Process and pattern in cichlid radiations - inferences for understanding unusually high rates of evolutionary diversification

Seehausen, Ole (2015). Process and pattern in cichlid radiations - inferences for understanding unusually high rates of evolutionary diversification. New Phytologist, 207(2), pp. 304-312. Wiley-Blackwell 10.1111/nph.13450

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The cichlid fish radiations in the African Great Lakes differ from all other known cases of rapid speciation in vertebrates by their spectacular trophic diversity and richness of sympatric species, comparable to the most rapid angiosperm radiations. I review factors that may have facilitated these radiations and compare these with insights from recent work on plant radiations. Work to date suggests that it was a coincidence of ecological opportunity, intrinsic ecological versatility and genomic flexibility, rapidly evolving behavioral mate choice and large amounts of standing genetic variation that permitted these spectacular fish radiations. I propose that spatially orthogonal gradients in the fit of phenotypes to the environment facilitate speciation because they allow colonization of alternative fitness peaks during clinal speciation despite local disruptive selection. Such gradients are manifold in lakes because of the interaction of water depth as an omnipresent third spatial dimension with other fitness-relevant variables. I introduce a conceptual model of adaptive radiation that integrates these elements and discuss its applicability to, and predictions for, plant radiations.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Ecology and Evolution (IEE) > Aquatic Ecology

UniBE Contributor:

Seehausen, Ole

Subjects:

500 Science > 570 Life sciences; biology

ISSN:

0028-646X

Publisher:

Wiley-Blackwell

Language:

English

Submitter:

Marcel Häsler

Date Deposited:

22 Jul 2015 10:54

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 14:48

Publisher DOI:

10.1111/nph.13450

PubMed ID:

25983053

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.70404

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/70404

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