Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2001
Diet-dependent body morphology and ontogenetic reaction norms in Eurasian perch
Hjelm, Joakim; Svanbäck, Richard; Byström, Pär; Persson, Lennart; Wahlström, EvaAbstract
In the pelagic enclosures, perch with high growth rates had a more fusiform body morphology than slow-growing perch, whereas the opposite was found in the lakes, where perch included more macroinvertebrates in their diets. Perch in lakes with a higher proportion of macroinvertebrates in the diet also had deeper body morphology. The opposite morphology - growth rate relationship found between perch in the pelagic versus those using the whole lake suggest a morphological trade-off between foraging on zooplankton and foraging on macroinvertebrates. Our results suggest that YOY perch show different ontogenetic reaction norms as a function of lake-specific resource levels, which may allow YOY recruitment to later stages. Our results further suggest that diet-related changes in morphology are a rapid process.Published in
Oikos2001, volume: 95, number: 2, pages: 311-323
Publisher: WILEY-BLACKWELL
Authors' information
Umeå University
Svanbäck, Richard
Uppsala University
Byström, Pär
Umeå University
Persson, Lennart
Umeå University
Wahlström, Eva
Umeå University
UKÄ Subject classification
Evolutionary Biology
Ecology
Publication Identifiers
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0706.2001.950213.x
URI (permanent link to this page)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/52312