TY  - JOUR
A1  - Amen, Rahma
A1  - Nagel, Rebecca
A1  - Hedt, Maximilian
A1  - Kirschbaum, Frank
A1  - Tiedemann, Ralph
T1  - Morphological differentiation in African weakly electric fish (genus Campylomormyrus) relates to substrate preferences
JF  - Evolutionary Ecology
N2  - Under an ecological speciation scenario, the radiation of African weakly electric fish (genus Campylomormyrus) is caused by an adaptation to different food sources, associated with diversification of the electric organ discharge (EOD). This study experimentally investigates a phenotype-environment correlation to further support this scenario. Our behavioural experiments showed that three sympatric Campylomormyrus species with significantly divergent snout morphology differentially react to variation in substrate structure. While the short snout species (C. tamandua) exhibits preference to sandy substrate, the long snout species (C. rhynchophorus) significantly prefers a stone substrate for feeding. A third species with intermediate snout size (C. compressirostris) does not exhibit any substrate preference. This preference is matched with the observation that long-snouted specimens probe deeper into the stone substrate, presumably enabling them to reach prey more distant to the substrate surface. These findings suggest that the diverse feeding apparatus in the genus Campylomormyrus may have evolved in adaptation to specific microhabitats, i.e., substrate structures where these fish forage. Whether the parallel divergence in EOD is functionally related to this adaptation or solely serves as a prezygotic isolation mechanism remains to be elucidated.
KW  - ecological speciation
KW  - feeding behaviour
KW  - electric fish
KW  - trophic apparatus
KW  - evolutionary ecology
Y1  - 2020
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-020-10043-3
SN  - 0269-7653
SN  - 1573-8477
VL  - 34
IS  - 3
SP  - 427
EP  - 437
PB  - Springer Science
CY  - Dordrecht
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - De Cahsan, Binia
A1  - Nagel, Rebecca
A1  - Schedina, Ina-Maria
A1  - King, James J.
A1  - Bianco, Pier G.
A1  - Tiedemann, Ralph
A1  - Ketmaier, Valerio
T1  - Phylogeography of the European brook lamprey (Lampetra planeri) and the European river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis) species pair based on mitochondrial data
JF  - Journal of fish biology
N2  - The European river lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis and the European brook lamprey Lampetra planeri (Block 1784) are classified as a paired species, characterized by notably different life histories but morphological similarities. Previous work has further shown limited genetic differentiation between these two species at the mitochondrial DNA level. Here, we expand on this previous work, which focused on lamprey species from the Iberian Peninsula in the south and mainland Europe in the north, by sequencing three mitochondrial marker regions of Lampetra individuals from five river systems in Ireland and five in southern Italy. Our results corroborate the previously identified pattern of genetic diversity for the species pair. We also show significant genetic differentiation between Irish and mainland European lamprey populations, suggesting another ichthyogeographic district distinct from those previously defined. Finally, our results stress the importance of southern Italian L. planeri populations, which maintain several private alleles and notable genetic diversity.
KW  - European lamprey
KW  - Lampetra
KW  - paired species
KW  - phylogeography
KW  - population
KW  - structure
Y1  - 2020
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.14279
SN  - 0022-1112
SN  - 1095-8649
VL  - 96
IS  - 4
SP  - 905
EP  - 912
PB  - Wiley-Blackwell
CY  - Oxford [u.a.]
ER  -