Pyloric caecal morphology of brook charr,Salvelinus fontinalis,in relation to diet |
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Authors: | Pierre Magnan E Don Stevens |
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Institution: | (1) Département de chimie-biologie, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, C. P. 500, Trois-Rivières, Québec, G9A 5H7, Canada;(2) Department of Zoology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada |
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Abstract: | Synopsis Brook charr, Salvelinus fontinalis, shifts its diet from zoobenthos to pelagic prey when living sympatrically with white sucker, Catostomus commersoni, in lakes of the Laurentian Shield. We tested the hypothesis that this diet difference would have a significant impact on
their pyloric caecal morphology in 5 lakes containing allopatric brook charr populations and 6 other lakes containing both
brook charr and white sucker. We observed that the mean length of the most posterior caecum of charr was significantly greater
in sympatry than in allopatry (X ± 1 SD: 9.91 ± 1.12 mm versus 8.44 ± 0.67 mm). This is equivalent to an increase of 18% of
total pyloric caecal mass (dry weight) in sympatric brook charr. These results indicate that this response to differences
in diet, well known in birds, also occurs in fish. |
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Keywords: | Variations in food quality and quantity Phenotypic response Feeding behavior Diet shift Gut morphology Salmonid fish |
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