Ontogenetic Shifts in Body Morphology of Demersal Sharks’ Species (Order: Squaliformes) Inhabiting the Western-Central Mediterranean Sea, with Implications for Their Bio-Ecological Role

Author:

Bellodi Andrea12ORCID,Mulas Antonello23ORCID,Daniel Louise4,Cau Alessandro23ORCID,Porcu Cristina23ORCID,Carbonara Pierluigi5ORCID,Follesa Maria Cristina23

Affiliation:

1. Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Contrada Porticatello 29, 98167 Messina, Italy

2. Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09126 Cagliari, Italy

3. Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Scienze Mare (CoNISMa), Piazzale Flaminio 9, 00196 Roma, Italy

4. Institut Agro Rennes Angers, Fishery Sciences, 65 Rue de Saint-Brieuc, 35042 Rennes, France

5. Fondazione COISPA ETS, Via dei Trulli 18/20, 70126 Bari, Italy

Abstract

Several elasmobranch species undergo shifts in body proportions during their ontogenetic growth. Such morphological changes could reflect variation in diet, locomotion, or, more broadly, in the species’ interactions with their environment. However, to date, only a few studies have been conducted on this topic, and most of them focused on particular body regions. In the present study, the ontogenetic growth of five different demersal shark species was investigated by using both traditional linear morphometry of the entire body and shape analysis of the caudal fin. A total of 449 sharks were analysed: 95 little gulper sharks, 80 longnose spurdogs, 103 kitefin sharks, 124 velvet belly lanternsharks, and 47 angular roughsharks. From each specimen, 36 linear morphometric measurements were taken. While a first canonical analysis of principal coordinates ruled out the possibility of different growth patterns between males and females, the same analysis statistically discriminated between small and large individuals in every species based on their morphology. A Similarity Percentage analysis revealed that the most important measurements in distinguishing these two groups were those related to body lengths, indicating that large individuals are more elongated than small individuals. The shape analysis of caudal fins revealed allometric growth during ontogenetic development, with adult individuals having a wider fin (discriminant analysis, p < 0.05). These findings could be related to changes in predatory skills, supporting the hypothesis of a shift in the ecological role that these sharks play in their environment, thus providing new essential information for their conservation.

Publisher

MDPI AG

Subject

General Agricultural and Biological Sciences,General Immunology and Microbiology,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

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