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Species-Specific Population Structure in Rock-Specialized Sympatric Cichlid Species in Lake Tanganyika, East Africa

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Abstract

Species richness and geographical phenotypic variation in East African lacustrine cichlids are often correlated with ecological specializations and limited dispersal. This study compares mitochondrial and microsatellite genetic diversity and structure among three sympatric rock-dwelling cichlids of Lake Tanganyika, Eretmodus cyanostictus, Tropheus moorii, and Ophthalmotilapia ventralis. The species represent three endemic, phylogenetically distinct tribes (Eretmodini, Tropheini, and Ectodini), and display divergent ecomorphological and behavioral specialization. Sample locations span both continuous, rocky shoreline and a potential dispersal barrier in the form of a muddy bay. High genetic diversity and population differentiation were detected in T. moorii and E. cyanostictus, whereas much lower variation and structure were found in O. ventralis. In particular, while a 7-km-wide muddy bay curtails dispersal in all three species to a similar extent, gene flow along mostly continuous habitat appeared to be controlled by distance in E. cyanostictus, further restricted by site philopatry and/or minor habitat discontinuities in T. moorii, and unrestrained in O. ventralis. In contrast to the general pattern of high gene flow along continuous shorelines in rock-dwelling cichlids of Lake Malawi, our study identifies differences in population structure among stenotopic Lake Tanganyika species. The amount of genetic differentiation among populations was not related to the degree of geographical variation of body color, especially since more phenotypic variation is observed in O. ventralis than in the genetically highly structured E. cyanostictus.

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Acknowledgments

We thank L. Mwape, C. Mwelwa, and their team at the Mpulungu Station of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Republic of Zambia, and M. Nabuyanda for their help during fieldwork. Stephan Koblmüller and two anonymous reviewers provided insightful comments on the manuscript. Some of the data were collected in the course of master’s theses by Cornelia Rhomberg, Andreas Gallmetzer, and Beate Kirchberger. K.M.S., C.S., and S.B. were supported by the Austrian Science Foundation (P14724, P15239, and P17380) and the Jubiläumsfond der Österreichischen Nationalbank; W.S. was supported by a DOC fellowship from the Austrian Academy of Sciences and a Marie Curie fellowship from the EU.

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  1. Walter Salzburger

    Present address: Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Le Biophore, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Karl Franzens University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, A-8010, Graz, Austria

    Kristina M. Sefc & Christian Sturmbauer

  2. Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry Laimburg, Laimburg 6, I-39040, Auer/Ora, BZ, Italy

    Sanja Baric

  3. Lehrstuhl für Zoologie und Evolutionsbiologie, Department of Biology, and Center for Junior Research Fellows, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10, 78457, Konstanz, Germany

    Walter Salzburger

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  1. Kristina M. Sefc
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Correspondence to Christian Sturmbauer.

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Sefc, K.M., Baric, S., Salzburger, W. et al. Species-Specific Population Structure in Rock-Specialized Sympatric Cichlid Species in Lake Tanganyika, East Africa. J Mol Evol 64, 33–49 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00239-006-0011-4

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