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
Variation in Conspicuousness among Populations of an Iguanid Lizard, Sauromalus obesus (= ater)
TL;DR: Little evidence was found to suggest that thermal considerations influenced color variation among the three populations of chuckwallas, and the role of chuckwalla conspicuousness is also discussed in the context of sexual selection.
23
Differential recovery and spatial distribution pattern of haplochromine cichlids in the Mwanza Gulf of Lake Victoria
Mary A. Kishe-Machumu,Jacco C. van Rijssel,Jacco C. van Rijssel,Jan H. Wanink,Frans Witte,Frans Witte +5 more
TL;DR: The study revealed that the resurgent trophic guilds were more widely distributed in the 2000s than in the 1970s, and possible causes for the recovery including a decline in the Nile perch population, eco-morphological adaptations of the haplochromines and habitat extension are discussed.
23
Genetic variation and demographic history of the Haplochromis laparogramma group of Lake Victoria—An analysis based on SINEs and mitochondrial DNA
Semvua I. Mzighani,Masato Nikaido,Miyuki Takeda,Ole Seehausen,Ole Seehausen,Yohana L. Budeba,Benjamin P. Ngatunga,Egid F.B. Katunzi,Mitsuto Aibara,Shinji Mizoiri,Tetsu Sato,Hidenori Tachida,Norihiro Okada +12 more
TL;DR: The species and population structure of closely related Lake Victoria cichlids are clarified and the importance of applying appropriate clock calibrations in elucidating recent evolutionary events is shown.
23
Anthropogenic increases in nutrients alter sexual selection dynamics: a case study in butterflies
Anne Espeset,Anne Espeset,Megan E. Kobiela,Kristin L. Sikkink,Tiffany Pan,Colton Roy,Emilie C. Snell-Rood +6 more
TL;DR: It is suggested that anthropogenic increases in nutrient availability have resulted in a decline in the nutritional benefits of remating in females along with evolutionary increases in ornamentation in both males and females.
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