Using craniometrical predictors to infer body size of Antillean manatees
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Delma Nataly Castelblanco-Martínez
,
Benjamín Morales-Vela
Abstract
Body size determines many physiological and ecological variables; however, there are few studies on this parameter for the Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus). We studied an osteological collection and databases of Antillean manatees in Mexico to infer body measurements and to determine the body mass (BM)/body length (BL) relationship. The studied sample included 165 specimens: skulls (n=60), necropsies (n=51), and individuals captured for health assessment purposes (n=54). Specific regression equations for estimating BM were derived using the following craniometrical parameters: condylobasal length (BSL), occipital condyle width (OCW), and foramen magnum width (FMW). OCW and FMW were not significantly correlated with BL. The equation of the fitted model was BL=-121.644+10.8861×BSL (p<0.05, r2=0.93, SE=14.72). The allometric equation of weight/length relationship was defined as BM=exp (2.7477+0.0110957×BL) (p<0.05, r2=0.99, SE=0.07). The model showed a significant relationship between BL and BSL (>95%). Regression equations proved to be useful in estimating BL when only highly decomposed carcasses or skull dry bones are available, and in estimating weight when it is impossible to do it directly. Studies on biology history and age determination in T. m. manatus are required in order to establish an adequate age classification.
We are grateful to Enrique Escobedo-Cabrera for his help in the manipulation of osteological material; to Carmen Pozo, person in charge of the Museum of Zoology of ECOSUR; to Humberto Bahena-Basave for providing skull images; and to the Stranding Network of Aquatic Mammals of Chetumal and Rio Hondo. Christiane Denys and an anonymous reviewer made helpful suggestions on the article. We especially acknowledge Carlos Niño-Torres for useful comments on the models and the manuscript.
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- Masthead
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- Review
- Population and community dynamics and habitat selection of rodents in complex desert landscapes
- Original Studies
- Social thermoregulation in least shrews, Cryptotis parva
- Environmental variables and reproductive activity in small rodents of pampean agroecosystems
- Feeding habits of the common genet (Genetta genetta) in the area of Djurdjura, north of Algeria
- Snow cover and riparian habitat determine the distribution of the short-tailed weasel (Mustela erminea) at its southern range limits in arid western North America
- Surprising low abundance of European wildcats in a Mediterranean protected area of southwestern Spain
- Distribution and spread of an introduced insular population of red-bellied squirrels (Sciurus aureogaster) in Florida
- Ranging patterns of François’ langur in a fragmented habitat in Fusui Reserve, Guangxi Province, China
- Root cellars are important winter roosts for brown long-eared bats (Plecotus auritus) and northern bats (Eptesicus nilssonii) in Latvia
- Interindividual variations in fruit preferences of the yellow-shouldered bat Sturnira lilium (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in a cafeteria experiment
- A preliminary investigation into the endoparasite load of the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) in Ireland
- Using craniometrical predictors to infer body size of Antillean manatees
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- Anthropogenic effects on the feeding habits of wolves in an altered arid landscape of central Iran
- Reproductive data of a threatened bat, Myotis ruber (É. Geoffroy, 1806) (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) in a southern Brazilian deciduous seasonal forest
- First record of Micronycteris sanborni (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) from Central Amazonia, Brazil: range expansion and description of its echolocation
- Recent record of the Asiatic lesser yellow house bat (Scotophilus kuhlii) from Punjab, Pakistan
