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Morphological Plasticity and Biological Patterns of the Climbing Perch Anabas testudineus from Different Types of Water Bodies in Khánh Hòa Province, Vietnam

  • BIOLOGY, MORPHOLOGY, AND SYSTEMATICS OF HYDROBIONTS
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Abstract

The morphological plasticity of the climbing perch Anabas testudineus (Bloch, 1792) has been studied in three water bodies of Khánh Hòa Province, Vietnam (Kai River, a rice-paddy irrigation pond, and an intermittent pond). The size, age, and sex stucture of populations and feeding spectra have been analyzed. An analysis of 16 plastic and 10 meristic characteristics shows evidence of significant differences of riverine fish by the features associated with locomotion (smaller height of the dorsal, anal, pelvic, and pectoral fins and shorter head) and with the mouth structure (the largest jaws (length), head height, and snout length). A high level of paratypical plasticity of the species is observed. The sample from an intermittent pond appears to be the most distinct due to the unfavorable conditions of the species habitat. In the Kai River, an animal-based diet that includes relatively large prey plays an important role for the climbing perch. The high ecological plasticity of the climbing perch allows it to survive in a wide range of environmental conditions, including anthropogenic influence, and to tolerate competition with invasive species.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank the staff of the Primorsky Branch of the Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Research and Technological Center for the opportunity to conduct research and for assistance. Special thanks go to Dr. K.V. Kuzishchin and Dr. M.A. Gruzdeva (Moscow State University) for valuable comments and recommendations.

Funding

The study was supported by the Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Research and Technological Center (Program Ecolan 3.2 “Taxonomic Diversity, Ecology, and Behavior of Freshwater Aquatic Organisms”) and by a grant from Moscow State University for supporting its leading scientific schools “Moscow University Living Systems Depository” as part of the Development Program of Moscow State University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

    K. Yu. Samoilov

  2. Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Research and Technology Center, Nha Trang, Vietnam

    Tran Duc Dien

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Correspondence to K. Yu. Samoilov.

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Translated by D. Martynova

Abbreviations: PIS, pond of a rice-paddy irrigation system; IP, intermittent pond; aO, preorbital distance; Ar, As, number of soft and spiny rays in the anal fin, respectively; С, head length; CF, number of rays in the caudal fin; Dr, Ds, number of soft and spiny rays in the dorsal fin, respectively; H and h, largest and the smallest body height, respectively; HA, height of the fourth spiny ray of the anal fin; HC, head height; HD, height of the fourth spiny ray of the dorsal fin; HP, maximum length of the left pectoral fin; HV, height of the left pelvic fin; l.l., number of perforated scales of the lateral line; LA, length of the base of the anal fin; LD, length of the base of the dorsal fin; Lj, length of the lower jaw; LP, length of the base of the left pectoral fin; O, eye horizontal diameter; OP, postorbital distance; P, number of rays in the pectoral fin; Q, body weight; q, gonad weight (excl. intestines); SL, standard body length; TL, total body length; Uj, upper jaw length; vert., number of vertebrae; Vr, Vs, number of soft and spiny rays in the left ventral fin, respectively.

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Samoilov, K.Y., Tran Duc Dien Morphological Plasticity and Biological Patterns of the Climbing Perch Anabas testudineus from Different Types of Water Bodies in Khánh Hòa Province, Vietnam. Inland Water Biol 15, 217–226 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1995082922020109

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