Are Ponto-Caspian species able to cross salinity barriers? A case study of the gammarid Pontogammarus maeoticus.

ABSTRACT: Recently, Ponto-Caspian species (i.e., area of Azov, Black, and Caspian Seas) have invaded brackish and freshwater habitats of the North and Baltic Seas and the Laurentian Great Lakes in much higher numbers than expected based on shipping frequency and environmental conditions among these regions. Therefore, it has been suggested that Ponto-Caspian species may have inherent advantages over other species in colonizing new habitats, or that they are of freshwater origin. Artificial selection offers the possibility to investigate phenotypic plasticity, shifts in environmental tolerance, and heritability of environmentally sensitive traits; therefore, in this study, we conducted artificial selection experiments on Ponto-Caspian amphipod Pontogammarus maeoticus collected from 10 PSU to e

SUBMITTER: Pauli NC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6202737 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature