Navigating uncertainty in maximum body size in marine metazoans.

Autor: McClain CR; Department of Biology University of Louisiana at Lafayette Lafayette Louisiana USA., Webb TJ; Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, School of Biosciences University of Sheffield Sheffield UK., Heim NA; Department of Earth and Climate Sciences Tufts University Medford Massachusetts USA., Knope ML; Department of Biology University of Hawai'i at Hilo Hilo Hawaii USA., Monarrez PM; Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Stanford University Stanford California USA.; Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles California USA., Payne JL; Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Stanford University Stanford California USA.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Ecology and evolution [Ecol Evol] 2024 Jun 05; Vol. 14 (6), pp. e11506. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jun 05 (Print Publication: 2024).
DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11506
Abstrakt: Body size is a fundamental biological trait shaping ecological interactions, evolutionary processes, and our understanding of the structure and dynamics of marine communities on a global scale. Accurately defining a species' body size, despite the ease of measurement, poses significant challenges due to varied methodologies, tool usage, and subjectivity among researchers, resulting in multiple, often discrepant size estimates. These discrepancies, stemming from diverse measurement approaches and inherent variability, could substantially impact the reliability and precision of ecological and evolutionary studies reliant on body size data across extensive species datasets. This study examines the variation in reported maximum body sizes across 69,570 individual measurements of maximum size, ranging from <0.2 μm to >45 m, for 27,271 species of marine metazoans. The research aims to investigate how reported maximum size variations within species relate to organism size, taxonomy, habitat, and the presence of skeletal structures. The investigation particularly focuses on understanding why discrepancies in maximum size estimates arise and their potential implications for broader ecological and evolutionary studies relying on body size data. Variation in reported maximum sizes is zero for 38% of species, and low for most species, although it exceeds two orders of magnitude for some species. The likelihood of zero variation in maximum size decreased with more measurements and increased in larger species, though this varied across phyla and habitats. Pelagic organisms consistently had low maximum size range values, while small species with unspecified habitats had the highest variation. Variations in maximum size within a species were notably smaller than interspecific variation at higher taxonomic levels. Significant variation in maximum size estimates exists within marine species, and partially explained by organism size, taxonomic group, and habitat. Variation in maximum size could be reduced by standardized measurement protocols and improved meta-data. Despite the variation, egregious errors in published maximum size measurements are rare, and their impact on comparative macroecological and macroevolutionary research is likely minimal.
Competing Interests: None Declared.
(© 2024 The Author(s). Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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