Abstract
The life history variation in a brackish water type of the Ninespine Stickleback Pungitius pungitius collected over 3 years was studied by examining the strontium (Sr) and calcium (Ca) concentrations in the otoliths. The life histories showed the fish were either brackish water residents or anadromous throughout those years. 74–78% of the fish had the former life history and 22–26% the latter. The composition of each life history was constant throughout the 3 years, and the occurrence of the “anadromous” novel life history found previously is a general phenomenon in this species.
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References
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank T. Kitamura for his assistance with the field collections. This work was supported in part by Grant-in-Aid No. 20688008 from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan.
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Arai, T., Chino, N. & Goto, A. Life history variation among years in a brackish water type of the Ninespine Stickleback, Pungitius pungitius . Environ Biol Fish 88, 319–322 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-010-9656-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-010-9656-3