ALLOZYME HETEROZYGOSITY AND FLUCTUATING ASYMMETRY IN THE BROWN HARE (LEPUS-EUROPAEUS) - A TEST OF THE DEVELOPMENTAL HOMEOSTASIS HYPOTHESIS

The influence of allozyme heterozygosity on developmental homeostasis as indicated by fluctuating morphological asymmetry (FA) has been a co ntroversial issue in evolutionary studies. In the present investigatio n, relationships between overall individual heterozygosity (H), calcul ated over 13 polymorphic enzyme loci, and fluctuating asymmetry (FA) i n 27 non-metric and 9 metric bilateral skull and mandible traits were examined in a total of 417 brown hares. The respective tests were perf ormed separately for juveniles and adults within and among five geogra phic arrays of samples, and among 17 single sampling localities. Withi n geographic units, neither in metric nor in non-metric characters cou ld a clear relationship between FA and H be detected. Among geographic units and single sampling localities, for metric traits the result re mained the same. In non-metric traits, however, a significant negative correlation between overall FA and H became apparent in adults. Thus, fluctuating asymmetry and heterozygosity are inversely related also i n a mammalian species. The long lasting dispute as to the existence of a homeotherm-poikilotherm dichotomy may have been the result of a dis regard of non-metric traits and of an interpopulation approach for ass essing relationships between morphological FA and H in mammals.