Аннотация:Abstract
The specific morphological and biological features of dwarf chars Salvelinus malma curilus from three isolated populations of the southern Kuril Islands Kunashir and Iturup were studied. It was shown that brook dwarfs, in comparison with the migratory form of Salvelinus malma curilus, are characterized by a smaller diameter of spawned eggs (which corresponds to smaller yolk reserves and shorter embryos at hatching), retarded growth and morphogenesis of early juveniles, a mosaic pattern of paedomorphic and peramorphic morphological transformations, and a short lifespan. The population and age variability of the relative sizes and shape of otoliths was revealed. Dwarf populations are typically characterized by considerable morphological differences between males and females corresponding to those in migratory fish. The strategy of dwarfism is assumed to be built into the genome of the migratory ecotype of S. malma curilus.