Occurrence of four-spined Gasterosteus aculeatus in an isolated Croatian river population.
An isolated population of the three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus in Croatia was found to have a high incidence of specimens either having a fourth dorsal spine or showing remnants of a fourth spine. Juvenile individuals showed a 9.4% incidence of a fourth spine. The population was examined for asymmetry of the skeletal defensive complex in order to determine whether the additional spine could be the result of developmental instability, a response to predation or environmental conditions.
Zanella
L N
LN
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia. linda.zanella@zg.t-com.hr
Zanella
D
D
Mrakovcić
M
M
Miletić
M
M
Mustafić
P
P
Caleta
M
M
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D017523:Croatia; D010641:Phenotype; D012044:Regression Analysis; D045483:Rivers; D023701:Smegmamorpha / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*