VARIABILITY OF MINOR TOOTH TRAITS AND ALLOZYMIC DIVERSITY IN BROWN HARE LEPUS-EUROPAEUS POPULATIONS

Two contrasting hypotheses on the relationship between dental characte r variability and biochemical-genetic diversity: (1) ''influence of de velopmental homeostasis'' and (2) ''genetic-phenetic variation correla tion'' were tested in brown hare Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778 populati ons. Interindividual variability (IV) and fluctuating asymmetry (FA) o f 12 non-metrical characters of third lower premolars (P-3) as well as allozymic heterozygosity (H) at 13 polymorphic loci was examined in 3 85 individuals from 19 geographical sampling units (GSU) in Austria. J uveniles and adults were discriminated according to dry eye lens weigh ts. Sex was determined from internal reproductive organs. IV was calcu lated as the mean standard deviation of the 11 tooth characters in eac h GSU. GSU-specific FA was calculated as the mean FA of individuals (F A(IN)), where FA(IN) was the percentage of characters found asymmetric in individuals of a GSU. While IV did not show any significant relati onship with H at the population level, FA of adults was significantly positively correlated (r(s) = +0.650, p < 0.05) with H. In juveniles a trend (r(s) = +0.399, ns) for such a correlation was apparent too. Th is finding corresponds to the ''genetic-phenetic variation correlation hypothesis''. Variability, of both character systems is high in popul ations with high genomic variability, because both character systems c oncordantly portray gene peal diversity. Both IV and FA was significan tly lower in juveniles than in adults. Since no ontogenic changes in P -3 characters were found, this age-specific difference appears to resu lt from selection against juveniles with low P-3 variability (i.e. low genomic diversity). However, H was not lower in juveniles as compared to adults.