Interpopulational egg-size variation of a landlocked Rhinogobius goby related to the risk of larval starvation

Abstract

Reproductive characteristics of a landlocked goby, Rhinogobius sp. (the orange form), in the Lake Biwa water system were compared between the fluvial-lacustrine and lacustrine populations to show the relationship of the egg size to the risk of larval starvation. The comparison of both oocytes in the ovaries and spawned eggs showed that egg size is larger in the fluvial-lacustrine population than in the lacustrine population. Although females of the two populations spawn eggs of the same number as a function of their body size, those of the fluvial-lacustrine population spawn larger eggs even in relation to their body size by investing more in reproduction than those of the lacustrine population. A positive correlation was experimentally shown between the egg size and larval starvation tolerance. Most larvae of the fluvial-lacustrine population (>2 days old) had exhausted their yolk during their larval drift downstream to the lake, indicating that larvae severely suffer from starvation. Egg-size variation between the two populations seemed to be the result of adaptation to the different life cycles, in which the fluvial-lacustrine population confronts the risk of larval starvation, whereas the lacustrine population seems safe from such risk of starvation.