Sexual Size Monomorphism and Geographic Variation in the Fat dormouse Glis glis based on the morphometric characters in Western Mazandaran and Southern Guilan Province (Rodentia: Gliridae)

Abstract

Introduction: The past environmental conditions have a significant role on the ecology,
geographical distribution of species and their genetic structure and diversity. Sexual
dimorphism in animals is an attractive and scientific topic among researchers.
Materials & methods: In order to investigate this phenomenon in Glis glis species, as well
as to investigate population separation in West Mazandaran and East Guilan, sampling was
done from 5 study stations from July 2019 to August 2020. A total of 80 samples including
40 females and 40 males were used for external morphometric studies. For statistical
analysis, parametric and non-parametric tests (t-test and Mann–Whitney) as well as Principal
Component Analysis and Discriminant Functional Analysis were used.
Results: No significant difference was found between males and females in any of the traits.
Also, no significant difference was seen between the two populations of West Mazandaran
and East Gilan.
Conclusion: Based on the obtained results, it can be said that this species is a monomorphic
species. This feature can provide the same advantage to both sexes in intersexual and
intrasexual interactions. To investigate the population divergence of Glis glis species in the
north of Iran, more studies are needed using cranial, dental and genetic morphological traits.