Explosive speciation and adaptive radiation of haplochromine cichlids from Lake Victoria: An illustration of the scientific value of a lost species flock

1992 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tijs Goldschmidt ◽  
Frans Witte
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Radiation ◽  
Lake Victoria ◽  
Species Flock ◽  
Haplochromine Cichlids ◽  
Scientific Value ◽  
Explosive Speciation

The destruction of an endemic species flock: quantitative data on the decline of the haplochromine cichlids of Lake Victoria

1992 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frans Witte ◽  
Tijs Goldschmidt ◽  
Jan Wanink ◽  
Martien van Oijen ◽  
Kees Goudswaard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endemic Species ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Lake Victoria ◽  
Species Flock ◽  
Haplochromine Cichlids

scholarly journals Repeated trans-watershed hybridization among haplochromine cichlids (Cichlidae) was triggered by Neogene landscape evolution

2012 ◽  
Vol 279 (1746) ◽  
pp. 4389-4398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Schwarzer ◽  
Ernst Roelof Swartz ◽  
Emmanuel Vreven ◽  
Jos Snoeks ◽  
Fenton Peter David Cotterill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Dna ◽  
Congo Basin ◽  
Alternative View ◽  
Species Flock ◽  
East African ◽  
Haplochromine Cichlids ◽  
Mtdna Haplotypes ◽  
Phylogenetic Hypotheses ◽  
Explosive Speciation ◽  
East African Lakes

The megadiverse haplochromine cichlid radiations of the East African lakes, famous examples of explosive speciation and adaptive radiation, are according to recent studies, introgressed by different riverine lineages. This study is based on the first comprehensive mitochondrial and nuclear DNA dataset from extensive sampling of riverine haplochromine cichlids. It includes species from the lower River Congo and Angolan (River Kwanza) drainages. Reconstruction of phylogenetic hypotheses revealed the paradox of clearly discordant phylogenetic signals. Closely related mtDNA haplotypes are distributed thousands of kilometres apart and across major African watersheds, whereas some neighbouring species carry drastically divergent mtDNA haplotypes. At shallow and deep phylogenetic layers, strong signals of hybridization are attributed to the complex Late Miocene/Early Pliocene palaeohistory of African rivers. Hybridization of multiple lineages across changing watersheds shaped each of the major haplochromine radiations in lakes Tanganyika, Victoria, Malawi and the Kalahari Palaeolakes, as well as a miniature species flock in the Congo basin (River Fwa). On the basis of our results, introgression occurred not only on a spatially restricted scale, but massively over almost the whole range of the haplochromine distribution. This provides an alternative view on the origin and exceptional high diversity of this enigmatic vertebrate group.

scholarly journals The onset of ecological diversification 50 years after colonization of a crater lake by haplochromine cichlid fishes

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1884) ◽  
pp. 20180171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian N. Moser ◽  
Jacco C. van Rijssel ◽  
Salome Mwaiko ◽  
Joana I. Meier ◽  
Benjamin Ngatunga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Radiation ◽  
Lake Victoria ◽  
Demographic History ◽  
Genomic Diversity ◽  
Radiation Process ◽  
Haplochromine Cichlids ◽  
Ecological Diversification ◽  
Cichlid Fishes ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Phenotypic Fitness

Adaptive radiation research typically relies on the study of evolution in retrospective, leaving the predictive value of the concept hard to evaluate. Several radiations, including the cichlid fishes in the East African Great Lakes, have been studied extensively, yet no study has investigated the onset of the intraspecific processes of niche expansion and differentiation shortly after colonization of an adaptive zone by cichlids. Haplochromine cichlids of one of the two lineages that seeded the Lake Victoria radiation recently arrived in Lake Chala, a lake perfectly suited for within-lake cichlid speciation. Here, we infer the colonization and demographic history, quantify phenotypic, ecological and genomic diversity and diversification, and investigate the selection regime to ask if the population shows signs of diversification resembling the onset of adaptive radiation. We find that since their arrival in the lake, haplochromines have colonized a wide range of depth habitats associated with ecological and morphological expansion and the beginning of phenotypic differentiation and potentially nascent speciation, consistent with the very early onset of an adaptive radiation process. Moreover, we demonstrate evidence of rugged phenotypic fitness surfaces, indicating that current ecological selection may contribute to the phenotypic diversification.

Explosive Speciation and Adaptive Radiation of East African Cichlid Fishes

2011 ◽  
pp. 333-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Sturmbauer ◽  
Martin Husemann ◽  
Patrick D. Danley
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Radiation ◽  
East African ◽  
Cichlid Fishes ◽  
African Cichlid ◽  
Explosive Speciation

scholarly journals The Adaptive Radiation of Cichlid Fish in Lake Tanganyika: A Morphological Perspective

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetsumi Takahashi ◽  
Stephan Koblmüller
Keyword(s):  
East Africa ◽  
Adaptive Radiation ◽  
Lake Tanganyika ◽  
Cichlid Fish ◽  
Ancient Lakes ◽  
Species Assemblage ◽  
Cichlid Species ◽  
Morphological Studies ◽  
Rapid Speciation ◽  
Explosive Speciation

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.

scholarly journals Guilty as charged: Nile perch was the cause of the haplochromine decline in Lake Victoria

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (9) ◽  
pp. 1542-1559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian E. Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Lake Victoria ◽  
Food Chains ◽  
Nile Perch ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Selective Predation ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Haplochromine Cichlids ◽  
Lates Niloticus ◽  
Climatic Event ◽  
Existing Data

Debate on the contribution of Nile perch (Lates niloticus) to the demise of Lake Victoria’s 500+ endemic haplochromine cichlids centers around the “top-down” and “bottom-up” hypotheses. The former suggests Nile perch destroyed the haplochromines, causing the disruption of food chains and nutrient cycling and so initiating the accelerated eutrophication of the lake. The latter proposes that haplochromines suppressed Nile perch by preying on its eggs and fry or competing with juveniles for food. A recent paper argued that accelerated eutrophication caused by a climatic event led to their collapse, allowing Nile perch to explode. However, the Nile perch population grew before haplochromines decreased, and they only collapsed once Nile perch biomass exceeded theirs. The chronology indicates that accelerated eutrophication of the lake followed rather than preceded the haplochromine collapse, suggesting that eutrophication was not its cause. A size-selective predation model developed to support the bottom-up hypothesis is discussed in light of existing data, but does not support the bottom-up hypothesis. It was concluded that the top-down model better fits the data and conforms to the law of parsimony.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document