Morphological differentiation in African weakly electric fish (genus Campylomormyrus) relates to substrate preferences
- 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 diverseUnder 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.…
Verfasserangaben: | Rahma AmenORCiDGND, Rebecca NagelORCiDGND, Maximilian Hedt, Frank KirschbaumORCiDGND, Ralph TiedemannORCiDGND |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-518714 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.25932/publishup-51871 |
ISSN: | 1866-8372 |
Titel des übergeordneten Werks (Deutsch): | Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe |
Schriftenreihe (Bandnummer): | Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe (1416) |
Publikationstyp: | Postprint |
Sprache: | Englisch |
Datum der Erstveröffentlichung: | 16.04.2020 |
Erscheinungsjahr: | 2020 |
Veröffentlichende Institution: | Universität Potsdam |
Datum der Freischaltung: | 14.03.2024 |
Freies Schlagwort / Tag: | ecological speciation; electric fish; evolutionary ecology; feeding behaviour; trophic apparatus |
Ausgabe: | 3 |
Seitenanzahl: | 13 |
Quelle: | Evol Ecol 34, 427–437 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-020-10043-3 |
Organisationseinheiten: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Biochemie und Biologie |
DDC-Klassifikation: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 57 Biowissenschaften; Biologie / 570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie |
5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 59 Tiere (Zoologie) / 590 Tiere (Zoologie) | |
Peer Review: | Referiert |
Publikationsweg: | Open Access / Green Open-Access |
Lizenz (Deutsch): | CC-BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International |
Externe Anmerkung: | Bibliographieeintrag der Originalveröffentlichung/Quelle |