Species-Specific Population Structure in Rock-Specialized Sympatric Cichlid Species in Lake Tanganyika, East Africa

Lake Tanganyika is the oldest of the Great Ancient Lakes in the East Africa. This lake harbours about 250 species of cichlid fish, which are highly diverse in terms of morphology, behaviour, and ecology. Lake Tanganyika's cichlid diversity has evolved through explosive speciation and is treated as a textbook example of adaptive radiation, the rapid differentiation of a single ancestor into an array of species that differ in traits used to exploit their environments and resources. To elucidate the processes and mechanisms underlying the rapid speciation and adaptive radiation of Lake Tanganyika's cichlid species assemblage it is important to integrate evidence from several lines of research. Great efforts have been, are, and certainly will be taken to solve the mystery of how so many cichlid species evolved in so little time. In the present review, we summarize morphological studies that relate to the adaptive radiation of Lake Tanganyika's cichlids and highlight their importance for understanding the process of adaptive radiation.

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Weak population structure and recent demographic expansion of the monogenean parasite Kapentagyrus spp. infecting clupeid fishes of Lake Tanganyika, East Africa

International Journal for Parasitology ◽

10.1016/j.ijpara.2020.02.002 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 50 (6-7) ◽

pp. 471-486 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nikol Kmentová ◽

Stephan Koblmüller ◽

Maarten Van Steenberge ◽

Joost A.M. Raeymaekers ◽

Tom Artois ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Population Structure ◽

East Africa ◽

Lake Tanganyika ◽

Demographic Expansion ◽

Monogenean Parasite

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The stratigraphic evolution of the Lake Tanganyika Rift, East Africa: Facies distributions and paleo-environmental implications

Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology ◽

10.1016/j.palaeo.2021.110474 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 110474

Author(s):

Shaidu Nuru Shaban ◽

Christopher A. Scholz ◽

James D. Muirhead ◽

Douglas A. Wood

Keyword(s):

East Africa ◽

Lake Tanganyika ◽

Environmental Implications ◽

Stratigraphic Evolution

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Mercury biomagnification in the food web of Lake Tanganyika (Tanzania, East Africa)

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.04.017 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 402 (2-3) ◽

pp. 184-191 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

L. Campbell ◽

Piet Verburg ◽

D.G. Dixon ◽

R.E. Hecky

Keyword(s):

Food Web ◽

East Africa ◽

Lake Tanganyika

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Social Status and Arginine Vasotocin Neuronal Phenotypes in a Cichlid Fish

Brain Behavior and Evolution ◽

10.1159/000381251 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 85 (3) ◽

pp. 203-213 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Olinda Almeida ◽

Rui F. Oliveira

Keyword(s):

Social Status ◽

Social Behaviour ◽

Cichlid Fish ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Cell Number ◽

Arginine Vasotocin ◽

Cichlid Species ◽

Neuronal Populations ◽

Soma Size ◽

Species Specific

The nonapeptide arginine vasotocin (AVT) and its mammalian homologue arginine vasopressin play a key role in the regulation of social behaviour across vertebrates. In teleost fishes, three AVT neuronal populations have been described in the preoptic area (POA): the parvocellular (pPOA), the magnocellular (mPOA) and the gigantocellular (gPOA). Neurons from each of these areas project both to the pituitary and to other brain regions, where AVT is supposed to regulate neural circuits underlying social behaviour. However, in the fish species studied so far, there is considerable variation in which AVT neuronal populations are involved in behavioural modulation and in the direction of the effect. In this study, the association between AVT neuronal phenotypes and social status was investigated in the Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus). This species is an African female mouth-brooding cichlid fish in which males form breeding aggregations in which dominant males establish territories and subordinate males to act as floaters. With respect to sex differences in AVT neuronal phenotypes, females have a larger number of AVT neurons in the pPOA and mPOA. Within males, AVT appeared associated with social subordination, as indicated by the larger cell body areas of AVT neurons in mPOA and gPOA nuclei of non-territorial males. There were also positive correlations between submissive behaviour and the soma size of AVT cells in all three nuclei and AVT cell number in the mPOA. In summary, the results provide evidence for an involvement of AVT in the modulation of social behaviour in tilapia, but it was not possible to identify specific roles for specific AVT neuronal populations. The results presented here also contrast with those previously published for another cichlid species with a similar mating system, which highlights the species-specific nature of the pattern of association between AVT and social behaviour even within the same taxonomic family.

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Evidence supporting panmixia in Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) in the Northwest Atlantic

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/cjfas-2014-0004 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 71 (5) ◽

pp. 763-774 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Denis Roy ◽

David C. Hardie ◽

Margaret A. Treble ◽

James D. Reist ◽

Daniel E. Ruzzante

Keyword(s):

Population Structure ◽

Population Genetic ◽

Conservation Strategies ◽

Greenland Halibut ◽

Northwest Atlantic ◽

Population Genetic Differentiation ◽

Conservation Implications ◽

Greenland Halibut Reinhardtius Hippoglossoides ◽

Reinhardtius Hippoglossoides ◽

Species Specific

Assessment of population structure is critical to the design and implementation of sound management and conservation strategies. However, population structure must be assessed using markers attuned to population genetic processes such as genetic drift and gene flow, which reflect actual levels of reproductive isolation among putative genetic clusters. This is critical for highly exploited, commercial species that form the backbone of regional and local economies. Here, we show extremely low levels of population genetic differentiation among Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) collected from throughout the Northwest Atlantic, which cannot be statistically differentiated from panmixia using 12 species-specific polymorphic microsatellite markers. In contrast, some previous studies have demonstrated significant differences among individuals collected from various parts of the species’ range using a variety of both genetic and nongenetic techniques. In accordance with other reports and consistent with the species’ life history, we demonstrate that the most parsimonious explanation reconciling observed patterns is a repeated high degree of local differentiation of new recruits and colonizers originating from a common gene pool. Such a scenario has important conservation implications in terms of devising more appropriate strategies balancing species persistence and replenishment with sustainable resource use.

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Colour-assortative mating among populations of Tropheus moorii , a cichlid fish from Lake Tanganyika, East Africa

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2005.3321 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 273 (1584) ◽

pp. 257-266 ◽

Cited By ~ 48

Author(s):

Walter Salzburger ◽

Harald Niederstätter ◽

Anita Brandstätter ◽

Burkhard Berger ◽

Walther Parson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

East Africa ◽

Assortative Mating ◽

Lake Tanganyika ◽

Cichlid Fish

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Adaptive radiation of thalassoid gastropods in Lake Tanganyika, East Africa: morphology and systematization of a paludomid species flock in an ancient lake

Zoosystematics and Evolution ◽

10.1002/zoos.200700016 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 84 (1) ◽

pp. 71-122 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Matthias Glaubrecht

Keyword(s):

East Africa ◽

Adaptive Radiation ◽

Lake Tanganyika ◽

Species Flock ◽

Ancient Lake

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Species-specific population trends detected for penguins, gulls and cormorants over 20 years in sub-Antarctic Fuegian Archipelago

Polar Biology ◽

10.1007/s00300-014-1526-6 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 37 (9) ◽

pp. 1343-1360 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Andrea Raya Rey ◽

Natalia Rosciano ◽

Marcela Liljesthröm ◽

Ricardo Sáenz Samaniego ◽

Adrián Schiavini

Keyword(s):

Population Trends ◽

Specific Population ◽

Species Specific

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Differential attack by a cichlid fish on resident and non-resident fish of another cichlid species

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/156853912x629139 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 149 (1) ◽

pp. 99-109 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Satoshi Awata ◽

Masanori Kohda ◽

Haruki Ochi

Keyword(s):

Field Experiment ◽

Lake Tanganyika ◽

Cichlid Fish ◽

Previous Experience ◽

Alternative Mechanism ◽

Differential Attack ◽

Dear Enemy ◽

Resident Fish ◽

Cichlid Species ◽

Dear Enemy Effect

AbstractAn algivorous cichlid, Variabilichromis moorii( Vm), defends permanent territories in Lake Tanganyika, Africa. A zoobenthivorous cichlid, Neolamprologus mustax( Nm), spends 60% of daylight hours foraging in Vmterritories, from which other zoobenthivorous fishes are chased out and consequently which are much richer in prey animals than areas outside of Vmterritories. We conducted a field experiment to examine whether Nmresidents and non-residents received different degrees of attacks from Vm. Nmfish were caught in their territories, released at a point distant from these territories, and followed to observe interactions with Vmfish. The frequency of attacks received by the displaced Nmfish was greater than attacks received by Nmresidents, indicating that Nmresidents had easier access to Vmterritories than non-residents did. A possible mechanism for this is reduced aggression of Vmtowards Nmresidents, as a result of the ‘dear enemy’ effect that has been reported in territorial contests between rivals. An alternative mechanism is that tolerance towards Nmdiffers among Vmfish and Nmresidents selectively visit more tolerant Vmfish due to previous experience while non-residents randomly approach both tolerant and hostile Vmfish. The ability of Vmto discriminate between Nmresidents and non-residents is essential to the former mechanism but not to the latter. To more specifically examine which mechanism works in the Vm– Nmcommensal system, we will need to follow individually identified Vmfish interacting with Nmresidents and non-residents.

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