Diet-dependent body morphology and ontogenetic reaction norms in Eurasian perch

Individual morphology and performance are directly or indirectly under the influence of variation in resource levels, To study the effects of differen t resource conditions and their effects on morphology and ontogenetic react ion norms in young-of-the-year (YOY) perch (Perca fluviatilis), we used thr ee different approaches. First, we examined the morphological trajectories over early ontogeny in relation to lake-specific resources in a field study . Second, one lake that lacked perch recruitment was stocked with perch egg s from a control lake in a whole-lake experiment to study ontogenetic react ion norms. Third, we compared the development of YOY perch in the three lak es that mainly inhabited the littoral zone with YOY perch experimentally co nfined to enclosures in the pelagic. zone of the lakes. Overall body morphology of the YOY perch changed both as a function of size and as a function of diet. As perch increased in size they developed a dee per body morphology corresponding to an increased proportion of benthic mac roinvertebrates in their diet. In pelagic enclosures where perch were const rained to feed mainly on zooplankton they had a more fusiform body morpholo gy than perch in the lakes that fed on a mixture of zooplankton and macroin vertebrates. Similarly, the ontogenetic reaction norm of perch was related to the diet and lake-specific zooplankton levels in the whole-lake experime nt. In the pelagic enclosures, perch with high growth rates had a more fusiform body morphology than slow-growing perch, whereas the opposite was found in the lakes, where perch included more macroinvertebrates in their diets. Pe rch in lakes with a higher proportion of macroinvertebrates in the diet als o had deeper body morphology. The opposite morphology - growth rate relatio nship found between perch in the pelagic versus those using the whole lake suggest a morphological trade-off between foraging on zooplankton and forag ing on macroinvertebrates. Our results suggest that YOY perch show differen t ontogenetic reaction norms as a function of lake-specific resource levels , which may allow YOY recruitment to later stages. Our results further sugg est that diet-related changes in morphology are a rapid process.