Abstract
Livebearing fishes are a standard model for studying the effect of
predation on prey biology. Numerous studies have found differences in
life history, sexual selection, behavior, and morphology between
populations of the same species that co-occur with predators and those
that do not. Alfaro cultratus is a livebearing fish with populations in
different predation environments, but unlike other livebearers, this
species also has an extreme body shape that is laterally compressed.
Given this unusual morphology, we asked if predation environment would
still predict overall body shape, as has been documented in other
species. We collected specimens from both predator and no-predator sites
in Costa Rica. We used a geometric morphometrics analysis to determine
if body shape is affected by the predation environment while controlling
for size and river gradient. Body shape does indeed differ between
predation environments; however, the observed differences contrast with
the patterns found in other livebearer systems. Alfaro cultratus
in predation environments had deeper and shorter bodies and deeper
caudal peduncles than those found in environments without dominant fish
predators.