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Life History of Two Carassius (Cyprinidae) Species in the Conditions of Sympatry

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Abstract—

The population structure and features of sexual maturity of gibel carp Carassius gibelio and crucian carp C. carassius are studied in a small (588 m2) natural pond. The abundance of the former species is 2.4 times larger than that of the latter species. The sex ratio (females : males) is 80 : 1 (n = 674) and 0.8 : 1 (n = 128), respectively. The gibel carp is represented by gynogenetic form. The populations of both species are characterized by similar age structure, reach sexual maturity at the age of 2–3 years, but the growth rate of the gibel carp is notably higher in comparison with that of the crucian carp; the latter species is represented by a small (on average, 55 mm FL) pedomorphic form. In the pond, individuals of both species inhabit mainly different ecological niches leading to a weak interspecific competition.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I thank A.G. Osinov (Moscow State University) for participation in the investigations of the water bodies of Nizhny Novgorod oblast and help during the collection and treatment of the material. I am grateful to V.P. Vasil’ev (Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences) and anonymous referee for the valuable comments on the manuscript.

Funding

The study was conducted according to the scientific project of the State target of Moscow State University 20-1-21 no. 121032300102-9.

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    D. A. Pavlov

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Pavlov, D.A. Life History of Two Carassius (Cyprinidae) Species in the Conditions of Sympatry. J. Ichthyol. 62, 1100–1115 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0032945222060212

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