title: Revisiting Fisher: range size drives the correlation between variability and abundance of British bird eggs.
abstract: We evaluate the correlation between intraspecific variation in egg size and population size in breeding British birds. Using information on abundance, range occupancy, migration status and phylogenetic relationships among species, we show that a wider geographical distribution rather than larger population size per se best predicts egg size variability. A similar result applies to wing length variability. Results from a phylogenetic path analysis suggest that geographical variation is the most parsimonious causal explanation for high intraspecific variation in common species.
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USA.
authors: O
authors: O
authors: Lapiedra
authors: Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors: T D
authors: TD
authors: Price
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D010063:Ovum / Q000502:physiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D011156:Population Density; D013045:Species Specificity; D006113:United Kingdom; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000033:anatomy & histology
keywords: egg size; geographical variation; morphological variation; mutation-selection balance; range size; wing length