Two new cichild species Neolamprologus (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Tanganyika, East Africa

Zootaxa ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 1612 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
PIET VERBURG ◽  
ROGER BILLS
Keyword(s):  
Lake Tanganyika ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Lake Victoria ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Sedimentation Rates ◽  
Rocky Shores ◽  
Ecological Differentiation ◽  
Cichlid Species ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Rocky Habitat

Two new cichlid species, Neolamprologus walteri sp. nov. and N. chitamwebwai sp. nov., from the Bangwe peninsula (Tanzania), on the east coast of Lake Tanganyika, are described. Both species belong to the N. savoryi species complex, characterised by a lunate tail with long filaments. Neolamprologus chitamwebwai and N. walteri are highly stenotopic species, restricted to rocky habitat. They occur sympatrically with each other and with two other species of the complex but occupy different microhabitats. Neolamprologus walteri lives in large numbers in sheltered areas with rubble substrate whereas N. chitamwebwai occurs in much lower numbers on more exposed parts of the rocky shores, with large boulders, lower sedimentation rates, coarser sediment, and higher visibility. The two new species although closely related, show clear ecological differentiation. Evidence of ecological differentiation between closely related sympatric cichlids is rare in literature. Closely related sympatric cichlids in the large African lakes (with literature mainly referring to Lake Victoria and Lake Malawi) have been suggested to differ little in diet and habitat use, which has encouraged the idea that cichlid species can coexist without niche partitioning. Our paper provides a different perspective with cichlids from Lake Tanganyika.

scholarly journals Back to Tanganyika: a case of recent trans-species-flock dispersal in East African haplochromine cichlid fishes

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 140498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Britta S. Meyer ◽  
Adrian Indermaur ◽  
Xenia Ehrensperger ◽  
Bernd Egger ◽  
Gaspard Banyankimbona ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lake Tanganyika ◽  
Lake Victoria ◽  
Species Flock ◽  
East African ◽  
Cichlid Species ◽  
African Great Lakes ◽  
Cichlid Fishes ◽  
Haplochromine Cichlid ◽  
Lake Victoria Region ◽  
Adaptive Radiations

The species flocks of cichlid fishes in the East African Great Lakes are the largest vertebrate adaptive radiations in the world and illustrious textbook examples of convergent evolution between independent species assemblages. Although recent studies suggest some degrees of genetic exchange between riverine taxa and the lake faunas, not a single cichlid species is known from Lakes Tanganyika, Malawi and Victoria that is derived from the radiation associated with another of these lakes. Here, we report the discovery of a haplochromine cichlid species in Lake Tanganyika, which belongs genetically to the species flock of haplochromines of the Lake Victoria region. The new species colonized Lake Tanganyika only recently, suggesting that faunal exchange across watersheds and, hence, between isolated ichthyofaunas, is more common than previously thought.

scholarly journals ‘Cenoceras islands’ in the Blue Lias Formation (Lower Jurassic) of West Somerset, UK: nautilid dominance and influence on benthic faunas

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
David H. Evans ◽  
Andy H. King
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Lower Jurassic ◽  
Sedimentation Rates ◽  
The West ◽  
Satisfactory Solution ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Preferential Dissolution ◽  
Encrusting Organisms

Abstract Substantial numbers of the nautilid Cenoceras occur in a stratigraphically limited horizon within the upper part of the Lower Jurassic (Sinemurian Stage) Blue Lias Formation at Watchet on the West Somerset Coast (United Kingdom). Individual nautilid conchs are associated with clusters of encrusting organisms (sclerobionts) forming ‘islands’ that may have been raised slightly above the surrounding substrate. Despite the relatively large numbers of nautilid conchs involved, detailed investigation of their preservation suggests that their accumulation reflects a reduction in sedimentation rates rather than an influx of empty conches or moribund animals. Throughout those horizons in which nautilids are present in relative abundance, the remains of ammonites are subordinate or rare. The reason for this unclear, and preferential dissolution of ammonite conchs during their burial does seem to provide a satisfactory solution to the problem.

Cartographical Quandaries: the Limits of Knowledge Production in Burton's and Speke's Search for the Source of the Nile

2008 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 455-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian S. Wisnicki
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Lake Tanganyika ◽  
Lake Victoria ◽  
Julius Caesar ◽  
East African ◽  
Blue Nile ◽  
Historical Series ◽  
The World ◽  
Limits Of Knowledge ◽  
White Nile

When he sighted the southern end of Lake Victoria on 3 August 1858, John Hanning Speke (1859b:397) realized that he had discovered the “source” of the White Nile, the most important tributary of the Nile proper, and so had “almost, if not entirely, solved a problem which it has been the first geographical desideratum of many thousand years to ascertain, and the ambition of the first monarchs of the world to unravel.” That Speke was an unknown explorer and that he had made his discovery on a solo “flying trip” during the East African Expedition of 1856-59, which, under the command of the renowned explorer Richard Francis Burton, had already also discovered Lake Tanganyika, made Speke's accomplishment all the more remarkable.As contemporaries soon asserted, Speke's discovery culminated a historical series of excursions, real and imagined, into the interior of Africa and placed Speke at the pinnacle of a line of explorers and geographers that ran from Herodotus, Julius Caesar, and Ptolemy to, in more recent times, James Bruce (the Scotsman who “discovered” the source of the Blue Nile, the second most important tributary of the Nile, in 1770), the German missionaries Ludwig Krapf and Johannes Rebmann (who “discovered,” respectively, the snow-capped mountains of Kilimanjaro in 1848 and Kenya in 1849), and noted “armchair geographers” like W.D. Cooley, Charles Beke, and James M'Queen.

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 Visual adaptation and microhabitat choice in Lake Victoria cichlid fish

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 181876
Author(s):  
Daniel Mameri ◽  
Corina van Kammen ◽  
Ton G. G. Groothuis ◽  
Ole Seehausen ◽  
Martine E. Maan
Keyword(s):  
Broad Spectrum ◽  
Lake Victoria ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Cichlid Fish ◽  
Visual Sensitivity ◽  
Visual Adaptation ◽  
Repeated Testing ◽  
Cichlid Species ◽  
Habitat Matching

When different genotypes choose different habitats to better match their phenotypes, genetic differentiation within a population may be promoted. Mating within those habitats may subsequently contribute to reproductive isolation. In cichlid fish, visual adaptation to alternative visual environments is hypothesized to contribute to speciation. Here, we investigated whether variation in visual sensitivity causes different visual habitat preferences, using two closely related cichlid species that occur at different but overlapping water depths in Lake Victoria and that differ in visual perception ( Pundamilia spp.). In addition to species differences, we explored potential effects of visual plasticity, by rearing fish in two different light conditions: broad-spectrum (mimicking shallow water) and red-shifted (mimicking deeper waters). Contrary to expectations, fish did not prefer the light environment that mimicked their typical natural habitat. Instead, we found an overall preference for the broad-spectrum environment. We also found a transient influence of the rearing condition, indicating that the assessment of microhabitat preference requires repeated testing to control for familiarity effects. Together, our results show that cichlid fish exert visual habitat preference but do not support straightforward visual habitat matching.

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

Behaviour ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 149 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-109 ◽  
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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