The role of gill rakers in the adaptation and habitat partitioning of Nicaraguan crater lake cichlid fishes

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event The role of gill rakers in the adaptation and habitat partitioning of Nicaraguan crater lake cichlid fishes Marta Barluenga1*, Gema Aguilera1 and Melinda J. Hofmann1 1 Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, Dept. Biodiversity & Evolutionary Biology, Spain The coexistence of species is facilitated by niche partitioning. Resource competition is a major cause of phenotypic differentiation.The major axes of differentiation in closely related species occur along the two ecological dimensions habitat and diet. Adaptive radiations typically follow these axes of variation. Some of the most important traits in the radiations of freshwater fish are body size, body shape, and a few trophic features such as mouth position, teeth type or gill rakers. In some of the most famous temperate freshwater radiations (i.e., sticklebacks, whitefish) gill rakers play a pivotal role in the adaptation to novel prey types. Cichlids are the most famous textbook examples of fast and divergent adaptive radiations. Often species differ in adaptation to alternative prey types associated to particular trophic morphologies. Pharyngeal jaw shape, oral and pharyngeal teeth and mouth position are the main traits typically studied in cichlid radiations. Gill rakers have however rarely been consider when trying to understand cichlid adaptation to the environment. Here we assess the variation of gill rakers in the cichlid assemblage inhabiting the Nicaraguan large and crater lakes. We found marked differences among species, and found interesting correlations between gill raker traits and environmental features demonstrating their role in adaptation and diversification. Keywords: adaptation, niche partitioning, cichlid fishes, Crater lakes, Gill rakers Conference: XV European Congress of Ichthyology, Porto, Portugal, 7 Sep - 11 Sep, 2015. Presentation Type: Oral Presentation Topic: Ecology, Conservation and Invasive Species Citation: Barluenga M, Aguilera G and Hofmann MJ (2015). The role of gill rakers in the adaptation and habitat partitioning of Nicaraguan crater lake cichlid fishes. Front. Mar. Sci. Conference Abstract: XV European Congress of Ichthyology. doi: 10.3389/conf.FMARS.2015.03.00234 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 17 Dec 2015; Published Online: 19 Dec 2015. * Correspondence: Dr. Marta Barluenga, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, Dept. Biodiversity & Evolutionary Biology, Madrid, 28006, Spain, marta.barluenga@mncn.csic.es Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Marta Barluenga Gema Aguilera Melinda J Hofmann Google Marta Barluenga Gema Aguilera Melinda J Hofmann Google Scholar Marta Barluenga Gema Aguilera Melinda J Hofmann PubMed Marta Barluenga Gema Aguilera Melinda J Hofmann Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.