Evolution of the African Cichlid Fishes: the Haplochromis Species-Flock in Lake Victoria

Nature ◽  
1951 ◽  
Vol 167 (4236) ◽  
pp. 19-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. H. GREENWOOD
Keyword(s):  
Lake Victoria ◽  
Species Flock ◽  
Cichlid Fishes ◽  
African Cichlid

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.

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 evolution of complex brains and behaviors in African cichlid fishes

2010 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 144-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroly A. Shumway
Keyword(s):  
Visual Acuity ◽  
Social Organization ◽  
Habitat Complexity ◽  
Brain Size ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Cichlid Fishes ◽  
African Cichlid ◽  
Monogamous Species ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
The Brain

Abstract In this review, I explore the effects of both social organization and the physical environment, specifically habitat complexity, on the brains and behavior of highly visual African cichlid fishes, drawing on examples from primates and birds where appropriate. In closely related fishes from the monophyletic Ectodinii clade of Lake Tanganyika, both forces influence cichlid brains and behavior. Considering social influences first, visual acuity differs with respect to social organization (monogamy versus polygyny). Both the telencephalon and amygdalar homologue, area Dm, are larger in monogamous species. Monogamous species are found to have more vasotocin-immunoreactive cells in the preoptic area of the brain. Habitat complexity also influences brain and behavior in these fishes. Total brain size, telencephalic and cerebellar size are positively correlated with habitat complexity. Visual acuity and spatial memory are enhanced in cichlids living in more complex environments. However habitat complexity and social forces affect cichlid brains differently. Taken together, our field data and plasticity data suggest that some of the species-specific neural effects of habitat complexity could be the consequence of the corresponding social correlates. Environmental forces, however, exert a broader effect on brain structures than social ones do, suggesting allometric expansion of the brain structures in concert with brain size and/or co-evolution of these structures.

scholarly journals Interspecific Variation in Rx1 Expression Controls Opsin Expression and Causes Visual System Diversity in African Cichlid Fishes

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (9) ◽  
pp. 2297-2308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane E. Schulte ◽  
Conor S. O’Brien ◽  
Matthew A. Conte ◽  
Kelly E. O’Quin ◽  
Karen L. Carleton
Keyword(s):  
Visual System ◽  
Interspecific Variation ◽  
Cichlid Fishes ◽  
Opsin Expression ◽  
African Cichlid
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