SHORT COMMUNICATION MORPHOMETRIC AND MERISTIC CHARACTERISTICS ANALYSES OF TWO WESTERN IRISH POPULATIONS OF ARCTIC CHAR, SALVELINUS ALPINUS (L.)

Multivariate morphometric and meristic analyses of Irish Arctic char Salvelinus alpinus (L.) from Lough Eske, Co. Donegal, and Lough Mask, Co. Mayo, are presented. The analysis illustrated the monomorphic character of the two populations despite differences in growth and size between the ‘stunted’,...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: D. Doherty, T. K. Mccarthy, Mccarthy Zoology
Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 2002
Subjects:
Online Access:http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.567.6027
http://www.nuigalway.ie/zoology/mccarthy/documents/doherty__mccarthy_2004_char.pdf
Description
Summary:Multivariate morphometric and meristic analyses of Irish Arctic char Salvelinus alpinus (L.) from Lough Eske, Co. Donegal, and Lough Mask, Co. Mayo, are presented. The analysis illustrated the monomorphic character of the two populations despite differences in growth and size between the ‘stunted’, slower-growing Lough Eske fish and the ‘normal’, faster-growing Lough Mask fish. The results are discussed in the context of other systems where sympatric morphs have been described. Differences in body size and growth rate appear to reflect the trophic status and the productivity of the two lakes. The results confirm earlier findings, which were based on dietary analysis and analysis of metazoan parasites of both Irish populations of Arctic char. D. Doherty (corresponding author; e-mail: