Sex, Age, and Skull Morphology Effects on Eye Size and Refractive Errors in Reindeer
4 affiliations
- 1National Centre for Optics, Vision and Eye Care, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences University of South‐Eastern Norway Kongsberg Norway
- 2Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health University of South‐Eastern Norway Bø Norway
- 3Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game Management University for Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna Austria
- 4Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science University of California Berkeley California USA
Abstract
Eye size influences captured light and visual resolution and is used as an indicator of the relative importance of vision. Although vision‐related sexual dimorphism is subtle among vertebrates, Cervids exhibit pronounced sexual dimorphism in body size, antler development, and reproductive strategies. We tested the hypothesis that male reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus tarandus ) with larger skeletal dimensions would have larger eyes and narrower binocular overlap but similar refractive errors compared to females. We collected skull morphological, ocular biometric, and refractive error data from 69 semi‐domesticated reindeer (0.5–12.5‐year‐old; 27 females, 42 males) living year‐round under extreme high‐latitude seasonal variation in photoperiod in south‐central Norway. The relationships between eye size, mandible length, interorbital distance, and orbital diameter were analyzed, and binocular overlap and anterior blind zones were calculated. Eye size increased with measures of skull size, while refractive error remained minimal across all ages. Although male calves had significantly larger mandibles and interorbital distances, their orbital diameters were the same as in female calves. However, in adults, males also had larger orbital diameters. After controlling for differences in skeletal measures, males were found to have relatively smaller eyes than females, whereas binocular overlap and blind zones were similar. These findings demonstrate vision‐related sexual dimorphism in reindeer.
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BibTeX
@article{arnegard2026skull,
title = {{Sex, Age, and Skull Morphology Effects on Eye Size and Refractive Errors in Reindeer}},
author = {Solveig Arnegard and Andreas Zedrosser and Christine Wildsoet and Rigmor C. Baraas},
journal = {Ecology and Evolution},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1002/ece3.74530},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.74530},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Sex, Age, and Skull Morphology Effects on Eye Size and Refractive Errors in Reindeer
AU - Solveig Arnegard
AU - Andreas Zedrosser
AU - Christine Wildsoet
AU - Rigmor C. Baraas
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/01
JO - Ecology and Evolution
DO - 10.1002/ece3.74530
UR - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.74530
AB - Eye size influences captured light and visual resolution and is used as an indicator of the relative importance of vision. Although vision‐related sexual dimorphism is subtle among vertebrates, Cervids exhibit pronounced sexual dimorphism in body size, antler development, and reproductive strategies. We tested the hypothesis that male reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus tarandus ) with larger skeletal dimensions would have larger eyes and narrower binocular overlap but similar refractive errors compared to females. We collected skull morphological, ocular biometric, and refractive error data from 69 semi‐domesticated reindeer (0.5–12.5‐year‐old; 27 females, 42 males) living year‐round under extreme high‐latitude seasonal variation in photoperiod in south‐central Norway. The relationships between eye size, mandible length, interorbital distance, and orbital diameter were analyzed, and binocular overlap and anterior blind zones were calculated. Eye size increased with measures of skull size, while refractive error remained minimal across all ages. Although male calves had significantly larger mandibles and interorbital distances, their orbital diameters were the same as in female calves. However, in adults, males also had larger orbital diameters. After controlling for differences in skeletal measures, males were found to have relatively smaller eyes than females, whereas binocular overlap and blind zones were similar. These findings demonstrate vision‐related sexual dimorphism in reindeer.
SN - 2045-7758
SN - 2045-7758
ER -