Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Skull Morphology Variation as Related to Trophic Specialization in Three Forms of Salvelinus malma (Salmonidae) from the Kamchatka River Basin

  • GENERAL BIOLOGY
  • Published:
Doklady Biological Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

New data on the correlation between morphology and trophic specialization of three riverine charr forms from the Kamchatka River basin (stone charr, white charr, and Dolly Varden) are presented. The paper analyzes the food preferences of the fishes according to their stomach contents and retrospectively assesses their nutrition according to the ratio of stable nitrogen isotopes. The three charr forms are compared in terms of the head shape and structure of the cartilaginous skull for the first time. The correlation between the type of their nutrition and structural features of their skull is shown. Both general and specific adaptive features of the morphology of piscivorous stone and white charrs are revealed in comparison with benthivorous Dolly Varden.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  1. Golubtsov, A.S., in Aktual’nye problemy sovremennoi ikhtiologii (Topics of Modern Ichthyology), Moscow: KMK, 2010, pp. 96–123.

  2. Burress, E.D., Piálek, L., Casciotta, J.R., et al., Proc. R. Soc. B Biol. Sci., 2018, vol. 285, no. 1870, id 20171762. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.1762

  3. Piálek, L., Říčan, O., Casciotta, J., et al., Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 2012, vol. 62, no. 1, pp. 46–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2011.09.006

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Levin, B.A., Casal-López, M., Simonov, E., et al., Freshwat. Biol., 2019, vol. 64, no. 10, pp. 1721–1736. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.13364

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Klimaschewski, A., Barnekow, L., Bennett, K.D., et al., Global Planet. Change, 2015, vol. 134, pp. 142–154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2015.09.010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Savvaitova, K.A., Arkticheskie gol’tsy (struktura populyatsionnykh sistem, perspektivy khozyaistvennogo ispol’zovaniya) (Arctic Char: Population System Structure and Economic Prospects), Moscow: Agropromizdat, 1989.

  7. Oleinik, A.G., Skurikhina, L.A., Kukhlevsky, A.D., et al., Hydrobiologia, 2019, vol. 840, no. 1, pp. 21–33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-018-3867-6

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Melnik, N.O., Markevich, G.N., Taylor, E.B., et al., J. Zool. Syst. Evol. Res., 2020. https://doi.org/10.1111/JZS.12367

  9. Salmenkova, E.A., Omel’chenko, V.T., Afanas’ev, K.I., et al., Vopr. Ikhtiol., 2009, vol. 49, no. 6, pp. 752–762.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Tiunov A.V., Izv. Ross Akad. Nauk Ser. Biol., 2007, no. 4, pp. 475–489.

  11. Minagawa, M. and Wada, E., Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 1984, vol. 48, pp. 1135–1140. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(84)90204-7

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful to corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Dr. Sci. (Biol.) A.V. Tiunov for assistance in processing the isotopic material and G.N. Markevich for assistance in collecting the data, as well as to A.S. Golubtsov for valuable editorial advice during the preparation of the manuscript.

Funding

This study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project no. 18-74-10085.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

    N. O. Melnik & E. V. Esin

  2. Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, Moscow, Russia

    E. V. Esin

Authors
  1. N. O. Melnik
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. E. V. Esin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to N. O. Melnik.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interests. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Statement on the welfare of animals. All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

Additional information

Translated by D. Zabolotny

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Melnik, N.O., Esin, E.V. Skull Morphology Variation as Related to Trophic Specialization in Three Forms of Salvelinus malma (Salmonidae) from the Kamchatka River Basin. Dokl Biol Sci 492, 75–78 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0012496620030059

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0012496620030059

Keywords:

Search

Navigation