Evolution of ontogenetic dietary shifts and associated gut features in prickleback fishes (Teleostei: Stichaeidae)

We tested the hypothesis that an ontogenetic dietary shift from carnivory to herbivory or omnivory, and concomitant changes in the gut facilitating digestion of algae, are synapomorphies of the tribes Xiphisterini and Esselenichthyini in the family Stichaeidae (pricklebacks). Previous investigations have revealed that two xiphisterine pricklebacks—Xiphister mucosus and Xiphister atropurpureus—become herbivorous or omnivorous, respectively, as their bodies grow larger, and that their guts show related changes in length and function. In this study we found that, with increase in size, the basal member of the Xiphisterini, Phytichthys chirus, showed an increased proportion of algae in its diet, increased activity of α-amylase and decreased activity of aminopeptidase, all of which support the synapomorphy hypothesis. Cebidichthys violaceus, a herbivore in the Esselenichthyini, shows similar ontogenetic changes in diet and digestive tract length and physiology, but these features were not observed in two derived carnivores, Dictyosoma burgeri and Dictyosoma rubrimaculatum, within the clade. These results suggest that herbivory is isolated to C. violaceus within the Esselenichthyini. Allometric relationships of gut length as a function of body size generally follow diet within the Xiphisterini and Esselenichthyini, with herbivores having the longest guts, which become disproportionately longer than body size as the fishes grow, omnivores intermediate gut lengths, and carnivores the shortest. A carnivore from an adjacent clade, Anoplarchus purpurescens, had the shortest gut, which did not change in length relative to body length as the fish grew. Overall, our results clarify the patterns of dietary evolution within the Stichaeidae and lay the foundation for more detailed studies of dietary and digestive specialization in fishes in the family.