Use of Geometric Morphometrics to Identify Ecophenotypic Variation of Juvenile Persian Sturgeon Acipenser Persicus
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SCIENTIA MARINA 81(2) June 2017, 187-193, Barcelona (Spain) ISSN-L: 0214-8358 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3989/scimar.04487.01A Use of geometric morphometrics to identify ecophenotypic variation of juvenile Persian sturgeon Acipenser persicus Shima Bakhshalizadeh 1, Ali Bani 1,2 1 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Guilan, Namjo Street, Rasht, Postal Code 41335-1914, Iran. (SB) (Corresponding author) E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID-iD: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2683-579X (AB) E-mail: [email protected]. ORCID-iD: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6087-926X 2 Department of Marine Science, Caspian Sea Basin Research Centre, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran. Summary: Study of phenotypic variation is essential for identifying discrete phenotypic stocks. We sampled immature Persian sturgeon from the eastern and western portion of the southern Caspian Sea to test for morphological differences that could predict the ecophenotypic variation of Persian sturgeon. Geometric morphometric methods were used to quantify body shape. Configuration of landmark coordinates of fish body were scaled, translated and rotated using generalized Procrustes analysis, followed by univariate analysis of variance of resulting shape coordinates to evaluate potential morphological differences between regions. A principal component analysis was carried out to reduce the number of dimensions without the loss of information. The discriminate function analysis was performed to determine the efficacy of body landmarks for discrimination by geographic variants. Within-group linkage was inferred for dendrogram clusters using Pearson correlation distance on the basis of the average linkage method as a complement for discriminate analysis. Principle component analysis revealed that the largest differences were in body size. Most notable were differences in distance between head landmarks and the dorsal fin between eastern and western regions. Fish from the western region exhibited a longer distance from head landmarks to the dorsal fin than fish from the eastern region. Furthermore, the ventral portion of fish from the western region was longer than that of the eastern individuals. These findings show that juvenile Persian sturgeon already possess morpho- logical traits that can be used to discriminate fish from different regions. Furthermore, these differences are discernible in spite of the volume of artificially-inseminated sturgeon larva that have been released during the past 40 years. Keywords: geometric morphometric selection, phenotypic plasticity, discrimination, habitat. Uso de morfometría geométrica para la identificación de variaciones ecofenotípicas en juveniles de esturión persa Acipenser persicus Resumen: El estudio de la variación fenotípica es esencial para la identificación de estirpes fenotípicas concretas. Con el fin de identificar diferencias morfológicas que permitan predecir variaciones eco-fenotípicas en el esturión persa, individuos in- maduros de esta especie se muestrearon en diferentes regiones del este y el oeste del sur del mar Caspio. Se utilizaron métodos morfométricos geométricos para cuantificar la forma del cuerpo. La configuración de coordenadas referenciadas del cuerpo del pez fueron escaladas, trasladadas y rotadas utilizando el análisis generalizado Procrustes, seguido del análisis Univariante de la Varianza de las coordenadas de forma resultantes, con el fin de evaluar posibles diferencias morfológicas entre diferentes zonas. Se utilizó un análisis de componentes principales para reducir el número de dimensiones sin perder información. Los scores de los componentes del cuerpo se sometieron a análisis discriminante, con el objeto de determinar la eficacia de las coordenadas referenciadas en la discriminación de las variantes geográficas. Las relaciones entre grupos para clusters de dendrograma se in- firieron usando la correlación de distancias de Pearson, tomando como base el método de relación media como complemento del análisis discriminante. El análisis de componentes principales reveló que las mayores distancias fueron en la talla. Destacaron las diferencias encontradas en la distancia entre las referencias de cabeza y aleta dorsal entre las regiones del Este y Oeste. La distancia relativa entre las referencias de cabeza y aleta dorsal fue mayor en los peces de la región Oeste que en los de la región Este. Además, la porción ventral de los peces de la región Oeste fue mayor que la de los individuos del Este. Estos resultados indican que los juveniles de esturión persa ya muestran características morfológicas que pueden utilizarse para la discriminación de individuos de diferentes regiones. Además, estas diferencias son discernibles a pesar de la cantidad de larvas de esturión que, obtenidas por inseminación artificial, han sido liberadas al medio natural durante los últimos 40 años. Palabras clave: selección morfométrica geométrica; plasticidad fenotípica; discriminación; habitat. Citation/Como citar este artículo: Bakhshalizadeh S., Bani A. 2017. Use of geometric morphometrics to iden- tify ecophenotypic variation of juvenile Persian sturgeon Acipenser persicus. Sci. Mar. 81(2): 187-193. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3989/scimar.04487.01A Editor: E. Mañanos. Received: June 6, 2016. Accepted: February 27, 2017. Published: April 25, 2017. Copyright: © 2017 CSIC. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-by) Spain 3.0 License. 188 • S. Bakhshalizadeh and A. Bani INTRODUCTION contain the Persian sturgeon (Moghim et al. 2006). Juvenile Persian sturgeon are more abundant in the Phenotypic plasticity is the potential of the observ- Iranian coastal waters of the Caspian Sea (Tavakoli et able characteristics of a genotype to change in response al. 2009) and feed mainly on crustaceans (mostly gam- to different environmental stimuli (Cadrin 2000). In- marids) and Nereis, Nereis diversicolor. In the southern vestigating phenotypic responses in fish began in the Caspian Sea, the maximum density of these prey items mid-20th century, and has played an important role is found at depths <50 m (Mirzajani et al. 2005), while in our understanding of biological diversity in fishes they are less dense in deeper waters (Dumont 1998). by relating their forms to their ecological roles (Motta Physical differences in water temperature, water ve- et al. 1995). Factors such as stock density, aggres- locity and salinity between western and eastern coastal siveness, stress, type and quality of food, swimming waters of the Caspian Sea, especially in the nursery ar- performance and fish mobility concordant with depth, eas of the Sefidrood and Gorganrood rivers (Mazlomi salinity, temperature and sea floor substrate influence et al. 2009), are the presumed drivers of ecological the presence of polymorphisms in fishes (Favaloro and differences of the Caspian Sea fishes. In this study, we Mazzola 2003, Hanson et al. 2007, Cadrin 2014). How- investigated the influence of geographical differences ever, morphometric analyses of sturgeon fish to assess on the morphology of juvenile Persian sturgeon, A. the degree of phenotypic plasticity in this species have persicus, which are widely distributed in the southern rarely been conducted (Hilton and Schaefer 2002). Caspian Sea, because of poorly documented morpholo- Instead, morphological differences between wild and gies of acipenserid species that are unique to particu- hatchery-reared sturgeon (Ruban and Sokolov 1986, lar stocks of the Ponto-Caspian region (Vecsei and Ruban 1989) have been described for stock identifica- Peterson 2005). Here, we provide the first assessment tion (Guenette et al. 1992, Keenlyne et al. 1994) and of how the morphology of juvenile Persian sturgeon subspecies identification (Vasil’eva 2009). On the other varies with geography. These patterns of phenotypic hand, for different species the level of phenotypic plas- variation are essential for identifying discrete pheno- ticity has been well documented (Cramon-Taubadel et typic stocks as we attempt to fill in the gaps regarding al. 2005, Wintzer and Motta 2005, Wessel et al. 2006). morphological characters of juvenile Persian sturgeon For example, smolts reared for 25 months in different in the Iranian coastal waters of the Caspian Sea. marine net-pen areas had significant size differences in the caudal peduncle, trunk, and head regions that were MATERIALS AND METHODS associated with water characteristics (Sheehan et al. 2005). Juvenile Trachurus japonicus has the stream- Samples were obtained from commercial fishery lined body for feeding on larval Engraulis japonicus in catches in the western and eastern areas (Fig. 1) of the coastal waters, whereas the compressed morphology of coastal Iranian waters of the Caspian Sea (38°26′N, these juveniles is adaptive to associate with jellyfishes 49°54′E and 36°49′N, 52°48′E, respectively) in order in offshore waters (Kishida et al. 2011). Additionally, to examine geographic variation of morphological local populations of arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) characters (i.e. the landmark value). We examined 26 with different feeding habits have different mouth juveniles from the western section (total length (LT), shapes (Cadrin 2014). 33.67±13.35 cm; total weight (WT), 121.04±15.17 g) It has been postulated that the pattern of morpho- and 14 juveniles from the eastern section (total length metric variation in fish may indicate differences in life (LT), 34.43±7.74 cm; total weight (WT), 111.21±8.14 history, such as growth