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Testing the stages model in the adaptive radiation of cichlid fishes in East African Lake Tanganyika

Muschick, M., Nosil, P., Roesti, M., Dittmann, M. T., Harmon, L. and Salzburger, W. (2014) Testing the stages model in the adaptive radiation of cichlid fishes in East African Lake Tanganyika. Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 281 (1795). 0605. ISSN 1471-2954

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To link to this item DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.0605

Abstract/Summary

Adaptive radiation (AR) is a key process in the origin of organismal diversity. However, the evolution of trait disparity in connection with ecological specialization is still poorly understood. Available models for vertebrate ARs predict that diversification occurs in the form of temporal stages driven by different selective forces. Here, we investigate the AR of cichlid fishes in East African Lake Tanganyika and use macroevolutionary model fitting to evaluate whether diversification happened in temporal stages. Six trait complexes, for which we also provide evidence of their adaptiveness, are analysed with comparative methods: body shape, pharyngeal jaw shape, gill raker traits, gut length, brain weight and body coloration. Overall, we do not find strong evidence for the ‘stages model’ of AR. However, our results suggest that trophic traits diversify earlier than traits implicated in macrohabitat adaptation and that sexual communication traits (i.e. coloration) diversify late in the radiation.

Item Type:Article
Refereed:No
Divisions:Life Sciences > School of Agriculture, Policy and Development > Department of Animal Sciences > Animal, Dairy and Food Chain Sciences (ADFCS)- DO NOT USE
ID Code:65986
Uncontrolled Keywords:trait evolution, convergence, niche overlap, ecological specialization, gill raker
Publisher:The Royal Society

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