Fluctuating Asymmetry of Some Characteristics in the Sakhalin Redfin Pseudaspius sachalinensis (Nikolskii, 1889) (CYPRINIFORMES, LEUCISCIDAE)

Abstract

The fluctuating asymmetry of seven characteristics is studied in five samples of the Sakhalin redfin Pseudaspius sachalinensis (Nikolskii, 1889). A comparison of these samples with each other shows that the ratio of the variances of fluctuating asymmetry between characteristics corresponds in a majority of samples to the variance of the average values for these samples. The uniqueness of the sample from Bolshoi Chibisan Lake is indicated by the smallest number of agreements with other samples and the largest sum of variances for all characteristics. Clusterization of samples of the Sakhalin redfins in terms of variances of the fluctuating asymmetry of all characteristics shows a division into two clusters: one includes samples from the Tym, Tumnin, Susuya, and Protochnaya rivers; and the other cluster includes a sample from the Bolshoi Chibisan Lake. For most indicators of fluctuating asymmetry, the Sakhalin redfin differs significantly from two other redfin species living in the same water bodies, this may indicate either species specificity or the influence of environmental factors at the initial stages of individual development of fish in the spawning sites.