Lateral line system diversification during the early stages of ecological speciation in cichlid fish.

Autor: Edgley DE; School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. duncanedgley@gmail.com., Carruthers M; School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.; School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK., Gabagambi NP; Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute, Kyela Centre, P.O. Box 98, Kyela, Mbeya, Tanzania., Saxon AD; School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK., Smith AM; School of Natural Sciences, University of Hull, Hull, UK., Joyce DA; School of Natural Sciences, University of Hull, Hull, UK., Vernaz G; Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, UK.; Wellcome/Cancer Research UK, Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK., Santos ME; Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK., Turner GF; School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, UK., Genner MJ; School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. m.genner@bristol.ac.uk.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: BMC ecology and evolution [BMC Ecol Evol] 2024 Feb 20; Vol. 24 (1), pp. 24. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Feb 20.
DOI: 10.1186/s12862-024-02214-5
Abstrakt: Background: The mechanosensory lateral line system is an important sensory modality in fishes, informing multiple behaviours related to survival including finding food and navigating in dark environments. Given its ecological importance, we may expect lateral line morphology to be under disruptive selection early in the ecological speciation process. Here we quantify the lateral line system morphology of two ecomorphs of the cichlid fish Astatotilapia calliptera in crater Lake Masoko that have diverged from common ancestry within the past 1,000 years.
Results: Based on geometric morphometric analyses of CT scans, we show that the zooplanktivorous benthic ecomorph that dominates the deeper waters of the lake has large cranial lateral line canal pores, relative to those of the nearshore invertebrate-feeding littoral ecomorph found in the shallower waters. In contrast, fluorescence imaging revealed no evidence for divergence between ecomorphs in the number of either superficial or canal neuromasts. We illustrate the magnitude of the variation we observe in Lake Masoko A. calliptera in the context of the neighbouring Lake Malawi mega-radiation that comprises over 700 species.
Conclusions: These results provide the first evidence of divergence in this often-overlooked sensory modality in the early stages of ecological speciation, suggesting that it may have a role in the broader adaptive radiation process.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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