Abstract
The spatial distribution of phenotypes across the environment has important consequences for population biology, community ecology, and evolution. Populations of pumpkinseed sunfish (Centrarchidae: Lepomis gibbosus) have repeatedly diversified between the littoral and pelagic habitats of postglacial lakes, but we know little about the natural history of pumpkinseed in exposed rocky littoral shorelines relative to those in sheltered littoral bays. We addressed three general questions with respect to the pumpkinseed found in exposed littoral shoreline relative to conspecifics from sheltered littoral and pelagic habitats: (1) What phenotype is associated with the exposed littoral shoreline? (2) What is their summer diet? (3) What is the condition of pumpkinseed from exposed littoral shorelines? Reference sheltered littoral and pelagic pumpkinseed were phenotypically and ecologically differentiated in a pattern consistent with several previous studies; pelagic pumpkinseed had deeper bodies, smaller jaws (narrower oral jaw width and shorter premaxilla), and a more terminal mouth, as well as having more zooplankton and less insects in their diet. Pumpkinseed from exposed shoreline habitat had jaw and body shape phenotypes, as well as diets, that were similar to sheltered littoral reference pumpkinseed in some traits while others were more intermediate. We found no evidence that differences between habitats in phenotype or diet translated into differences in body condition at the end of the summer growing season, suggesting that exposed littoral shorelines are unlikely to be an ecological ‘sink’ habitat. This study expands our understanding of the spatial distributions of polyphenic pumpkinseed, and their habitat use in postglacial lakes.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank C. Axelrod for assistance with field work, J. Dawson for assistance with GIS mapping of Ashby Lake, as well as C. Axelrod, K. Cantera, K. Cottenie, R. Holub, K. McCann, and R. McLaughlin for feedback on earlier versions of this manuscript. We thank Bob and Christine Gautier and the Ashby Lake Protective Association for facilitating our work on Ashby Lake. Methods of capture, handling, anesthetic, and euthanasia of animals were in accordance with animal use and welfare standards administered by the University of Guelph’s Animal Care Committee (AUP#3773) under Canadian government guidelines (UAREB No. 1500). Sampling was licensed through the collection of fish for scientific purposes administered by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (#1082601 and #1086710).
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We acknowledge the funding that made this work possible: A Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery grant to B. Robinson and The Norman James Aquatic Animal Ecology Award from the College of Biological Sciences at the University of Guelph to W. Jarvis.
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WJ, C.N., and BR conceived of the ideas and methodology; WJ and CN collected the data; WJ, CN, and BR analyzed the data; WJ, CN, and BR led the writing of the manuscript. All authors contributed critically to the drafts and gave final approval for publication.
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Jarvis, W.M.C., Nolan, C.B. & Robinson, B.W. Ecomorphological variation of pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus) in exposed littoral shoreline habitat of a postglacial lake. Environ Biol Fish 104, 119–133 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-021-01061-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-021-01061-3