Spatial variation of morphology in a freshwater population of the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (6) ◽  
pp. 1140-1148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey V. Baumgartner
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Lateral Plate ◽  
Coastal System ◽  
Body Form ◽  
Evolutionary Forces ◽  
Freshwater Population ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks ◽  
Functional Components ◽  
Significant Size ◽  
Lateral Plates

Differentiation with respect to two functional components of morphology, the defensive complex and overall body form, was studied in a population of threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) from the Brush Creek drainage, a small coastal system in northern California with high- and low-gradient habitats. The vast majority of body-shape differences among localities was accounted for by size-related allometric variation, the differences being closely related to overall growth trends. Relative to general body size, small individuals had long spines and fins whereas larger individuals tended to be deep bodied and have shorter fins and shorter spines. Significant size-independent differentiation with respect to the defensive complex and overall body form was also observed. The spatial pattern of differentiation in the components of the defensive complex changed dramatically over the period of study, possibly in response to natural selection. Stable stepped clines for overall body form and lateral-plate morph ratio were observed. Both clines were centered on the ecotone between high- and low-gradient habitats, and were apparently maintained by differential selection in alternative stream-gradient habitats despite gene flow across the ecotone. Sticklebacks from the high-gradient habitat had a continuous row of lateral plates, were elongate, and had long fins, whereas those from the low-gradient or standing-water habitat tended to have only abdominal plates, were more robust through the midbody, and had shorter fins. The results of this study and previous work suggest that various aspects of stickleback morphology may respond independently and rapidly to different evolutionary forces and be functionally related to hydrodynamics.

Evolutionary history of threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus spp.) in British Columbia: insights from a physiological clock

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (11) ◽  
pp. 2154-2158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rees Kassen ◽  
Dolph Schluter ◽  
John Donald McPhail
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Fresh Water ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Salt Water ◽  
Freshwater Invasion ◽  
Freshwater Population ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks ◽  
History Of

Geologic and allozyme evidence suggests that threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus complex) in low-lying southwestern British Columbia lakes were founded during two incursions of marine sticklebacks after the retreat of the Pleistocene glaciers (the double-invasion hypothesis). We used the salinity tolerance of embryos, measured as hatchability in salt water, to establish the relative order of freshwater invasion by marine sticklebacks and to test the double-invasion hypothesis. Limnetics and an anadromous population hatched nearly equivalent numbers of young in salt water as in fresh water, whereas benthics and one solitary freshwater population had low hatchability in salt water. We also found that eggs from freshwater populations were larger than those from marine populations and limnetics had smaller eggs than benthics and the solitary population. These results support the double-invasion hypothesis and suggest a trend of increasing egg size with increasing time spent in fresh water.

Unusual Lateral Plate Variation of Threespine Sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) from Knik Lake, Alaska

Copeia ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 1985 (3) ◽  
pp. 619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard C. Francis ◽  
Alan C. Havens ◽  
Michael A. Bell
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Lateral Plate ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks

scholarly journals FUNCTIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF FLUCTUATING ASYMMETRY AMONG ENDEMIC POPULATIONS OF GASTEROSTEUS ACULEATUS

Behaviour ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 137 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 1097-1112 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Fluctuating Asymmetry ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Lateral Plate ◽  
Queen Charlotte Islands ◽  
Extreme Variation ◽  
Functional Implications ◽  
Measure Of Asymmetry ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Lateral Plates

AbstractFluctuating asymmetry (FA) has been used as a measure of developmental stability across many taxa, with asymmetric individuals presumed to have reduced fitness. FA has also been suggested for use in conservation biology as a measure of the health of populations. Here we assess the suitability of these uses of FA by using a novel measure of asymmetry in the bony lateral plates of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) from 60 insular and endemic freshwater populations from the Queen Charlotte Islands. The frequency of asymmetric G. aculeatus individuals among populations varied from 1% to 76% with a mean of 42%. Extreme variation in the frequency of asymmetries among lateral plate positions within samples was also observed. Plates important to the structural integrity of predator defences were least asymmetric, either due to selection against asymmetry at these positions or to variation in the temporal development of the plates. These results emphasize the need for caution when interpreting differential levels of FA among traits in individuals and populations, as the differences may be due to variation in the strength or direction of selection for symmetry, and not exclusively to differences in fitness.

Clutch size of anadromous and freshwater threespine sticklebacks: a reassessment

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (9) ◽  
pp. 2027-2030 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randal J. Snyder
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Size At Maturity ◽  
Conflicting Evidence ◽  
Mendocino County ◽  
Freshwater Population ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks ◽  
Average Size ◽  
Two Populations

There is conflicting evidence in the literature regarding the size-specific fecundity of anadromous and freshwater threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.). To examine this question, I reared offspring of threespine sticklebacks collected from an inland location along the Navarro River, Mendocino County, California, and compared their initial clutch size and egg size with data obtained earlier for two other stickleback populations (an anadromous and a coastal freshwater population) from the same drainage. Size-specific clutch size was lower and eggs were larger in the inland population compared with the two populations studied previously. When wild-caught threespine sticklebacks are compared, fecundity of anadromous forms should usually be higher due to their higher size-specific fecundity as well as their larger average size at maturity. The eggs of anadromous sticklebacks may also be smaller than those of typical freshwater sticklebacks, since there is evidence of negative phenotypic correlations between egg size and clutch size in these fish.

Adaptive, genetically based differences in life history between estuary and freshwater threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.)

1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (10) ◽  
pp. 2448-2454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randal J. Snyder ◽  
Hugh Dingle
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Genetic Variance ◽  
The Body ◽  
Life Styles ◽  
First Reproduction ◽  
Freshwater Population ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks

Life history theory predicts that migratory fishes should delay reproduction, be larger at maturity, and have higher fecundities than nonmigrants. We tested this hypothesis by comparing life histories of laboratory-reared estuary and freshwater threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) from the Navarro River, California. We also estimated phenotypic correlations and genetic variance (broad-sense heritabilities) for reproductive characteristics of these fish. The more migratory estuary sticklebacks delayed reproduction, were larger at first reproduction, and had higher fecundities than the freshwater fish. We found no significant differences in interclutch interval or average size of eggs. The body size – fecundity relationship did not differ among these populations, unlike the findings in previous reports comparing anadromous and freshwater threespine sticklebacks. We found significant levels of genetic variance for age and size at first reproduction in both populations, and for fecundity in the freshwater population. The estuary and freshwater sticklebacks did not differ in average number of fin rays, gill rakers, or lateral plates, indicating that differentiation in life history has not been accompanied by significant changes in these characteristics. These results provide evidence of genetic divergence between these populations with respect to life histories, and the nature of these differences suggests that adaptation to different migratory life-styles has occurred.

A lateral plate dine, sexual dimorphism, and phenotypic variation in the black-spotted stickleback, Gasterosteus wheatlandi

1984 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 368-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Craig Sargent ◽  
Michael A. Bell ◽  
William H. Krueger ◽  
Jeffrey V. Baumgartner
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Geographical Variation ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Cape Cod ◽  
Lateral Plate ◽  
Plate Number ◽  
Coastal Marine ◽  
Lateral Plates

We examined samples of Gasterosteus wheatlandi collected in coastal marine waters from northern Maine to southern New York. Gasterosteus wheatlandi exhibited remarkable variation in lateral plate number, including phenotypes similar to the low, partial, and complete morphs described in Gasterosteus aculeatus. Partials and completes, however, seemed to represent a continuum, thus we could only recognize two discreet phenotypes, low and partial–complete. The low phenotype predominated strongly north of Cape Cod and was rare or absent south of it. Within both phenotypes mean plate number increased toward the southern end of the range; thus, both lateral plate number and lateral plate phenotype exhibited a pronounced step-cline. We found significant sexual dimorphism among localities for total lateral plates and for a suite of other morphological characters. Both sexes had higher mean vertebral counts north of Cape Cod, a trend which ran counter to the cline in lateral plates. The pervasive sexual dimorphism in G. wheatlandi, and the fact that latitudinal variation in lateral plates ran counter to the trend in G. aculeatus, suggest that different processes may be responsible for maintaining the geographical variation in these two species.

Phenotypic Variation in Threespine Sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) of the Chignik River System, Alaska

1969 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 405-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Narver
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Phenotypic Variation ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
River System ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Caudal Peduncle ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks ◽  
History Of ◽  
Lateral Plates

Four phenotypes of the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus Linnaeus, were identified from the two Chignik lakes, Alaska: unplated (2–6 anterior plates); half-plated (7–15 anterior plates); fully plated (18–22 plates) lacustrine; and fully plated (18–22) estuarine. Distinctions lie in number and size of lateral plates and extent of lateral keel development on the caudal peduncle. Composition of the three lacustrine phenotypes in either lake population was similar among the years 1962–64 for both age I and age II in Black Lake but dissimilar in Chignik Lake. The Black Lake population contained a higher proportion of the unplated and half-plated phenotypes but fewer of the fully plated phenotypes than the Chignik Lake population. The life history of the estuarine phenotype is outlined. The mechanisms responsible for the maintenance of the four phenotypes in the Chignik River system have not been determined.

LATERAL PLATE VARIATION IN GALICIAN STICKLEBACK POPULATIONS IN THE RIVERS MIÑO AND LIMIA, NW SPAIN

Behaviour ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 137 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 965-979 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
E. San Miguel ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Variation Analysis ◽  
Nw Spain ◽  
Lateral Plate ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Time Of Year ◽  
Two Age Groups ◽  
Lateral Plates

AbstractWe examined lateral plate variation in populations of stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, from the rivers Miño and Limia in Galicia (Northwest Spain), by analysing morphs, number of lateral plates, and position of the plates. In order to test for sexual dimorphism, the means and variances of plates were compared in males and females of some populations. No significant differences were found between sexes, therefore all remaining populations were analysed without controlling for sex. As stickleback populations in Galicia have an annual life span, the populations from the river Miño were divided in two age groups to compare lateral plate number. Analysis of each group revealed significant differences among populations, in accordance with the large amount of variation found in populations from other regions. Analysis of samples collected from the same place and at the same time of year, but in different years, indicated that there was little year to year variation. This suggests that populations are well adapted to their habitat, or that environmental conditions did not change significantly during the period of sampling. Finally, we propose a new method for the evaluation of scute variation analysis of the position of lateral plates. Cluster analysis of our data clearly differentiated populations from the rivers Miño and Limia.

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