The environmental factors influencing the phenotypic plasticity of Barbus lacerata (Heckel, 1843) in the Zarrineh River, theUrmia Lake basin

The body shape of fishes is influenced by environmental parameters and the habitat condition. The present study investigated morphological characteristics phenotypic plasticity of Barbus lacerata in the Zarrineh River and the role of environmentalfactors influencing the phenotypic plasticity. Three hundred specimens were caught using electric fishing, anaesthetized with clove powder, fixed in 10% formalin and transferred to the laboratory. The left side of the specimens was photographed using a digital camera with a resolution of 6 megapixels. Twelve landmarks were put of the pictures using the software TPSDig2. The Procrustes superimposition was used to transform landmark data and subjected to Canonical Variate Analysis (CVA) using PAST software. Thin-plate spline was used to detect morphometric changes inferred form translation of the landmarks. Based on the movement of landmarks, a significant difference was found between the morph of the specimens from the up- and downstream of River. The morphological differences recognized in body height and caudal peduncle height. Two-block PLS and correlation matrix showed that the velocity of water flow and river discharge are the main factors causing morphological changes. This research recommends the further study on other environmental factors affecting the morphology