Variation in the magnitude of morphological and dietary differences between individuals among populations of small benthic Arctic charr in relation to ecological factors.

ABSTRACT: The early stages of intraspecific diversity are important for the evolution of diversification and speciation. Early stages of diversification can be seen in individual specialization, where individuals consume only a portion of the diet of the population as a whole, and how such specialization is related to phenotypic diversity within populations. Here, we study the strength of the relationship between morphological and dietary distances among individuals in eighteen populations of Icelandic small benthic charr. We furthermore studied if the strength of the relationship could be related to variation in local ecological factors these populations inhabit. In all the populations studied, there was a clear relationship between morphological and dietary distances, indicating that fish that had

SUBMITTER: Kristjansson BK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5792579 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature