Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Natural Resources, Azadshahr branch, Islamic Azad University, Azadshahr, Iran
Abstract: (2456 Views)
This study was aimed to compare the shapes of Kutum, Rutilus kutum (Kamenskii, 1901) from southern Caspian Sea using landmark based geometric morphometrics. For this purpose, 150 specimens were caught from five stations (30 samples from each station) including Bandar-e Turkman, Mahmood-Abad, Klar-Abad, Kiashahr and Talesh shores. The specimens were anesthetized in 1% clove oil extract, fixed in Buffered Formalin 10% and transported to the laboratory. The fish were photographed and 17 homologous morphological landmarks were digitized on them using tpsDig2 software. The non-shape data including size and direction were removed from data using generalized procrustes analysis. The statistical analysis were done using multivariate analysis PCA, CVA and cluster analysis. The cluster analysis grouped the two population Kiashahr and Bandar-e Torkaman in a single cluster (bootstrap number 58%). The most significant similarities observed between the two groups Kiashahr and Bandar-e Torkaman that separated them from other groups were the more islander liked body, the lower head length and lower body depth. Concerning to the geographic distance between Kiashahr and Bandar-e Turkman, their body shape similarity can be the phenotype plasticity response to their similar environments. Based on this study it can be proposed that Kutum has a wide phenotype plasticity potential.