Imprecise naming: the anadromous and the sea spawning threespine stickleback should be discriminated by names

Abstract

Two ecological forms of the threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatusa strictly marine form and an anadromous formare often merged in the literature as a single Bmarine^form. Because we know virtually nothing of the life style of the two oceanic ecotypes in the sea and consequently nothing on reproductive isolation and gene flow I argue for a precise use of the ecological terms Bmarine^and Banadromous^for these two ecotypes. These terms should be self-describing. The frequent use of terms incorrectly describing intraspecific variation and life style of ecotypes can bias studies on community composition and interactions of populations.

Admixture between Ancient Lineages, Selection, and the Formation of Sympatric Stickleback Species-Pairs

“…We therefore hypothesize that an initial marine colonization event may have given rise to freshwater and lagoon resident ecotypes on Uist as in many other parts of the world (McKinnon and Rundle 2002). Then the proximity of Uist to the Atlantic lead to subsequent admixture between these derived ecotypes and the fully marine stickleback population in the Atlantic, about which very little is known (Ahnelt 2018). Admixture would likely have produced some individuals with a combination of adaptations to an oceanic lifestyle, but also a propensity to spawn in the safety of coastal regions, a combination not found in either parental population, that could allow them to simultaneously exploit both environments as anadromous fish.…”

“…2004). Very little is known about truly marine stickleback (Ahnelt 2018), but studies of anadromous and resident (resident in either fresh or brackish water) populations show that differences in ecological selection pressures acting between oceanic and enclosed waters (e.g., lakes, streams, and lagoons) have shaped the replicated heritable changes in morphology and behavior that are associated with these parallel transitions (Schluter and McPhail 1992; McKinnon and Rundle 2002; McKinnon et al. 2004; Schluter et al.…”

Evaluatie trekvisonderzoeken Noordzeekanaal en ommelanden : onderzoek in het kader van samenwerkingsverband Ecologische Verbindingszone Noordzeekanaal en Ommelanden Fase 1

“…Er zijn verschillende subpopulaties, vormen, danwel ecotypes binnen de soort aanwezig: de bekendste en meest onderzochte zijn de anadrome trekkende populaties die paaien in zoetwater en opgroeien in brak en zout water (en een belangrijke doelsoort zijn in het Noordzeekanaal en ommelanden), en populaties die hun gehele levenscyclus in zoetwater voltooien en niet migreren. Daarnaast zijn er ook populaties die hun gehele levenscyclus in zoutwater voltooien (Ahnelt 2018). Over deze laatste vorm is veel minder bekend en deze wordt vaak niet goed onderscheiden van de anadrome vorm en zoetwater-populaties.…”

Characterizing phenotypic diversity in marine populations of the threespine stickleback

“…The two most studied coastal marine stickleback ecotypes are anadromous and marine. Anadromous populations migrate to freshwater habitats as adults to breed in summer months and to raise juveniles in fresh water, while marine populations spend their entire life cycle in full-salinity environments 74 , 75 . The stickleback populations we sampled are likely from a mixture of anadromous and marine populations.…”