engleski

Can head morphology reflects habitat preference in the crustacean Synurella ambulans (Amphipoda, Crangonyctidae)?

In the absence of light body morphology reflect features of the life style of crustaceans. Various populations of the species Synurella ambulans is adapted to the epigean and subterranean habitat types in Croatia. These populations show great similarities in size and body shape and are thus difficult to discriminate in the level of adaptation to the subterranean life. We tested the hypothesis that differences in the habitat demands in alluvial and karstic Croatian environment are reflected by differences in the morphology, especially of their compound eyes. Five populations of the species S. ambulans from five different habitat types (limnocrene and rheocrene spring, seepage, karstic river, and alluvial river) were compared for morphological measurements of the head and eyes. The populations not only differ in the head capsule length but also in the relative length of their antenna, and the number and density of their ommatidia. We suggest that the population with the lowest number of ommatidia inhabited intermittent spring and thus it is adapted to the partial subterranean life. These differences can be interpreted functionally and correlate well with features of the various habitats in which the species are found.

Synurella; intermittend spring; head morphology; eyes; ommatidia; antenna

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