The Behavior, Ecology and Evolution of Cichlid Fishes

About this book

This volume constitutes the most recent and most comprehensive consideration of the largest family of bony fishes, the Cichlidae. This book offers an integrated perspective of cichlid fishes ranging from conservation of threatened species to management of cichlids as invasive species themselves. Long-standing models of taxonomy and systematics are subjected to the most recent applications and interpretations of molecular evidence and multivariate analyses; and cichlid adaptive radiations at different scales are elucidated. The incredible diversity of endemic cichlid species in African lakes is revisited as possible examples of sympatric speciation and as serious cases for management in complex anthropogenic environments. Extreme hydrology and bathymetry as driver of micro-allopatric speciation is explored in the African riverine hotspot of diversity of the lower Congo River.

Dramatic new molecular evidence draws attention to the complex taxonomy and systematics of Neotropical cichlids including the crater lakes of Central America. Molecular genetics, genomics, imaging tools and field study techniques assess the roles of natural, sexual and kin selection in shaping cichlid traits and beyond. The complex behavioral adaptations of cichlids are considered from a number of sub-disciplines including sensory biology, neurobiology, development, and evolutionary ecology. Most importantly, The Behavior, Ecology and Evolution of Cichlid Fishes puts forth a wealth of new interpretations, explanatory hypotheses and proposals for practical management and applications that will shape the future for these remarkable fishes in nature as well as their use as models for the study of biology.

Contents

Chapter 1. Chance, Choice and Cichlids
Chapter 2. Frontiers in Cichlid Research: A History of Scientific Advancement
Chapter 3. Ecological Opportunity, Genetic Variation, and the Origins of African Cichlid Radiations
Chapter 4. Evolution in the Fast Lane: Diversity, Ecology, and Speciation of Cichlids in the lower Congo River
Chapter 5. Neotropical Riverine Cichlids: Adaptive Radiation and Macroevolution at Continental Scales
Chapter 6. Sympatric and Allopatric Diversification in the Adaptive Radiation of Midas Cichlids in Nicaraguan Lakes
Chapter 7. The Consequences of Anthropogenic Stressors on Cichlid Fish Communities: Revisiting Lakes Victoria, Kyoga, and Nabugabo
Chapter 8. Rapid Evolutionary Responses in Cichlids: Genetics of Adaptation, Morphology and Taxonomic Implications
Chapter 9. Identifying and Conserving Tilapiine Cichlid Species in the 21st Century
Chapter 10. Introduced Cichlids in the Americas: Distribution Patterns, Invasion Ecology, and Impacts
Chapter 11. The Evolutionary Ecology of Cichlid Vision
Chapter 12. The Mechanosensory Lateral Line System of Cichlid Fishes: From Anatomy to Behavior
Chapter 13. Sonic Cichlids
Chapter 14. The Evolution of Enhanced Cichlid Hearing: Functional Morphology and the Role of Ecoacoustical Factors
Chapter 15. Parental Care in Cichlid Fishes
Chapter 16. Cichlids as a model system for studying social behaviour and evolution
Chapter 17. Integrative Neurobiology of Social Behavior in Cichlid Fish
Chapter 18. Respiratory Ecology of Cichlids
Chapter 19. Feeding Ecology of Lake Tanganyika Cichlids
Chapter 20. Patterns of Trophic Evolution: Integration and Modularity of the Cichlid Skull
Chapter 21. An Evo-devo View of Post-genomic African Cichlid Biology: Enhanced Models for Evolution and Biomedicine

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Biography

Maria E. Abate is an assistant professor in the Department of Biology at Simmons University in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. David L. G. Noakes is a professor in the Fisheries and Wildlife Department at Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA.