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Fluctuating asymmetry and nutritional condition of Baltic cod (Gadus morhua) larvae

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Abstract

The level of fluctuating asymmetry (FA), defined as random deviations from perfect bilateral symmetry, is assumed to reflect the developmental instability (DI) of an organism. Because environmental and genetic stress may increase DI, FA has been used to assess the level of stress experienced by, for example, fish. In this study, left–right asymmetry of lapillar otoliths was related to nutritional condition as estimated from RNA/DNA ratios, in order to investigate the utility of FA to detect feeding-related stress in Baltic cod, Gadus morhua L., larvae. Cod larvae in intermediate and good nutritional condition showed similar values of FA, and these were more symmetric than for larvae in poor condition. As increased levels of FA were restricted to larvae in a condition comparable to that of larvae experiencing at least 3 days of starvation in laboratory experiments, it is suggested that FA is an insensitive indicator of short-term feeding success of larval cod. However, FA can be used to reveal severely starved larva populations and probably also populations that have been subjected to prolonged sub-optimal feeding conditions.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by funding from the Danish National Science Research Council and the EU (Baltic CORE, grant no. AIR2 CT94 1226). Thanks are due to Drs K.T. Jensen, M.H. Schierup, A. Koed and C. Pertoldi for comments and ideas. The experiments comply with the current laws in Denmark.

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  1. Institute of Biological Sciences, Dept. of Marine Ecology, University of Aarhus, Finlandsgade 14, 8200, Aarhus N, Denmark

    P. Grønkjær & M. K. Sand

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  1. P. Grønkjær
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  2. M. K. Sand
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Correspondence to P. Grønkjær.

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Communicated by L. Hagerman, Helsingør

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Grønkjær, P., Sand, M.K. Fluctuating asymmetry and nutritional condition of Baltic cod (Gadus morhua) larvae. Marine Biology 143, 191–197 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-003-1064-1

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