title: Morphometric comparisons of plant-mimetic juvenile fish associated with plant debris observed in the coastal subtropical waters around Kuchierabu-jima Island, southern Japan.
abstract: The general morphological shape of plant-resembling fish and plant parts were compared using a geometric morphometrics approach. Three plant-mimetic fish species, Lobotes surinamensis (Lobotidae), Platax orbicularis (Ephippidae) and Canthidermis maculata (Balistidae), were compared during their early developmental stages with accompanying plant debris (i.e., leaves of several taxa) in the coastal subtropical waters around Kuchierabu-jima Island, closely facing the Kuroshio Current. The degree of similarity shared between the plant parts and co-occurring fish species was quantified, however fish remained morphologically distinct from their plant models. Such similarities were corroborated by analysis of covariance and linear discriminant analysis, in which relative body areas of fish were strongly related to plant models. Our results strengthen the paradigm that morphological clues can lead to ecological evidence to allow predictions of behavioural and habitat choice by mimetic fish, according to the degree of similarity shared with their respective models. The resemblance to plant parts detected in the three fish species may provide fitness advantages via convergent evolutionary effects.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Estudos Costeiros, Laboratório de Evolução, Universidade Federal do Pará, Bragança, Pará, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alexya Cunha
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: de Queiroz
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Biosphere Science, Laboratory of Aquatic Resources, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Estudos Costeiros, Laboratório de Evolução, Universidade Federal do Pará, Bragança, Pará, Brazil.|Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal.
authors.forename: Marcelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vallinoto
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Estudos Costeiros, Laboratório de Evolução, Universidade Federal do Pará, Bragança, Pará, Brazil.|Graduate School of Biosphere Science, Laboratory of Aquatic Resources, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Japan.|Campus de Capanema, Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia, Capanema, Pará, Brazil.
authors.forename: Breno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Barros
keywords: Coastal environments; Convergent evolution; Masquerade; Protective camouflage; Shape analysis