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ReportsNatural Selection and Developmental Constraints in the Evolution of Allometries
In animals, scaling relationships between appendages and body size exhibit high interspecific variation but low intraspecific variation. This pattern could result from natural selection for specific allometries or from developmental constraints on patterns of differential growth. We performed artificial selection on the allometry between forewing area and body size in a butterfly to test for developmental constraints, and then used the resultant increased range of phenotypic variation to quantify natural selection on the scaling relationship. Our results show that the short-term evolution of allometries is not limited by developmental constraints. Instead, scaling relationships are shaped by strong natural selection.
1 Section of Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9516, 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands. * Present address: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)
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