Morphometric variability in round goby Neogobius melanostomus (Perciformes: Gobiidae) from the Sea of Azov

Abstract

A total of 38 morphometric characters of the round goby Neogobius melanostomus melanostomus (Pallas, 1814) were studied in its native range in the Sea of Azov. The aim was to assess joint effect of sexual dimorphism and size variability on overall variability within groups of samples (populations) using appropriate methods of traditional statistical analysis (one-dimensional and multivariate statistics). Sex and size-dependent variability was studied based on model samples of males and females of different size. Most of the studied morphometric characters of round goby from the Sea of Azov demonstrated statistically significant sexand size-dependent in-group variability. The pattern of the variability suggests that, for a comparison of round goby from different sea regions and between populations, separate samples of males and females within the range 9–13 cm SL should be examined in order to minimise the effect of the size and sex factors. The approach of searching for the most informative size range could be useful not only for further studies of infraspecific variation but for comparisons between morphologically close gobiin species.