Extreme environmental conditions, such as temperature, can lead to meristic trait variation and skeletal deformities, which may have major impacts on individual fitness. As intertidal ecosystems experience rapid temperature and physicochemical fluctuations, intertidal fish living and reproducing in these environmental conditions may have phenotypes influenced by such variable environments. The impact of intertidal variability on fish development, however, has not been previously investigated. Skeletal deformities and meristic traits were assessed for Bathygobius cocosensis, a common intertidal fish living across the Indo‐Pacific region, using a clearing and staining method on 72 individuals. Over 87% of individuals presented meristic variation and over 70% exhibited at least one type of skeletal deformity, mostly recorded in the caudal fin area. The unexpected prevalence of skeletal deformities among this intertidal fish population suggests that such deformities may be suitable markers to evaluate an individual's stress exposure during development and the subsequent fitness effects.

中文翻译：

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潮间带鱼（Bathygobius cocosensis）（Perciformes‐Gobiidae）常见骨骼畸形和优点性状变异。

极端的环境条件（例如温度）可能导致整体性状变异和骨骼畸形，这可能会对个人健康产生重大影响。由于潮间带生态系统经历了快速的温度和理化波动，在这些环境条件下生活和繁殖的潮间带鱼类可能具有受这种可变环境影响的表型。然而，潮间带变化对鱼类发育的影响尚未得到研究。评估了拟南芥（Bathygobius cocosensis）的骨骼畸形和优点性状是一种生活在印度太平洋地区的常见潮间带鱼类，使用清除和染色方法对72个个体进行了染色。超过87％的人表现出个体差异，超过70％的人表现出至少一种类型的骨骼畸形，大部分记录在尾鳍区域。该潮间鱼类种群中骨骼畸形的意外发生率表明，这种畸形可能是评估个体在发育过程中承受的压力以及随后的适应性影响的合适标志。