BODY SIZE AND MASS OF NGORONGORO CRATER LIONS

[Pckts]

(02-17-2015, 06:00 AM)'tigerluver' Wrote: Peer-reviewed papers must be intrinsically respected, but they are not necessarily the final, undeniable word. By the conversations cited, something was off in the equation used and the peer-review did not catch it. Why? The peer-review process is not really focused on the data. The editors are rarely experts in the same concentration as the author. They do not know what is a right number and what's not. I'd say that a quarter of peer-reviewed works in the zoological and paleobiological field have some type of undetected data error. Rather if the work somehow gets past the "important enough" threshold, it will be more grammatically shredded than anything else. This is something to keep in mind when citing any peer-reviewed paper.

Regardless, if the chest girths are true, the transparent database indicates a population averaging about 200 kg, and a little less if the chest girth range given here if of only the young adults. A 200 kg average is comparable to the Smuts Kruger lion who were adjusted and weight on average of 188 kg, thus likely also in the 200 kg range of functional mass. In other words, the largest lion populations likely average around 200 kg.

Bengal tiger weights are pointed to often to show variation of mass across population, but from the scant data that I have posted before, the difference is essentially none. 

If and when corridors are established, variation in size across population will probably be near insignificant due to the high amounts of gene flow. For instance, in P. spelaea, its size from England to eastern Russia is essentially the same across forms due to free mixing of populations.At the same time, expect larger averages if corridors are ever established due to increase in genetic variability. Want an example?

Also, please don't quote huge chunks of texts, it wastes space on the page and isn't aesthetically pleasing. 

 

Exactly, also when comparing lets say "crater lions" to "kaziranga Tigers" we must take in to account time for morphological differences to occur. Kaziranga has had 100s of years for Tigers to attain different morphological attributes I:E: skull size for one, while Crater lions have only had 30 years or so to attain any difference in morphology compared to Serengeti, if any at all. Its not a climatic difference or terrain difference so there wouldn't need to be different charicteristics compared to lets say Marsh land in the Delta or Kaziranga. etc. Reply