-
A pharyngeal jaw evolutionary innovation facilitated extinction in Lake Victoria cichlids.
January 5, 2016 Editor 0
Related Articles A pharyngeal jaw evolutionary innovation facilitated extinction in Lake Victoria cichlids.
Science. 2015 Nov 27;350(6264):1077-9
Authors: McGee MD, Borstein SR, Neches RY, Buescher HH, Seehausen O, Wainwright PC
Abstract
Evolutionary innovations, traits that give species access to previously unoccupied niches, may promote speciation and adaptive radiation. Here, we show that such innovations can also result in competitive inferiority and extinction. We present evidence that the modified pharyngeal jaws of cichlid fishes and several marine fish lineages, a classic example of evolutionary innovation, are not universally beneficial. A large-scale analysis of dietary evolution across marine fish lineages reveals that the innovation compromises access to energy-rich predator niches. We show that this competitive inferiority shaped the adaptive radiation of cichlids in Lake Tanganyika and played a pivotal and previously unrecognized role in the mass extinction of cichlid fishes in Lake Victoria after Nile perch invasion.PMID: 26612951 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
Related Posts
New development of medicines for priority diseases in Africa.
The Role of Public Knowledge, Resources, and Innovation in Responding to the Ebola Outbreak.
Assessing the implementation and influence of policies that support research and innovation systems for health: the cases of Mozambique, Senegal, and Tanzania.
‘They hear Africa” and they think that there can’t be any good services’ – perceived context in cross-national learning: a qualitative study of the barriers to Reverse Innovation.
EMIRA: Ecologic Malaria Reduction for Africa–innovative tools for integrated malaria control.
Use of a national collaborative to improve hospital quality in a low income setting.
Drivers of household food availability in sub-Saharan Africa based on big data from small farms. The dynamic linkages between sociocultural values and successful business development and performance: case study of Mourid entrepreneurs in Senegal
