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122 C. Bracciali et al. / Marine Environmental Research 113 (2016) 116e123

Fig. 6. Principal component analysis carried out on morphometric matrix.

(Lauder and Drucker, 2004) and contrasting recoil (Webb, 2002). field and lab parts of this study; CG, JMD and GS lead the writing
On the contrary, under LOW-HYDRO hydrodynamics, C. chromis and provided facilities and funds for the CB Ph.D. project.
was characterized by greater body height and longer pectoral fins.
The latter body structures are used in median/paired fin- Acknowledgments
locomotion (Webb, 1994) particularly adopted by species that
need finer movements assuring greater maneuverability for their We are indebted with E. Gemelli, C. Lanzino, C. Catalano and M.
demersal lifestyle (Fulton, 2007). Without a relative strong current Lo Martire (Laboratory of Experimental Ecology, University of
able to provide food, C. chromis have to more actively search prey by Palermo, Italy) for their help in laboratory and field, with E. M. D.
implementing body movements of pitch and yaw. Jaw length and Porporato for her help with hydrodynamics data. Thanks to W.
eye diameter were both greater in LOW-HYDRO specimens, that is Frullini to adapt C. chromis picture in Fig. 2. This study is part of the
quite possibly related to trophic and light variability (Pulcini et al., C.B. PhD thesis. This study has been conducted also using the
2008). As we do not have direct information on zooplankton re- Copernicus Marine Service Products and has been funded by Min-
sources, nor on light intensity within the two sites, we can only
istero dell'Ambiente (Italian Government) e G. SARA'/DINAUTIS
speculate about these aspects. We can hypothesize on the possible project.
role of hydrodynamics in the selection of jaw and eye characteris-
tics. The high current velocity concurrently should increase both
the prey encounter rates, modifying the quantity, quality and dis- References
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CB elaborated data, wrote the paper and with GG carried out the microbial food web of the oligotrophic subtropical North Pacific. Aquat. Microb.