Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://biore.bio.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/5063
Title: Dwarf vipers on a small island: body size, diet and fecundity correlates
Authors: Tomović, Ljiljana 
Anđelković, Marko
Golubović, Ana 
Arsovski, Dragan
Ajtić, Rastko
Sterijovski, Bogoljub
Nikolić, Sonja 
Crnobrnja-Isailović, Jelka
Lakušić, Margareta 
Bonnet, Xavier
Keywords: Body size;Diet;Island dwarfism;Mainland;Relative jaw length;Relative tail length;Reproductive output
Issue Date: 2-Oct-2022
Rank: M23
Publisher: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Journal: Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
Volume: 137
Issue: 2
Start page: 267
End page: 279
Abstract: 
Insular populations offer excellent opportunities to study the factors that influence phenotypes. We observed island dwarfism in a widespread snake, the nose-horned viper (Vipera ammodytes). Island vipers were ~20% smaller than mainland individuals. They also produced fewer and smaller offspring. In snakes, food availability has a positive influence on body size, fecundity and offspring size. Consequently, low energy intake is a plausible explanation for insular dwarfism. The diet of island vipers was principally represented by lizards and centipedes, whereas the most profitable prey items (e.g. rodents) were regularly found in the stomach of mainland vipers. Furthermore, the proportion of individuals captured with a full stomach and good body condition were lower on the island compared with the mainland. Thus, island vipers were likely to be experiencing permanent energy restriction, with cascading effects on adult body size and reproductive output. Large prey promotes high relative jaw length in snakes. Island vipers displayed smaller relative jaw length compared with mainland populations, suggesting that plasticity played a role in insular dwarfism. But the difference in relative tail length between island and mainland populations, a trait not subjected to food-induced plasticity, indicates local adaptation. Both plasticity and adaptation might influence the phenotype of island vipers.
URI: https://biore.bio.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/5063
ISSN: 0024-4066
DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blac085
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