Sexual dimorphism in steppe tortoises (Testudo horsfieldii): influence of the environment and sexual selection on body shape and mobility

The scaling of bone and muscle geometry in mammals suggests that peak stresses (ratio of force to cross-sectional area) acting in these two support elements increase with increasing body size. Observations of stresses acting in the limb bones of different sized mammals during strenuous activity, however, indicate that peak bone stress is independent of size (maintaining a safety factor of between 2 and 4). It appears that similar peak bone stresses and muscle stresses in large and small mammals are achieved primarily by a size-dependent change in locomotor limb posture: small animals run with crouched postures, whereas larger species run more upright. By adopting an upright posture, large animals align their limbs more closely with the ground reaction force, substantially reducing the forces that their muscles must exert (proportional to body mass) and hence, the forces that their bones must resist, to counteract joint moments. This change in limb posture to maintain locomotor stresses within safe limits, however, likely limits the maneuverability and accelerative capability of large animals.

Three major hypotheses, based upon mechanisms of sexual selection, intersexual food competition and reproductive role division, have been advanced to explain the evolution of sexual dimorphism in body size and morphology of animals. Genetic models suggest that all of the hypotheses are plausible, and empirical studies demonstrate that each of the three mechanisms operates in natural populations. However, problems arise in testing hypotheses for the evolution of sexual dimorphism: more than one mechanism may be operating simultaneously, and the demonstrated occurrence of a mechanism does not indicate that it actually results in selection for dimorphism. A recent statistical technique offers a solution to these problems and provides a promising new approach to the study of sexual dimorphism, in which researchers can assess the relative importance of each mechanism in present-day selection for sexual dimorphism within a species. Copyright © 1989. Published by Elsevier Ltd.