIETH AND TWENTIETH. THE DIFFERENCES IN CRANIAL SIZE AND THE SMALL CHANGES IN THE CRANIAL SHAPE OF INDIVIDUALS OF L. FLAVIGULARIS THROUGHOUT TIME (PARTICULARY, THE CHARACTERS RELATED TO FEEDING) MAY RELECT MICROEVOLUTIONARY PROCESS IN THE POPULATIONS OF THIS SPECIES, FOR SELECTIVELY ADAPTING TO DIFFERENT ENVIROMENTAL CHANGES.