Abstract
Round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) is a benthic freshwater fish native to the Ponto-Caspian region in Europe that was first recorded in the Laurentian Great Lakes basin in 1990 in the St. Clair River in Sarnia, Ontario. It has since become one of the major invasive species of the Great Lakes. The mechanisms through which round goby has become a successful invader are poorly understood. It has been hypothesized that phenotypic plasticity of species may influence their establishment, spread, and impact. If a species is phenotypically plastic, it could more easily adapt to a variety of environments. We examine whether phenotypic variation is present in round goby in the Laurentian Great Lakes and whether morphological variation in dorsal and lateral shape is related to habitat type and time since invasion. Morphological variation in preserved round goby specimens was analyzed for dorsal and lateral shape differences between lake, large river, and river habitats, waterbody of origin (Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario, Simcoe) and time since initial invasion (i.e., early, mid, recent) using a Procrustes ANOVA and visualized using a principal component analysis. There is significant variation in body shape among lake and river populations, which may be due to differences in water flows between these habitats. Lake specimens have an overall deeper body shape, whereas river specimens have an overall shallow body shape and large river specimens are intermediate in shape. The results of this study help better understand what morphological mechanisms facilitate invasions and provide valuable information for management decisions related to spread of round goby in the Great Lakes basin.
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Data Availability
The datasets and code generated for this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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We thank the Royal Ontario Museum for use of their equipment and specimens.
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N.E.M. and C.C.R. co-conceived the idea for the paper. N.E.M. reviewed, edited the work, and mentored throughout the completion of the project. C.C.R. completed the literature review of the subject, took the photographs, landmarked the images in TPS software, helped complete the analysis, and wrote the manuscript. S.E.C. helped complete statistical analysis and edited the manuscript.
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Rawlings, C.C., Campbell, S.E. & Mandrak, N.E. Body shape variation in round goby Neogobius melanostomus in the Laurentian Great Lakes basin. Environ Biol Fish 104, 1089–1102 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-021-01138-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-021-01138-z