Genetic, abiotic and social influences on sex differentiation in cichlid fishes and the evolution of sequential hermaphroditism

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73799/1/j.1467-2979.2005.00184.x.pd

Descriptions of Three New Species of Cichlid Fishes (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Xiloá, Nicaragua

Tres especies nuevas en el complejo de especies Amphilopus citrinellus (Günter) de la laguna de Xiloá son descritas. Históricamente, muchas formas han sido documentadas que son fenotípicamente similares a A. citrinellus, y en las lagunas cratéricas de Nicaragua, este complejo fue previamente considerado ser representado por una sola, ampliamente variable especie. En la laguna de Xiloá, las tres especies se apaqrean asociativamente, y difieren morfológicamente una de otra y de todas las especies previamente descritas el complejo A. citrinellus

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

The species flocks of cichlid fishes in the East African Lakes Tanganyika, Malawi and Victoria are prime examples of adaptive radiation and explosive speciation. Several hundreds of endemic species have evolved in each of the lakes over the past several thousands to a few millions years. Sexual selection via colour-assortative mating has often been proposed as a probable causal factor for initiating and maintaining reproductive isolation. Here, we report the consequences of human-mediated admixis among differentially coloured populations of the endemic cichlid fish Tropheus moorii from several localities that have accidentally been put in sympatry in a small harbour bay in the very south of Lake Tanganyika. We analysed the phenotypes (coloration) and genotypes (mitochondrial control region and five microsatellite loci) of almost 500 individuals, sampled over 3 consecutive years. Maximum-likelihood-based parenthood analyses and Bayesian inference of population structure revealed that significantly more juveniles are the product of within-colour-morph matings than could be expected under the assumption of random mating. Our results clearly indicate a marked degree of assortative mating with respect to the different colour morphs. Therefore, we postulate that sexual selection based on social interactions and female mate choice has played an important role in the formation and maintenance of the different colour morphs in Tropheus, and is probably common in other maternally mouthbrooding cichlids as well

El cultivo de tilapias: una amenaza a las especies ícticas nativas en Nicaragua.

El cultivo de tilapia del nilo (oreochromis niloticus, linnoeus) previamente alimentados con hormonas para producir machos, en la laguna de Apoyo en Nicaragua ha permitido la introducción a la laguna de individuos, incluyendo hembras fecundas. Discutimos las consecuencias de esta introducción, en términos de amenazas de extinción de especies endémicas nativas a través de destrucción de hábitat, competencia por sitios de cortejo y alimentación, proliferación de parásitos en poblaciones de fauna nativa, y la depredación de alevines nativos. Mientras que una liberación anterior de una especie similar (O. aureus Steindachner) en la laguna de Apoyo, en 1983, tuvo poco impacto observado, este segundo incidente, aquí documentado, ha resultado en dramáticos impactos negativos en la laguna, amenazando especies endémicas locales y creando posiblemente riesgos en la salud humana. Abogamos por la remoción total de tilapias de ecosistemas naturales como el de Apoyo, y advertimos sobre el peligro de las introducciones de especies no nativas en ecosistemas naturales, aun donde introducciones previas han sucedido

El cultivo de tilapias: una amenaza a las especies ícticas nativas en Nicaragua.

El cultivo de tilapia del nilo (oreochromis niloticus, linnoeus) previamente alimentados con hormonas para producir machos, en la laguna de Apoyo en Nicaragua ha permitido la introducción a la laguna de individuos, incluyendo hembras fecundas. Discutimos las consecuencias de esta introducción, en términos de amenazas de extinción de especies endémicas nativas a través de destrucción de hábitat, competencia por sitios de cortejo y alimentación, proliferación de parásitos en poblaciones de fauna nativa, y la depredación de alevines nativos. Mientras que una liberación anterior de una especie similar (O. aureus Steindachner) en la laguna de Apoyo, en 1983, tuvo poco impacto observado, este segundo incidente, aquí documentado, ha resultado en dramáticos impactos negativos en la laguna, amenazando especies endémicas locales y creando posiblemente riesgos en la salud humana. Abogamos por la remoción total de tilapias de ecosistemas naturales como el de Apoyo, y advertimos sobre el peligro de las introducciones de especies no nativas en ecosistemas naturales, aun donde introducciones previas han sucedido

Male–male competition and speciation: aggression bias towards differently coloured rivals varies between stages of speciation in a Lake Victoria cichlid species complex

Sympatric speciation driven by sexual selection by female mate choice on a male trait is a much debated topic. The process is problematic because of the lack of negative frequency-dependent selection that can facilitate the invasion of a novel colour phenotype and stabilize trait polymorphism. It has recently been proposed that male–male competition for mating territories can generate frequency-dependent selection on male colouration. Rare male cichlid fish would enjoy a fitness advantage if territorial defenders bias aggression towards male cichlid fish of their own colour. We used blue (ancestral type) and red phenotypes of the Lake Victoria cichlid species complex Pundamilia. We tested the aggression bias of wild-caught territorial blue male cichlid fish from five separate populations for blue vs. red rival male cichlid fish using simulated intruder choice tests. The different populations vary in the frequency of red male cichlid fish, and in the degree of reproductive isolation between red and blue, reflecting different stages of speciation. Blue male cichlid fish from a population that lack red phenotypes biased aggression towards blue stimulus male cichlid fish. The same was found in two populations where blue and red are reproductively isolated sister species. This aggression bias may facilitate the invasion of a novel colour phenotype and species coexistence. Blue male cichlid fish from two populations where red and blue are hybridizing incipient species biased aggression towards red stimulus male cichlid fish. Thus, after a successful invasion of red, aggression bias alone is not likely to generate frequency dependence required to stabilize the coexistence of phenotypes. The findings show that aggression bias varies between stages of speciation, but is not enough to stabilize the process of speciation.

Endemism, speciation and adaptive radiation in great lakes.

Evolution in great lakes has often been both quantitative (many endemic species of distantly related taxa often being present) and qualitative (outstanding levels of adaptive radiation having sometimes been achieved). These situations pose many questions, such as why there are so many endemics and so many superspecialists (and at the same time often many sibling species), as well as presenting problems relating to such matters as convergent evolution in different lakes, the possible role of key innovations, the nature of isolating mechanisms, competition and co-existence in complex communities, the roles of diverse mutualistic associations, and many others. These rich faunas also provide particularly favourable opportunities for studying patterns of speciation, while attempts to elucidate phylogenies in groups such as African cichlid fishes, that have radiated in several lakes, can be pursued on both a broad scale and at the intralacustrine level using both recently developed techniques and time-honoured methods. Rates of evolution, which differ widely between ecologically equivalent taxa in different lakes, have sometimes been extremely rapid, as attested by both molecular data and evidence from field studies. Notwithstanding their evolutionary exuberance, these rich faunas are fragile as demonstrated dramatically by the appalling tragedy that has befallen the haplochromine cichlid flock of Lake Victoria

Monogamy in the maternally mouthbrooding Lake Tanganyika cichlid fish Tropheus moorii

Supported by evidence for assortative mating and polygynandry, sexual selection through mate choice was suggested as the main force driving the evolution of colour diversity of haplochromine cichlids in Lakes Malawi and Victoria. The phylogenetically closely related tribe Tropheini of Lake Tanganyika includes the genus Tropheus, which comprises over 100 colour variants currently classified into six morphologically similar, polyphyletic species. To assess the potential for sexual selection in this sexually monochromatic maternal mouthbrooder, we used microsatellite-based paternity inference to investigate the mating system of Tropheus moorii. In contrast to haplochromines in Lake Malawi, multiple paternity is rare or even absent in broods of T. moorii. Eighteen of the 19 analysed families were consistent with genetic monogamy, while either a mutation or more than one sire explained the genotype of one offspring in another brood. We discuss the differences in breeding behaviour between T. moorii and the Lake Malawi haplochromines, and evaluate additional factors or alternatives to sexual selection as promoters of colour diversification. A preliminary survey of other Tropheini species suggested that multiple paternity is infrequent in the entire tribe