Evol Ecol Res 7: 497-503 (2005)     Full PDF if your library subscribes.

Is there a trade-off between energetics and spleen mass? A quantitative genetic study in the leaf-eared mouse

Leonardo D. Bacigalupe,1* Roberto F. Nespolo,2 Diego M. Bustamante1 and Francisco Bozinovic1

1Center for Advanced Studies in Ecology & Biodiversity and Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 6513677 and  2Instituto de Ecología y Evolución, Universidad Austral de Chile, Casilla 567, Valdivia, Chile

Address all correspondence to Leonardo D. Bacigalupe, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
e-mail: l.bacigalupe@sheffield.ac.uk

ABSTRACT

Question: Is there a microevolutionary trade-off between energetics and spleen mass?

Hypothesis: A negative genetic correlation between energetics and spleen mass would indicate a trade-off.

Methods: We carried out a quantitative genetic study in cold-acclimated individuals of the leaf-eared mouse, Phyllotis darwini.

Conclusions: Our results (1) do not support a microevolutionary trade-off between spleen mass and energetic traits, and (2) do not provide evidence that spleen mass can respond to current natural selection

Keywords: energetics, heritability, spleen, trade-off.

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