Does a Simple Cope's Rule Mechanism Overlook Predators?

Penteriani, Vincenzo; Kenward, Robert

doi:https://doi.org/10.1155/2007/92684

International Journal of Ecology

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Research Letter | Open Access

Volume 2007 | Article ID 092684 | https://doi.org/10.1155/2007/92684

Does a Simple Cope's Rule Mechanism Overlook Predators?

Vincenzo Penteriani¹and Robert Kenward²

Academic Editor: Bruce D. Leopold

Received12 Jul 2007

Accepted25 Oct 2007

Published15 Nov 2007

Abstract

The Cope’s rule predicts a tendency for species to evolve towards an increase in size. Recently, it has been suggested that such a tendency is due to the fact that large body sizes provide a general increase in individual fitness. Here we highlight evidence that predator species do not always fit the large-size = high-fitness mechanism for Cope’s rule. Given the specific requirements of predators and the complexity of prey-predator relationships, any analysis that does not take into account all animal groups may overlook a significant portion of evolutive trends. Generalisations may not be possible regardless of taxa.

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Copyright

Copyright © 2007 Vincenzo Penteriani and Robert Kenward. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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