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The cichlid flocks of the East
African Great Lakes are the most diverse vertebrate radiations onearth and
they form an ideal model system for studies on speciation and diversification.
Lake Tanganyika is the oldest and deepest lake in the East African Rift and its
cichlid assemblage seeded all radiations in the other Great Lakes. Many cichlid
taxa harbour different colour morphs. Yet, at least for Lake Tanganyika, the
most spectacular example hereof is provided by Tropheus</>.</>
</>
Tropheus</></>
contains over a 100 often profoundly different colour morphs that are mostly
found in allopatry. Many of these varieties have complex distribution patterns
that can sometimes be explained by lakelevel fluctuations. Although Tropheus</> species are popular in the
aquarium trade and established model organisms in evolutionary research,their
taxonomy was confusing. Hence, it was often not possible to identify most of
the colour varieties to the species level. In this dissertation, Tropheus</> is revised. Seven species are
identified, three of which are new to science. For two species, previously
stated synonymies are confirmed. The distribution patterns of Tropheus</> species are linked to the
lakes three subbasins. These were once separate basins and Tropheus</> underwent a different
evolutionary history in each of them.</>
</>
It had been suggested that different
Tropheus </>populations could hardly be
distinguished on morphological grounds. Different case studies presented here
showed substantial morphological differentiation in the genus. Yet,
intra-specificdifferences between populations sometimes surpassed
inter-specific differences. Hence, we verified which criteria should be used to
distinguish species in Tropheus</>. A
comparative study showed that body proportions were of less use in this respect
than were meristics.</>
</>
Finally, Simochromis</> and Pseudosimochromis</>,
two genera related to Tropheus</> were
revised as well. For this we did not only focus on fish morphology but also on Cichlidogyrus</> gill parasites. Given
their high host-specificity, these can be used asadditional markers in species
recognition. In this study, six parasite species were described. Four host
species were transferred from Simochromis</>
to </>Pseudosimochromis</></> and one
synonymy was established. </></></>
Project
Species and speciation in Tropheus: a multidisciplinary approach on a cichlid radiation from Lake Tanganyika.
@font-face {
font-family: "Cambria";
}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }
The cichlid flocks of the East
African Great Lakes are the most diverse vertebrate radiations onearth and
they form an ideal model system for studies on speciation and diversification.
Lake Tanganyika is the oldest and deepest lake in the East African Rift and its
cichlid assemblage seeded all radiations in the other Great Lakes. Many cichlid
taxa harbour different colour morphs. Yet, at least for Lake Tanganyika, the
most spectacular example hereof is provided by Tropheus</>.</>
</>
Tropheus</></>
contains over a 100 often profoundly different colour morphs that are mostly
found in allopatry. Many of these varieties have complex distribution patterns
that can sometimes be explained by lakelevel fluctuations. Although Tropheus</> species are popular in the
aquarium trade and established model organisms in evolutionary research,their
taxonomy was confusing. Hence, it was often not possible to identify most of
the colour varieties to the species level. In this dissertation, Tropheus</> is revised. Seven species are
identified, three of which are new to science. For two species, previously
stated synonymies are confirmed. The distribution patterns of Tropheus</> species are linked to the
lakes three subbasins. These were once separate basins and Tropheus</> underwent a different
evolutionary history in each of them.</>
</>
It had been suggested that different
Tropheus </>populations could hardly be
distinguished on morphological grounds. Different case studies presented here
showed substantial morphological differentiation in the genus. Yet,
intra-specificdifferences between populations sometimes surpassed
inter-specific differences. Hence, we verified which criteria should be used to
distinguish species in Tropheus</>. A
comparative study showed that body proportions were of less use in this respect
than were meristics.</>
</>
Finally, Simochromis</> and Pseudosimochromis</>,
two genera related to Tropheus</> were
revised as well. For this we did not only focus on fish morphology but also on Cichlidogyrus</> gill parasites. Given
their high host-specificity, these can be used asadditional markers in species
recognition. In this study, six parasite species were described. Four host
species were transferred from Simochromis</>
to </>Pseudosimochromis</></> and one
synonymy was established. </></></>
Date:25 Aug 2009 → 3 Oct 2014
Keywords:Lake Tanganyika, Cichlid, Tropheus
Disciplines:Animal biology, Evolutionary biology, Veterinary medicine
Project type:PhD project