Intraspecific variation in gill morphology of juvenile Nile perch, Lates niloticus, in Lake Nabugabo, Uganda

Environmental Biology of Fishes
By: , and 

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Abstract

Several studies have demonstrated intraspecific variation in fish gill size that relates to variation in dissolved oxygen (DO) availability across habitats. In Lake Nabugabo, East Africa, ecological change over the past 12 years has coincided with a shift in the distribution of introduced Nile perch such that a larger proportion of the population now inhabits waters in or near wetland ecotones where DO is lower than in open waters of the lake. In this study, we compared gill size of juvenile Nile perch between wetland and exposed (open-water) habitats of Lake Nabugabo in 2007, as well as between Nile perch collected in 1996 and 2007. For Nile perch of Lake Nabugabo [<20 cm total length (TL)], there was a significant habitat effect on some gill traits. In general, fish from wetland habitats were characterized by a longer total gill filament length and average gill filament length than conspecifics from exposed habitats. Nile perch collected from wetland areas in 2007 had significantly larger gills (total gill filament length) than Nile perch collected in 1996, but there was no difference detected between Nile perch collected from exposed sites in 2007 and conspecifics collected in 1996.
Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Intraspecific variation in gill morphology of juvenile Nile perch, Lates niloticus, in Lake Nabugabo, Uganda
Series title Environmental Biology of Fishes
DOI 10.1007/s10641-010-9600-6
Volume 88
Issue 2
Year Published 2010
Language English
Publisher Springer
Publisher location Amsterdam, Netherlands
Contributing office(s) Southeast Ecological Science Center
Description 8 p.
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title Environmental Biology of Fishes
First page 97
Last page 104
Country Uganda
Other Geospatial Lake Nabugabo
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