Product Description
This species occurs regularly in small ponds (often as a monoculture assemblage) as well as in larger lakes with high species richness. Crucian Carp exhibit two distinct morphologies which are reported to be driven predominantly by the fish community assemblage. Particularly, the existence of “pond” and “lake” forms of Crucian Carp are believed to be strongly related to the presence or absence of predators more than environmental or physical characteristics of the water body. In Swedish lakes, Crucian Carp population density and size were significantly smaller (mean size 9.2 cm, 20 g) in ponds and lakes without piscivores than in water bodies with piscivores (mean size 31.3 cm, 735 g) (Bronmark et al. 1995). However, growth-stunted, low-bodied (‘pond’ form) Crucian Carp were observed to shift their deep-bodied form (‘lake’ form) when introduced into a fishless, productive pond. This suggests that two different conditions can induce Crucian Carp to grow into the deep-bodied lake forms: the presence of piscivorous fish and increased food availability in the absence of piscivorous fish.
The crucian carp occurs in central Asia and Europe, reaching the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia. It is found both in large lakes and small ponds. They have distinct morphological types in these two environments. In large lakes, where it occurs together with numerous other fish species, including predatory ones such as pike and perch, the crucian carp is deep bodied. In small ponds, prone to seasonal anoxia and where it is the only fish species, it has a much more slender body shape. It has been suggested that the deep body form found in large lakes is the result of phenotypic plasticity induced by the smell of predators or injured crucian carp, and the function of the deep body is to make the crucian carp less likely to fit into the mouth of a predatory fish.
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