Character Release and Displacement in Fishes: A Neglected Literature

Robinson, Beren W.; Wilson, David Sloan

doi:10.1086/285696

Cited by 497 publications

(619 citation statements)

References 156 publications

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“…The result is often a pronounced resource polymorphism, incorporating di¡erences in both body form and trophic morphology, enabling ¢sh to forage most e¤ciently either on plankton in the water column or on benthic macroinvertebrates in the littoral zone (Robinson & Wilson 1994;Sku¨lasson & Smith 1995;Smith & Sku¨lasson 1996). Given the existence of both the sympatric limnetic and benthic species pairs, and the extensive parallel ecotypic di¡eren-tiation across populations, threespine stickleback might be expected to exhibit within-population polymorphism as well.…”

Section: (C) Parallel Divergence Within Populationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They typically reside in lakes that are depauperate in species, and that are comparatively young, as indicated by the dates of the most recent glacial recession in the regions of the northern hemisphere a¡ected by the last glacial advance (McPhail & Lindsey 1986;Bell & Foster 1994;McPhail 1994;Schluter 1996). Closely related species are sometimes found within lakes where they exhibit morphological and trophic di¡er-ences that parallel those observed within and across populations (reviews in Schluter & McPhail 1993;McPhail 1994;Robinson & Wilson 1994;Sku¨lasson & Smith 1995;Smith & Sku¨lasson 1996;Bell & Foster 1994;Schluter 1996;Bell & Andrews 1997). The example we o¡er, that of the threespine stickleback species complex, is unusual even among postglacial ¢shes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nested biological variation and speciation

Foster

Scott

Cresko

1998

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B

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The modes of speciation that are thought to have contributed most to the generation of biodiversity require population di¡erentiation as the initial stage in the speciation process. Consequently, a complete understanding of the mechanisms of speciation requires that the process be examined not just after speciation is complete, or nearly so, but also much earlier. Because reproductive isolation de¢nes biological species, and it evolves slowly, study of the process may require a prohibitive span of time. Even if speciation could be observed directly, selection of populations in the process of speciation is typically di¤cult or impossible, because those that will ultimately undergo speciation cannot be distinguished from those that will di¡er-entiate but never assume the status of new biological species. One means of circumventing this problem is to study speciation in taxa comprising several sibling species, at least one of which exhibits extensive population di¡erentiation. We illustrate this approach by exploring patterns of population variation in the postglacial radiation of the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus. We focus on lacustrine populations and species within this complex, demonstrating parallel axes of divergence within populations, among populations and among species. The pattern that emerges is one of parallel relationships between phenotype and ¢tness at all three hierarchical levels, a pattern that facilitates exploration of the causes and consequences of speciation and secondary contact. A second outcome of this exploration is the observation that speciation can be the consequence of a cascade of e¡ects, beginning with selection on trophic or other characteristics that in turn force the evolution of other population characteristics that precipitate speciation. Neither of these conclusions could have been reached without comparative studies of wild populations at several hierarchical levels, a conclusion reinforced by a brief survey of similar e¡orts to elucidate the process of speciation. We address the issues most likely to be resolved using this approach, and suggest that comparisons of natural variation within taxa at several hierarchical levels may substantially increase our understanding of the speciation process.

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Section: (C) Parallel Divergence Within Populationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nested biological variation and speciation

Foster

Scott

Cresko

1998

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B

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“…Adaptability might be one expression of a population's ability for morphological diversification that can be induced environmentally, either as a plastic or evolutionary response (Moczek et al 2011). In extreme cases, morphology can diverge into distinct types as evolutionary response to resource polymorphism (Robinson and Wilson 1994;Eklöv and Svanbäck 2005). Morphology can be influenced by a variety of environmental forces.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic impacts on the contextual morphological diversification and adaptation of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus, L. 1758) in East Africa

et al. 2018

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Nile tilapia occurs naturally in East Africa where it's an economically important species. Many of the natural populations of Nile tilapia have been affected by anthropogenic activities including translocations, associated with programmes aimed at enhancing capture fisheries and aquaculture productivity. Using geometric morphometric analyses, we tested the hypothesis that such anthropogenic activities have augmented admixture among natural populations of Nile tilapia and influenced the geographical distribution of morphological variation within the species. Our expectation was that Nile tilapia shape divergent might be consistent with reportedly anthropogenic activities in nonnative environments. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed the shapes of 490 individuals from thirteen populations; three farms, six natives and four nonnative natural populations. Our analysis revealed that the most pronounced shape diversification was observed in seven populations; three nonnatives (Victoria, Kyoga and Sindi farm) and four natives (Albert, River Nile, George and Turkana). The features responsible for the observed morphotypes were mainly related to the orientation of the anterior region of the fish and may be due to diversifying selection in response to new environmental pressures (for nonnative populations), admixture or drift. Shape change in the nonnative high-altitude populations was unexpectedly conserved, suggesting recent introductions which may have not resulted in admixture or there was strong selection against change in the traits measured. On the other hand, the recorded morphotypic clusters explained the possible genetic link to their putative ancestral home. Our results were partially consistent with our prediction that the nonnative populations exhibited divergent morphotypes. We recommend further investigations with molecular genetics for followup of these findings.

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“…In a study of literature on this subject, Robinson & Wilson (1994) found numerous examples in which fish communities shared the same general features. They concluded: "First, competition is a diversifying force that creates differences between species (character displacement) and within species (character release, when other closely related species are absent).…”

Section: Character Displacement In Fishmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of character displacement in the speciation of Central American members of the genusPoecilia(Poeciliidae)

Poeser

1998

Italian Journal of Zoology

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Fishes of the genus Poecilia are predominant inhabitants of the Central American mainland and of the Greater Antilles. The genus also occupies specific habitats on the South American continent and adjacent islands. In Central America, there is a confusing array of species, in which morphological and meristic characters show more variation within species than between species. By applying the principle of character displacement to the genus, several regularities emerge. Three species pairs (of which one has unicuspid inner jaw teeth, the other has tricuspid inner teeth for each species pair) are present, amongst which six widely dispersed species may be discriminated. A species concept based on phylogenetic and taxonomic methods is defined for the genus Poecilia. The application of a peculiar mode of character displacement to two species of fish from El Salvador suggests a general mechanism that explains much of the morphological variation within the Central American members of Poecilia. This method also defines species boundaries and patterns of speciation based on ecologically derived mechanisms.

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Character Release and Displacement in Fishes: A Neglected Literature

Cited by 497 publications

References 156 publications

Nested biological variation and speciation

Nested biological variation and speciation

Anthropogenic impacts on the contextual morphological diversification and adaptation of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus, L. 1758) in East Africa

The role of character displacement in the speciation of Central American members of the genusPoecilia(Poeciliidae)

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