Konings Adrianus F, Wisor Joshua M, Stauffer Jay R
Cichlid Press El Paso TX USA.
Ecosystem Science and Management Penn State University University Park PA USA.
Ecol Evol. 2021 Mar 30;11(9):4605-4615. doi: 10.1002/ece3.7359. eCollection 2021 May.
Cichlids inhabiting the Great Lakes of Africa have radiated extremely rapidly, with Lake Malaŵi harboring some 850 species. This rapid radiation may be linked to the diversity in behaviors, sexual selection, and phenotypic plasticity. To determine the relationships between morphology and behaviors, microcomputed tomography (microCT) was used to observe internal morphological structures. Observed morphological adaptations were linked with observed behavior of cichlids in Lake Malaŵi with respect to the various available food resources. Many of these adaptations have parallels, sometimes into the finest details, in other drainage systems and can thus be considered as variations of how cichlids in general respond to environmental opportunities and challenges. Variations in the structure and teeth of the pharyngeal jaws and the oral jaws allowed for fine tuning of specializations, so that various species can utilize the same source without direct competition. We suggested that high-resolution X-ray computed tomography will permit scientists to infer life history and behavior characters of rare or extinct taxa from a detailed examination of morphology and linkages between morphology and behavior found in extant species.
栖息在非洲大湖的丽鱼科鱼类辐射演化极其迅速，马拉维湖就有大约850个物种。这种快速辐射可能与行为、性选择和表型可塑性的多样性有关。为了确定形态与行为之间的关系，使用了微型计算机断层扫描（microCT）来观察内部形态结构。观察到的形态适应与马拉维湖丽鱼科鱼类针对各种可用食物资源的行为相关。这些适应中的许多在其他排水系统中都有类似之处，有时在最细微的细节上也是如此，因此可以被视为丽鱼科鱼类总体上对环境机遇和挑战的应对方式的变化。咽颌和口腔颌的结构及牙齿的变化使得特化能够得到微调，这样不同物种就可以利用相同的资源而无需直接竞争。我们认为，高分辨率X射线计算机断层扫描将使科学家能够通过对形态以及现存物种中形态与行为之间联系的详细检查，推断稀有或已灭绝分类群的生活史和行为特征。
