Anseeuw, Dieter, Maes, Gregory E., Busselen, Paul, Knapen, Dries, Snoeks, Jos, and Verheyen, Erik (2008) Subtle population structure and male-biased dispersal in two Copadichromis species (Teleostei, Cichlidae) from Lake Malawi, East Africa. Hydrobiologia, 615 (1). pp. 69-79.

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Abstract

Various attributes of cichlid biology have been suggested to drive their propensity for rapid speciation, including population substructuring over short geographic distances. While this seems especially true for the rock-dwelling Mbuna species from Lake Malawi, the present study shows that geographic or habitat barriers are not sufficient to explain population substructuring in the less substrate-bound Utaka (non-Mbuna) species. We found similar levels of subtle population structure in the rock-dwelling Copadichromis quadrimaculatus and in the sand-dwelling C. sp. 'virginalis kajose' (F ST < 0.01 in both species) without a discernable geographical pattern. We suggest that aspects of the reproductive strategy, by which seasonal aggregation alternates with more free-ranging stages, may facilitate the establishment of small population differences in Utaka. This hypothesis agrees with our finding that in these cichlids dispersal appears to be male biased.

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