Journal Article10.1126/SCIENCE.277.5333.1808
Cichlid Fish Diversity Threatened by Eutrophication That Curbs Sexual Selection
TL;DR: Cichlid fish species of Lake Victoria can interbreed without loss of fertility but are sexually isolated by mate choice, and human activities that increase turbidity destroy both the mechanism of diversification and that which maintains diversity.
read more
Abstract: Cichlid fish species of Lake Victoria can interbreed without loss of fertility but are sexually isolated by mate choice. Mate choice is determined on the basis of coloration, and strong assortative mating can quickly lead to sexual isolation of color morphs. Dull fish coloration, few color morphs, and low species diversity are found in areas that have become turbid as a result of recent eutrophication. By constraining color vision, turbidity interferes with mate choice, relaxes sexual selection, and blocks the mechanism of reproductive isolation. In this way, human activities that increase turbidity destroy both the mechanism of diversification and that which maintains diversity.
read more
Chat with Paper
AI Agents for this Paper
Find similar papers on Google Scholar, PubMed and Arxiv
Write a critical review of this paper
Analyze citations of this paper to find unaddressed research gaps
Citations
Habitat disruption and the identification and management of functional trait changes
TL;DR: It is concluded that management strategies that consider the fundamental biological responses of fishes to habitat disturbance will be particularly effective in determining causal relationships within the ecological network.
26
The ecological drivers of nuptial color evolution in darters (Percidae: Etheostomatinae)
TL;DR: Environmental variables were correlated with the presence of nuptial color in darters with colorful species tending to inhabit environments that would support fewer predators and potentially transmit a broader spectrum of natural light compared to species lacking male coloration.
26
Fisheries and Cichlid Evolution in the African Great Lakes: Progress and Problems
TL;DR: The decline of the important commercial fisheries in all three lakes, together with changes in ecological and limnological conditions which the fishes now face are discussed.
26
How does Behavior Change the Brain? Multiple Methods to Answer Old Questions.
TL;DR: The mouthbrooding cichlid Haplochromis (Astatotilapia) burtoni (Günther) from Lake Tanganyika lends itself to the study of social influences on the brain, and learning how social information is transduced into cellular changes in this species should help understand how this happens in other social animals.
26
How populations differentiate despite gene flow: sexual and natural selection drive phenotypic divergence within a land fish, the Pacific leaping blenny
TL;DR: This study finds key differences among populations in two male ornaments that reflected a trade-off between the intensity of sexual selection and natural selection, which implies that the change in ornament expression has been recent (and potentially plastic).
References
The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection
TL;DR: Although it is true that most text-books of genetics open with a chapter on biometry, closer inspection will reveal that this has little connexion with the body of the work, and that more often than not it is merely belated homage to a once fashionable study.
13.7K
Mate selection-A selection for a handicap
TL;DR: It is suggested that characters which develop through mate preference confer handicaps on the selected individuals in their survival, which are of use to the selecting sex since they test the quality of the mate.
5.3K
Heritable true fitness and bright birds: a role for parasites?
William D. Hamilton,Marlene Zuk +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, a combination of seven surveys of blood parasites in North American passerines reveals weak, highly significant association over species between incidence of chronic blood infections (five genera of protozoa and one nematode) and striking display (three characters: male "brightness", female "brights", and male song).
3.8K