Biogeography of polymorphic phenotypes: Mapping and ecological modelling of coat colour variants in an elusive Neotropical cat, the jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi)
The jaguarundi Puma yagouaroundi is a small Neotropical cat that presents two main coloration phenotypes (grey/dark vs. reddish). Although these coat colour variants have been known for decades, and historically speculated to be associated with different habitats, their exact geographical distributi...
Saved in:
| Published in: | Journal of zoology (1987) Vol. 299; no. 4; pp. 295 - 303 |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
London
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
01-08-2016
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | The jaguarundi Puma yagouaroundi is a small Neotropical cat that presents two main coloration phenotypes (grey/dark vs. reddish). Although these coat colour variants have been known for decades, and historically speculated to be associated with different habitats, their exact geographical distribution has never been mapped. Moreover, their association to different habitats has so far not been tested statistically, so that their ecological relevance with respect to varying environmental features remains unknown. Based on 566 location records encompassing the entire historical range of the species obtained from camera‐traps, captures and skins held in scientific collections, we produced suitability models for both jaguarundi phenotypes using maximum entropy algorithms of niche modelling. The frequency of grey/dark jaguarundis is c. 80%, whereas reddish animals represent c. 20% of our overall sample set. However, there were marked differences in these frequencies across regions. Although the spatial distribution of grey/dark animals did not depart substantially from random expectations (as it encompassed the whole species range), the occurrence of the ancestral reddish form was strongly and significantly non‐random. In spite of their broad distribution across multiple habitats, grey/dark animals were significantly associated with moist and dense forests, whereas reddish forms were associated with dry and open areas such as deserts and xeric landscapes. Furthermore, there were clear spatial differences in the suitability models generated for these coat colour phenotypes. We also employed the distribution models to investigate whether particular environmental predictors could explain these different distributions. Predictors related to moisture were especially influential on the differences between the grey/dark and reddish models, and demonstrate an effect of natural selection on coloration traits, suggesting that a complex interplay of different ecological processes regulates this system over evolutionary time.
The jaguarundi Puma yagouaroundi is a small Neotropical cat that presents two main coloration phenotypes (grey/dark vs. reddish), whose exact geographic distribution has never been mapped. Based on 566 location records encompassing the entire historical range of the species, we mapped and produced a habitat suitability model for each of these phenotypes. The frequency of grey/dark jaguarundis was c. 80%, while that of reddish animals was c. 20%. The spatial distribution of grey/dark animals was approximately random, whereas that of the reddish form was significantly non‐random. Grey/dark animals were significantly associated with moist and dense forests, while reddish forms were associated with dry and open areas. Furthermore, there were clear spatial differences between the suitability models of these phenotypes. We observed that environmental predictors related to moisture were especially influential on the differences between the models. These results support an effect of natural selection on the distribution of coloration traits. |
|---|---|
| Bibliography: | istex:D72DF6842FCCCB34A52E99ECF6213B8557EA03B4 ArticleID:JZO12358 Figure S1: Example of the classification of jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi) museum specimens into two main coloration phenotypes ('dark/grey' vs. 'reddish'). Figure S2: New distributional map for Puma yagouaroundi. Location records comprising our full data base are indicated, and overlaid on the present IUCN range map along with additional areas of occurrence documented in this study. Figure S3: Basemap for the Complete Spatial Randomness (CSR) test. Figure S4: Results of the CSR test comparing random and observed distributions of location records in our database for each of the two main jaguarundi phenotypes: (A) dark/grey individuals (P=0.013) and (B) reddish individuals (P=0.003). Figure S5: Graphs depicting receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves that display average sensitivity vs. specificity in our two Maxent models: (a) grey/dark jaguarundis and (b) reddish jaguarundis. Figure S6: Graphs depicting the results of the suitability test comparing the dark/grey and reddish models across all the location records in our database (P < 0.01). Figure S7: Detailed assessment of the 12 bioclimatic predictors selected for inclusion in the Maxent modelling of the two coloration phenotypes, after removing the variables showing the most correlation relative to all others (see Methods and Table S2). Table S1: Location records for Puma yagouaroundi. Table S2: Environmental predictors used in the initial analysis and selected by Pearson's test (in red). ark:/67375/WNG-430NRZG6-F ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
| ISSN: | 0952-8369 1469-7998 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/jzo.12358 |