Cristina San José

Variation in skull morphology of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in western and central Europe

Variation in 21 measurements of skulls of roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus ) from eight geographic samples covering most of the range of the species in Europe was studied to assess morphological differences among populations. A total of 266 skulls of adult roe deer (133 females, 133 males) was included in the analysis; sexes were studied separately. Despite the occurrence of roe deer in a wide variety of habitats, variations in skull morphology among populations were not acute. Length of skull was the principal factor of interpopulational variability in roe deer. Variation was not distributed along clines of latitude, longitude, or elevation, but those factors did influence variation through effects on primary production, which in turn caused isolated differences in skull morphology apparently related to types of forage selected by roe deer in various geographic areas. Morphological and adaptative variation in skulls of roe deer suggested the existence of ecotypes rather than subspecies.

REPRODUCTIVE STATUS OF MOTHERS AFFECTS SEX-BIASED PARENTAL INVESTMENT IN HUMANS

An analysis of the sexual differences in birth weights of 381 children showed that boys are heavier than girls for multiparous mothers but not for primiparous ones. The results support the current hypotheses that predict sex biases in parental investment, with higher costs of producing male offspring in some mammals.