Unité d'Enseignement et de Recherche en Hydrobiologie Appliquée, Département de Biologie-Chimie, ISP/Bukavu, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Section Vertebrates, Ichthyology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium.
J Fish Biol. 2021 Aug;99(2):321-334. doi: 10.1111/jfb.14719. Epub 2021 Mar 28.
The African cyprinid genus Labeobarbus is characterized by a high polymorphism in mouth morphology. The association between four species of this genus (two chiselmouths, one rubberlip with a well-developed fleshy mental lobe on the lower jaw, i.e., a fleshy appendage on the chin, and one usually with a poorly developed one) and 26 environmental variables was investigated in four affluents of the Luhoho River in the Albertine Highlands of the Upper Congo basin. A combination of univariate and multivariate analyses suggested that differences exist in habitat composition at localities where different Labeobarbus species were reported, and within different mouth phenotypes. The association of L. longidorsalis with the presence of cobbles and pebbles and of L. brauni with the presence of boulders suggests that the occurrence of chiselmouths phenotype is associated with stony habitats, whereas phenotypes with a mental lobe, i.e., Labeobarbus longifilis and L. paucisquamatus, mostly occupy habitats without stones. Differences in the distribution between these two species appear to be linked to physico-chemical parameters such as electrical conductivity and water temperature rather than substrate type. The findings of this study are relevant for developing guidelines that aim effective local preservation and conservation of these Labeobarbus species.
非洲鲤科鱼类巴氏鱼属的口型结构具有高度多态性。本研究在刚果河流域上游阿尔伯特湖的卢霍霍河的四条支流中，调查了该属的四个物种（两种尖嘴鱼、一种下颚有发达肉质颏须的橡胶唇鱼，即颏下有肉质附属物、一种通常颏须发育不良）与 26 个环境变量之间的关系。单变量和多变量分析的结合表明，在报告有不同巴氏鱼属物种的地点以及在不同口型表型中，生境组成存在差异。长须巴氏鱼与卵石和砾石的存在有关，而布劳尼巴氏鱼与巨石的存在有关，这表明尖嘴鱼表型的出现与多石生境有关，而颏须发达的表型，即长须巴氏鱼和短须巴氏鱼，主要占据无石生境。这两个物种的分布差异似乎与电导率和水温和基质类型等理化参数有关，而不是与基质类型有关。本研究的结果对于制定旨在有效保护和保存这些巴氏鱼属物种的地方指南具有重要意义。
