The combination of bivariate and multivariate methods to analyze character synchronization and early allometric growth patterns in the stellate sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus) as tools for better understanding larval behavior1
2017
Eshaghzadeh, Hamid | Alcaraz, Carles | Akbarzadeh, Arash | Gisbert, Enric
Multivariate allometry patterns and length at metamorphosis (Lₘ) were determined in Acipenser stellatus by means of principal component analysis from 12 morphometric characters. The multivariate analysis differentiated three growth stanzas: the prelarval, larval, and early juvenile stages. The prelarval stage comprised the period from hatching (9.7 mm in total length, TL) to the transition to exogenous feeding (17.7 mm TL, Lₘ₁), a period characterized by yolk sac depletion and fast growth of the anterior and posterior body regions. These changes coincided with the development of sensory, feeding, respiratory, and swimming systems to improve foraging behavior and predator avoidance. During the larval period (17.7–52.8 mm, Lₘ₁–Lₘ₂), specimens reached a juvenile phenotype characterized by the development of median fins, elongation and flattening of the snout and formation of bony scutes, and the improvement of their swimming capacities, allowing larvae to regulate their dispersal distance from the spawning grounds. The end of the larval period and acquisition of the juvenile phenotype were found after Lₘ₂ when some variables reached isometry or even displayed a negative allometric growth.
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