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Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Phenotypic variation across populations of red mullet (Mullus barbatus) in different environments of the central Mediterranean

Federico Quattrocchi https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2030-5640 A C , Giovanni D’Anna B , Fabio Fiorentino A , Antonino Titone A , Arturo Zenone B and Germana Garofalo A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Italian National Research Council–Institute for Biological Resources and Marine Biotechnology (CNR-IRBIM), Via Luigi Vaccara, 61, I-91026 Mazara del Vallo (Trapani, TP), Italy.

B Italian National Research Council–Institute of Anthropic Impacts and Sustainability in Marine Environment (CNR-IAS), Via Giovanni da Verrazzano, 17, I-91014 Castellammare del Golfo (Trapani, TP), Italy.

C Corresponding author. Email: federico.quattrocchi@irbim.cnr.it

Marine and Freshwater Research 71(10) 1313-1326 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF19251
Submitted: 29 July 2019  Accepted: 5 February 2020   Published: 18 March 2020

Abstract

Geometric morphometrics is an effective tool for quantifying intraspecific variations in fish body shape and differentiating populations and fisheries stocks. This study used geometric morphometrics to examine patterns of intraspecific morphological differentiation among four red mullet (Mullus barbatus) populations in the Strait of Sicily in the central Mediterranean Sea. We hypothesised that morphological differences among local populations were caused by the diverse hydrodynamic features characterising the sampled areas and maintained by geographical isolation. We also examined whether body shape homogeneity or variability within local populations was related to seabed rugosity as an indicator of habitat complexity. We found that the morphological divergence between local populations was constrained by geographical proximity. Populations varied primarily in body depth, with more elongate specimens inhabiting hydrodynamic areas. In addition, site-specific homogeneity in body shape was positively related to seabed rugosity, so that in more structurally complex habitats body shape was less morphologically variable. An improved understanding of the spatial structure of red mullet populations in the Strait of Sicily is needed to better define the boundaries of natural populations.

Additional keywords: geometric morphometrics; habitat complexity; kinetic energy; morphospace patterning, Strait of Sicily.


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