Visual adaptation and microhabitat choice in Lake Victoria cichlid fish.

ABSTRACT: When different genotypes choose different habitats to better match their phenotypes, genetic differentiation within a population may be promoted. Mating within those habitats may subsequently contribute to reproductive isolation. In cichlid fish, visual adaptation to alternative visual environments is hypothesized to contribute to speciation. Here, we investigated whether variation in visual sensitivity causes different visual habitat preferences, using two closely related cichlid species that occur at different but overlapping water depths in Lake Victoria and that differ in visual perception (Pundamilia spp.). In addition to species differences, we explored potential effects of visual plasticity, by rearing fish in two different light conditions: broad-spectrum (mimicking shallow

SUBMITTER: Mameri D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6458373 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature