Phenotypic plasticity in brook charr: changes in caudal fin induced by water flow

Imre, István

doi:10.1006/jfbi.2002.2131

Cited by 138 publications

(118 citation statements)

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“…The only study that parallels ours in terms of phenotypic plasticity (Imre et al 2002) found that only caudal fin height and caudal peduncle depth showed a significant change with water velocity in brook charr. Here we found that water velocity induced changes in most of the traits measured, including those two traits.…”

Section: Phenotypic Plasticitysupporting

confidence: 58%

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The influence of swimming demand on phenotypic plasticity and morphological integration: a comparison of two polymorphic charr species

2004

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In northern freshwater lakes, several fish species have populations composed of discrete morphs, usually involving a divergence between benthic and limnetic morphs. Although it has been suggested that swimming demand plays an important role in morphological differentiation, thus influencing habitat selection, it is unclear how it affects reaction norms, patterns in character correlation, and levels of morphological integration. We examined whether swimming demand could induce morphological plasticity in the directions expected under divergent habitat selection, and evaluated its influence on the morphological integration in Arctic charr ( Salvelinus alpinus) and brook charr ( S. fontinalis), two congeneric species exhibiting conspicuous and subtle resource polymorphism, respectively. We found that changes in morphology were induced by differential swimming demands in both species. The length of the pectoral fin was the character that responded most strongly according to the predicted morphological expectations under divergent habitat selection. High levels of morphological plasticity, relatively low levels of integration, and differences found in the morphological correlation structure among water velocity treatments suggest that constraints on morphological change are unlikely in either species, thus allowing great potential for phenotypic flexibility in both species. The magnitude of character integration, however, was larger for Arctic charr than for brook charr. This latter result is discussed in the light of the differences in the level of polymorphism between the two species in the wild. The results of the present study indicate that swimming demand alone may not be sufficient to generate the polymorphism encountered in nature. Given that both diet and swimming demands can induce morphological changes, it would be important to conduct experiments targeting the interaction between the morphological modules related to trophic and swimming demands.

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Section: Phenotypic Plasticitysupporting

confidence: 58%

“…These differences may be related to two possible aspects. First, we have applied four water velocity treatments, whereas Imre et al (2002) applied only two. In many pairwise differences between two treatments, a number of traits would have not demonstrated significant effects.…”

Section: Phenotypic Plasticitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of swimming demand on phenotypic plasticity and morphological integration: a comparison of two polymorphic charr species

2004

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“…Many field and experimental studies have demonstrated that development in swift water can induce more streamlined bodies and narrower caudal peduncles in fishes (Claytor et al, 1991;McLaughlin and Grant, 1994;Imre et al, 2002). Streamlining theoretically improves performance and reduces drag during the sustained swimming required of individuals living in fast water (Webb, 1984;Bisson et al, 1988).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Among the many environmental factors that can induce intraspecific variation in fishes, the effects of differences in temperature (Hubbs, 1922;Barlow, 1961;Beacham, 1990), water velocity (Claytor et al, 1991;McLaughlin and Grant, 1994;Imre et al, 2002), and microhabitat (Lundberg and Stager, 1985;Layzer and Clady, 1987;O'Reilly and Horn, 2004) are among the best documented. Despite extensive research on the structure and cause of phenotypic variation in fishes from the Northern Hemisphere (most foregoing citations), there have been fewer studies in fishes from South American freshwaters (but see Lundberg and Stager, 1985;Wimberger, 1992;Fink and Machado-Allison, 2001;Langerhans et al, 2003).…”

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confidence: 99%

Geographic and environmental variation in Bryconops sp. cf. melanurus (Ostariophysi: Characidae) from the Brazilian Pantanal

2006

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Morphometric analyses of 220 specimens of a characid, Bryconops sp. cf. melanurus, from the Brazilian Pantanal were used to describe allometric growth in that species and determine whether specimens from highland habitats were more streamlined than those from lowland habitats. Relative warp analysis of 14 landmarks and principal component analysis of 28 interlandmark distances returned complementary results. The increased streamlining of the highland specimens is highly consistent with known inductive effects of high water velocity on fish phenotypes. Genetic differentiation and inductive effects of temperature variation are also potential explanations of the observed phenotypic differentiation.Key words Ecomorphology · Morphometrics · Polymorphism · South America (Fig. 1). Bryconops sp. cf. melanurus from the Pantanal belongs to a monophyletic group including B. melanurus (Bloch), B. inpai (Knöppel et al.), and B. affinis (Günther) (Chernoff and Machado-Allison, 1999).Bryconops sp. cf. melanurus and Bryconops melanurus are distinguished from the other members of this group by the coloration of the caudal fin. The caudal fins of Bryconops sp. cf. melanurus and B. melanurus have a central dark stripe that is lacking in all other species of Bryconops. Bryconops melanurus has a clearly defined stripe that occupies the central rays of the caudal fin with clear areas above and below the stripe (Chernoff et al., 1994: fig. 2). In the species from the Pantanal, the caudal fin stripe extends well up onto the fin rays of the dorsal lobe, and in larger specimens almost the entire dorsal lobe of the caudal fin is darkened. Bryconops. sp. cf. melanurus and B. melanurus also differ in the thickness of the lateral stripe, the anteroposterior position of the pelvic-fin insertion, and the degree of denticulation of the gill rakers of the first pharyngeal arch. The two species also inhabit nonoverlapping geographic ranges, with B. melanurus occurring in the Guyanas (Chernoff et al., 1994).Because this sample of Bryconops sp. cf. melanurus was collected from a variety of highland and lowland stream habitats, it provided an excellent opportunity to study intraspecific phenotypic variation in the context of environmental and geographic variation. Our objectives in this study were (1) to quantify the phenotypic variation of IchthyologicalResearch

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“…Previous studies have demonstrated that Wsh morphology could be highly plastic and inXuenced by a wide range of environmental variables such as the prey types and/or feeding modes utilized (e.g., Meyer 1990; Robinson and Wilson 1995;Day and McPhail 1996;Mittelbach et al 1999;Andersson 2003;StauVer and Gray 2004;Olsson and Eklöv 2005), the presence of predators (e.g., Brönmark and Miner 1992;Eklöv and Svanbäck 2006), and the physical environment in which the organism lives (Pakkasmaa and Piironen 2001;Imre et al 2002;McGuigan et al 2003;Peres-Neto and Magnan 2004;Olsson and Eklöv 2005). Despite it being demonstrated in other taxa (e.g., Relyea 2004), our study is, to the best of our knowledge, one of the Wrst to address how individual morphology and behavior responds to a combination of environmental variables in Wsh.…”

Section: Plasticity and Multiple Environmental Variablesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Effects of resource level and habitat type on behavioral and morphological plasticity in Eurasian perch

2007

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Spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the environment is a common feature affecting many natural populations. For example, both the resource levels and optimal habitat choices of individuals likely change over time. One way for organisms to cope with environmental variation is to display adaptive plasticity in traits such as behavior and morphology. Since trait plasticity is hypothesized to be a prerequisite for character divergence, studies of mechanisms behind such plasticity are warranted. In this study, we looked at the interaction of two potentially important environmental variables on behavioral and morphological plasticity in Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis L.). More specifically, the plastic responses in activity and morphology of perch exposed to different resource levels and simulated habitat types were studied in an aquarium experiment. The resource level experienced had a large influence on plasticity in both activity and morphology. Behavioral adaptations have been thought to mediate morphological transitions, and we suggest that the morphological response to the resource level was mediated by differences in activity and growth rates. The habitat type also affected morphological plasticity but to a lesser extent, and there was no effect on activity from habitat type. Based on these results, we suggest that it is essential to include several environmental factors acting in concert when studying mechanisms behind trait plasticity. We also propose that variation in resource levels might play a key role in fostering trait plasticity in at least fish populations, while other environmental variables such as divergent habitat complexities and prey types might be less influential. Dynamics in resource levels and optimal habitat choices might thus be important factors influencing character divergence in natural populations.

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Phenotypic plasticity in brook charr: changes in caudal fin induced by water flow

Cited by 138 publications

References 10 publications

The influence of swimming demand on phenotypic plasticity and morphological integration: a comparison of two polymorphic charr species

The influence of swimming demand on phenotypic plasticity and morphological integration: a comparison of two polymorphic charr species

Geographic and environmental variation in Bryconops sp. cf. melanurus (Ostariophysi: Characidae) from the Brazilian Pantanal

Effects of resource level and habitat type on behavioral and morphological plasticity in Eurasian perch

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