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Morphological evidence of correlational selection and ecological segregation between dextral and sinistral forms in a polymorphic flatfish, Platichthys stellatus.

Abstract：

:Phenotypic polymorphisms in natural systems are often maintained by ecological selection, but only if niche segregation between morphs exists. Polymorphism for eyed-side direction is rare among the approximately 700 species of flatfish (Pleuronectiformes), and the evolutionary mechanisms that maintain it are unknown. Platichthys stellatus (starry flounder) is a polymorphic pleuronectid flatfish exhibiting large, clinal variation in proportion of left-eyed (sinistral) morphs, from 50% in California to 100% in Japan. Here I examined multiple traits related to swimming and foraging performance between sinistral and dextral morphs of P. stellatus from 12 sites to investigate if the two morphs differ in ways that may affect function and ecology. Direction of body asymmetry was correlated with several other characters: on an average, dextral morphs had longer, wider caudal peduncles, shorter snouts and fewer gill rakers than sinistral morphs. Although the differences were small in magnitude, they were consistent in direction across samples, implying that dextral and sinistral starry flounder may be targeting different prey types. Morphological differences between morphs were greatest in samples where the chances of competitive interactions between them were the greatest. These results suggest that the two morphs are not ecologically identical, may represent a rare example of divergent selection maintaining polymorphism of asymmetric forms, and that correlational selection between body asymmetry and other characters may be driven by competitive interactions between sinistral and dextral flatfish. This study is one of very few that demonstrates the ecological significance of direction in a species with polymorphic asymmetric forms.

journal_name

J Evol Biol

journal_title

Journal of evolutionary biology

authors

Bergstrom CA

doi

10.1111/j.1420-9101.2006.01290.x

subject

Has Abstract

pub_date

2007-05-01 00:00:00

pages

1104-14

issue

eissn

1010-061X

issn

1420-9101

pii

JEB1290

journal_volume

pub_type

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Morphological evidence of correlational selection and ecological segregation between dextral and sinistral forms in a polymorphic flatfish, Platichthys stellatus.