scholarly journals Phosphorus limitation does not drive loss of bony lateral plates in freshwater stickleback ( Gasterosteus aculeatus )

Evolution ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 74 (9) ◽  
pp. 2088-2104
Author(s):  
Sophie L. Archambeault ◽  
Daniel J. Durston ◽  
Alex Wan ◽  
Rana W. El‐Sabaawi ◽  
Blake Matthews ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Phosphorus Limitation ◽  
Freshwater Stickleback ◽  
Lateral Plates

Postglacial evolution in lateral plate morphs in Norwegian freshwater populations of the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 898-906 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Klepaker
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Alternative Hypothesis ◽  
Morphological Variability ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Evolutionary Stage ◽  
Lateral Plate ◽  
Land Uplift ◽  
Founding Population ◽  
Freshwater Stickleback ◽  
Age Range

Norwegian freshwater stickleback populations were founded after the last glacial period, and the progressive uplift of the land has produced an age range (1000 – 13 000 years) of the stickleback habitats. Most of the freshwater populations of today have probably been formed by isolation of marine sticklebacks in the process of land uplift. The freshwater threespine stickleback is known for its great morphological variability. Three distinct morphs ("low," "partial," and "complete") are recognized on the basis of variation in the lateral row of plates. Among the Norwegian populations, all three morphs were found, but the low morph was by far the most common and occurred mostly in monomorphic populations. The presence of the complete and partial morphs was mostly restricted to young lakes near the sea. It is likely that the plate polymorphism in this region is a transitionary evolutionary stage from a founding population dominated by complete to a monomorphic low population. The hypothesis of a polytypic origin of the low morph is discussed, and an alternative hypothesis is proposed. Within each plate morph, the number of plates also varied, and populations with exceptionally low plate numbers were mostly confined to three different areas. Within these areas, populations with plateless specimens also occurred. These plateless specimens tended to inhabit old lakes. The low plate number and plateless populations were found in parts of Norway that were deglaciated early. The advanced plate reduction can therefore be a result of a longer period of isolation and freshwater evolution. Other populations may be on their way towards extreme plate reduction, but have not yet reached the level of platelessness.

scholarly journals All day-long: Sticklebacks effectively forage on whitefish eggs during all light conditions

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0255497
Author(s):  
Jan Baer ◽  
Sarah Maria Gugele ◽  
Joachim Bretzel ◽  
J. Tyrell DeWeber ◽  
Alexander Brinker
Keyword(s):  
Egg Production ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Energy Content ◽  
Stomach Content Analysis ◽  
Pelagic Zone ◽  
Light Conditions ◽  
Egg Predation ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Freshwater Stickleback

The three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus invaded Lake Contance in the 1940s and expanded in large numbers from an exclusively shoreline habitat into the pelagic zone in 2012. Stickleback abundance is very high in the pelagic zone in winter near the spawning time of pelagic whitefish Coregonus wartmanni, and it is hypothesized that this is triggered by the opportunity to consume whitefish eggs. Field sampling has qualitatively confirmed predation of whitefish eggs by stickleback, but quantification has proven difficult due to stormy conditions that limit sampling. One fundamental unknown is if freshwater stickleback, known as visual feeders, can successfully find and eat whitefish eggs during twilight and night when whitefish spawn. It is also unknown how long eggs can be identified in stomachs following ingestion, which could limit efforts to quantify egg predation through stomach content analysis. To answer these questions, 144 individuals were given the opportunity to feed on whitefish roe under daylight, twilight, and darkness in controlled conditions. The results showed that stickleback can ingest as many as 100 whitefish eggs under any light conditions, and some individuals even consumed maximum numbers in complete darkness. Furthermore, eggs could be unambiguously identified in the stomach 24 hours after consumption. Whitefish eggs have 28% more energy content than the main diet of sticklebacks (zooplankton) based on bomb-calorimetric measurements, underlining the potential benefits of consuming eggs. Based on experimental results and estimates of stickleback abundance and total egg production, stickleback could potentially consume substantial proportions of the total eggs produced even if relatively few sticklebacks consume eggs. Given the evidence that stickleback can feed on eggs during nighttime spawning and may thereby hamper recruitment, future studies aimed at quantifying actual egg predation and resulting effects on the whitefish population are urgently needed.

Spatial, sexual, and rapid temporal differentiation in neuromast expression on lateral plates of Haida Gwaii threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (11) ◽  
pp. 988-996 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.P. Planidin ◽  
T.E. Reimchen
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Sensory Modality ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Predatory Fish ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Haida Gwaii ◽  
Temporal Differentiation ◽  
Lateral Lines ◽  
Lateral Plates

Lateral lines, a major sensory modality in fishes, are diverse among taxa, but their intraspecific variation has received limited attention. We examined numbers of superficial neuromasts on the buttressing lateral plates (LP) of 1910 threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus Linnaeus, 1758) from 26 ecologically and morphologically diverse populations on the Haida Gwaii archipelago, western Canada. Extending from previous studies, we predicted that (i) highly stained dystrophic localities would have threespine stickleback with elevated numbers of neuromasts per plate due to a greater reliance on non-visual sensory modalities and (ii) that LP count and neuromast numbers per plate would functionally covary with predatory assemblage. We found that there were no differences in neuromast count across major habitats (marine, lake, stream), but clear-water populations and those with predatory fish had significantly more neuromasts per plate than most populations in highly stained dystrophic lakes, the effects being accentuated on the first buttressing plate (LP4). We also report the first evidence that neuromast counts per plate are sexually dimorphic, with males having a greater density of neuromasts in most populations. Two transplant experiments between ecologically opposite habitats indicate that within 12 generations, neuromast counts per plate can rapidly shift in response to a change in habitat.

scholarly journals Inheritance of numbers of lateral plates and gill rakers in Gasterosteus aculeatus

Heredity ◽  
1973 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
D W Hagen
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Gill Rakers ◽  
Lateral Plates

Genetic variability in freshwater and anadromous sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) of southern British Columbia

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 528-533 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. Withler ◽  
J. D. McPhail
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Electrophoretic Variation ◽  
Average Heterozygosity ◽  
Polymorphic Loci ◽  
Allelic Frequencies ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
Freshwater Habitats ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks ◽  
Freshwater Stickleback

Electrophoretic variation at eight loci was compared between anadromous and freshwater populations of threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) collected from 56 sites in southwestern British Columbia and northwestern Washington. Allelic frequencies at five polymorphic loci were heterogeneous among populations and the average allelic frequencies at four loci differed between anadromous and freshwater sticklebacks. The average number of polymorphic loci was greater in anadromous (4.6) than in freshwater (3.2) populations. The average heterozygosity was 0.113 ± 0.001 in anadromous and 0.117 ± 0.003 in freshwater stickleback populations. Anadromous populations were more polymorphic but less heterogeneous than freshwater populations. The standardized genetic variance indicated only moderate differentiation among anadromous populations from marine habitats, but considerable differentiation among populations from freshwater habitats. Our data are consistent with the hypothesis of postglacial polyphyletic origins for freshwater populations of Gasterosteus, but also indicate that selection favours different alleles in marine and freshwater environments, at least at the Mdh-1 locus.

Selective predation of the pike Esox lucius: comparison of lateral plates and some metric features of the three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus

1989 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 303-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
JERZY BANBURA ◽  
MIROSLAW PRZYBYLSKI ◽  
PIOTR FRANKTEWTCZ
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Esox Lucius ◽  
Selective Predation ◽  
Pike Esox Lucius ◽  
Lateral Plates

scholarly journals Two developmentally temporal quantitative trait loci underlie convergent evolution of increased branchial bone length in sticklebacks

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1788) ◽  
pp. 20140822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priscilla A. Erickson ◽  
Andrew M. Glazer ◽  
Phillip A. Cleves ◽  
Alyson S. Smith ◽  
Craig T. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Trait Loci ◽  
Quantitative Trait ◽  
Convergent Evolution ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Bone Growth ◽  
Chromosome 21 ◽  
Bone Length ◽  
Morphological Adaptations ◽  
Trait Loci ◽  
Freshwater Stickleback

In convergent evolution, similar phenotypes evolve repeatedly in independent populations, often reflecting adaptation to similar environments. Understanding whether convergent evolution proceeds via similar or different genetic and developmental mechanisms offers insight towards the repeatability and predictability of evolution. Oceanic populations of threespine stickleback fish, Gasterosteus aculeatus , have repeatedly colonized countless freshwater lakes and streams, where new diets lead to morphological adaptations related to feeding. Here, we show that heritable increases in branchial bone length have convergently evolved in two independently derived freshwater stickleback populations. In both populations, an increased bone growth rate in juveniles underlies the convergent adult phenotype, and one population also has a longer cartilage template. Using F 2 crosses from these two freshwater populations, we show that two quantitative trait loci (QTL) control branchial bone length at distinct points in development. In both populations, a QTL on chromosome 21 controls bone length throughout juvenile development, and a QTL on chromosome 4 controls bone length only in adults. In addition to these similar developmental profiles, these QTL show similar chromosomal locations in both populations. Our results suggest that sticklebacks have convergently evolved longer branchial bones using similar genetic and developmental programmes in two independently derived populations.

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.

Meristic variation in the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L., in eastern Canadian waters

1973 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 547-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. T. Garside ◽  
T. Hamor
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
North America ◽  
Species Complex ◽  
Vertebral Column ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Lake Ontario ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Meristic Variation ◽  
La Madeleine ◽  
Lateral Plates

Samples of threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L., collected from several areas of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, and single sites from Iles de la Madeleine, Quebec, and eastern Lake Ontario, were analyzed for variation in numbers of anterior lateral plates and vertebrae. Counts of vertebrae varied from 28 to 35 and mean counts from 30.3 to 33.4, without being related to any obvious geographic gradients. Trunk and caudal segments of the vertebral column had about the same degree of variation. Counts of lateral plates exclusive of ossicles of the caudal keel ranged from 0 to 31 with a range of means from 1.6 to 24.7. Incomplete development of potential plate number and absence of caudal keels were observed in 1st-year individuals. These results are discussed in relation to information about this species complex from populations of Pacific North America and Europe.

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