Ss. Crawford et Ek. Balon, ALTERNATIVE LIFE-HISTORIES OF THE GENUS LUCANIA .1. EARLY ONTOGENY OFL-PARVA, THE RAINWATER KILLIFISH, Environmental biology of fishes, 40(4), 1994, pp. 349-389
This is the first of three papers devoted to the description and inter
pretation of early morphological development in altricial and precocia
l species within the genus Lucania. This study focussed on the early l
ife history of the rainwater killifish, Lucania parva. Reproductively
mature specimens were collected in brackish impoundments of the St. Ma
rks National Wildife Refuge in northwest Florida, and transported to t
he laboratory where they served as brood stock for specimens described
in this study. Laboratory-reared offspring of L. parva were described
according to the saltatory theory of ontogeny, which gives a sampling
design based on morphological, rather than chronological, progression
. The morphological development of these offspring is described on the
basis of detailed illustrations, photomicrographs, and measurements o
f mensural and meristic characters. This account of early ontogeny, in
combination with a corresponding study on the early ontogeny of the b
luefin killifish, L. goodei (Crawford and Balon 1994a), establishes th
e empirical basis for an altricial-precocial life history model (Crawf
ord and Balon 1994b).