Unimodal head-width distribution of the European eel ( Anguilla anguilla L.) from the Zeeschelde does not support disruptive selection
Since the early 20th century, European eels ( Anguilla anguilla L.) have been dichotomously classified into ‘narrow’ and ‘broad’ heads. These morphs are mainly considered the result of a differential food choice, with narrow heads feeding primarily on small/soft prey and broad heads on large/hard pr...
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crpeerj:10.7717/peerj.5773 2024-06-02T07:55:09+00:00 Unimodal head-width distribution of the European eel ( Anguilla anguilla L.) from the Zeeschelde does not support disruptive selection Verhelst, Pieterjan De Meyer, Jens Reubens, Jan Coeck, Johan Goethals, Peter Moens, Tom Mouton, Ans Flemish Agency for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO) National Science Fund FWO INBO VLIZ 2018 http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5773 https://peerj.com/articles/5773.pdf https://peerj.com/articles/5773.xml https://peerj.com/articles/5773.html en eng PeerJ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ PeerJ volume 6, page e5773 ISSN 2167-8359 journal-article 2018 crpeerj https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5773 2024-05-07T14:14:07Z Since the early 20th century, European eels ( Anguilla anguilla L.) have been dichotomously classified into ‘narrow’ and ‘broad’ heads. These morphs are mainly considered the result of a differential food choice, with narrow heads feeding primarily on small/soft prey and broad heads on large/hard prey. Yet, such a classification implies that head-width variation follows a bimodal distribution, leading to the assumption of disruptive selection. We investigated the head morphology of 272 eels, caught over three consecutive years (2015–2017) at a single location in the Zeeschelde (Belgium). Based on our results, BIC favored a unimodal distribution, while AIC provided equal support for a unimodal and a bimodal distribution. Notably, visualization of the distributions revealed a strong overlap between the two normal distributions under the bimodal model, likely explaining the ambiguity under AIC. Consequently, it is more likely that head-width variation followed a unimodal distribution, indicating there are no disruptive selection pressures for bimodality in the Zeeschelde. As such, eels could not be divided in two distinct head-width groups. Instead, their head widths showed a continuum of narrow to broad with a normal distribution. This pattern was consistent across all maturation stages studied here. Article in Journal/Newspaper Anguilla anguilla PeerJ Publishing PeerJ 6 e5773 |
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PeerJ Publishing |
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English |
description |
Since the early 20th century, European eels ( Anguilla anguilla L.) have been dichotomously classified into ‘narrow’ and ‘broad’ heads. These morphs are mainly considered the result of a differential food choice, with narrow heads feeding primarily on small/soft prey and broad heads on large/hard prey. Yet, such a classification implies that head-width variation follows a bimodal distribution, leading to the assumption of disruptive selection. We investigated the head morphology of 272 eels, caught over three consecutive years (2015–2017) at a single location in the Zeeschelde (Belgium). Based on our results, BIC favored a unimodal distribution, while AIC provided equal support for a unimodal and a bimodal distribution. Notably, visualization of the distributions revealed a strong overlap between the two normal distributions under the bimodal model, likely explaining the ambiguity under AIC. Consequently, it is more likely that head-width variation followed a unimodal distribution, indicating there are no disruptive selection pressures for bimodality in the Zeeschelde. As such, eels could not be divided in two distinct head-width groups. Instead, their head widths showed a continuum of narrow to broad with a normal distribution. This pattern was consistent across all maturation stages studied here. |
author2 |
Flemish Agency for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO) National Science Fund FWO INBO VLIZ |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Verhelst, Pieterjan De Meyer, Jens Reubens, Jan Coeck, Johan Goethals, Peter Moens, Tom Mouton, Ans |
spellingShingle |
Verhelst, Pieterjan De Meyer, Jens Reubens, Jan Coeck, Johan Goethals, Peter Moens, Tom Mouton, Ans Unimodal head-width distribution of the European eel ( Anguilla anguilla L.) from the Zeeschelde does not support disruptive selection |
author_facet |
Verhelst, Pieterjan De Meyer, Jens Reubens, Jan Coeck, Johan Goethals, Peter Moens, Tom Mouton, Ans |
author_sort |
Verhelst, Pieterjan |
title |
Unimodal head-width distribution of the European eel ( Anguilla anguilla L.) from the Zeeschelde does not support disruptive selection |
title_short |
Unimodal head-width distribution of the European eel ( Anguilla anguilla L.) from the Zeeschelde does not support disruptive selection |
title_full |
Unimodal head-width distribution of the European eel ( Anguilla anguilla L.) from the Zeeschelde does not support disruptive selection |
title_fullStr |
Unimodal head-width distribution of the European eel ( Anguilla anguilla L.) from the Zeeschelde does not support disruptive selection |
title_full_unstemmed |
Unimodal head-width distribution of the European eel ( Anguilla anguilla L.) from the Zeeschelde does not support disruptive selection |
title_sort |
unimodal head-width distribution of the european eel ( anguilla anguilla l.) from the zeeschelde does not support disruptive selection |
publisher |
PeerJ |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5773 https://peerj.com/articles/5773.pdf https://peerj.com/articles/5773.xml https://peerj.com/articles/5773.html |
genre |
Anguilla anguilla |
genre_facet |
Anguilla anguilla |
op_source |
PeerJ volume 6, page e5773 ISSN 2167-8359 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5773 |
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PeerJ |
container_volume |
6 |
container_start_page |
e5773 |
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1800746235637792768 |