Morphometric and Genetic Description of Trophic Adaptations in Cichlid Fishes.

ABSTRACT: Since Darwin, biologists have sought to understand the evolution and origins of phenotypic adaptations. The skull is particularly diverse due to intense natural selection on feeding biomechanics. We investigated the genetic and molecular origins of trophic adaptation using Lake Malawi cichlids, which have undergone an exemplary evolutionary radiation. We analyzed morphological differences in the lateral and ventral head shape among an insectivore that eats by suction feeding, an obligate biting herbivore, and their F₂ hybrids. We identified variation in a series of morphological traits-including mandible width, mandible length, and buccal length-that directly affect feeding kinematics and function. Using quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping, we found that many genes of small ef

SUBMITTER: DeLorenzo L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9405370 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature