External shape analyses inAtherina boyeri(Risso, 1810) from different environments

Abstract

In this study, specimens of the large-scale sand smelts Atherina boyeri, a fish species occurring in different environments (freshwater lakes, coastal lagoons, sea), were examined for their body shape and the differences observed were analysed statistically. The variation of external morphology was investigated in 11 populations from different environments. The morphology was characterized by means of geometric morphometrics and compared; results showed that the phenotypic (morphometric) distances among samples differed significantly by Relative Warp Analysis, specimens from the coastal lagoon being clearly separated from those belonging to lake and marine populations on the first RW1 axis and the latter ones separated on the RW2 axis. The results obtained also show the absence of a gradient of shape differences according to lake-lagoon-sea origin or eidonomic convergence in fish from environments with similar (high) trophic productivity. An integration of geometric morphometric data in a multidisciplinary approach with genetic, biochemical, geographical, molecular and other morphological analyses is necessary to describe the phylogenetic relationships of Atherinidae, shedding light on some ambiguous taxonomic ranks.

New record and range extension of the big-scale sand smeltAtherina boyeriRisso, 1810 (Atherinidae) in the Devegecidi Dam Lake, Tigris River basin, Turkey

“…However, in the Devegeçidi Dam Lake population, the eye diameter and head length ratio and number of lateral‐line scales are higher and the number of gill rakers lower than those given for Iznik Lake specimens. Such differences between populations could possibly be explained by the variable morphometries of this polymorphic species in relation to physical and chemical variables characteristic of different environments (Antonucci, Boglione, Cerasari, Caccia & Costa, ) or errors by different workers taking the measurements (Palmer et al., ). On the other hand, they were also different in total scale and gill raker counts from the European silversides A. presbyter , A. hepsetus and A. mochon (Kottelat & Freyhof, ) and Caspian silverside, A. caspia (Coad, ).…”

Morphological variation in riverine cyprinids: a geometric morphometric contribution

“…All the observed morphological variations may be affected by the genetic makeup of an individual, but they also may reflect a series of adaptations to a mixture of environmental factors like temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, radiation, water depth, current flow influence, food availability, feeding mode and habitat use (Barlow 1961;Lindsey 1988;Wimberger 1992;Turan 2000;Swain et al 2005;Fischer-Rosseau et al 2009;Spoljaric & Reimchen 2011;Antonucci et al 2012).…”

“…As for environmental conditions, it is well known that in fish the influence of the environment on life history traits is realized primarily through isolation (see Antonucci et al 2012) and other factors affecting both the rate at which body size and shape change throughout an individual's life, and the saturating size (e.g., Alberch et al 1979;Swain et al 2005). In this study, the similar environmental features among the three sites may be hardly used to justify the interspecific differences (since the three species were collected within the same area during the same sampling) although they contribute to justify the intraspecific homogeneity.…”

Morphometry as a Key to Investigate the Stability to a Wind-Induced Rollover of Agricultural Equipment for Irrigation

“…Consequently, Klingenberg [34] uses morphometry to analyse quantitatively the variations in the organismal size and shape of a population. Antonucci et al [35] study the temporal evolution of species and quantify the differences between isolated populations of individuals of the same species. By doing so, they manage to observe evolutionary convergences/divergences [36].…”