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Phylogeographic and phenotypic assessment of a basal haplochromine cichlid fish from Lake Chila, Zambia

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Abstract

The basal haplochromine genus Pseudocrenilabrus comprises three valid species, although the current taxonomy most probably underestimates species richness. Previous phylogeographic studies on the P. philander species complex revealed a clear structuring of populations, shaped by river capture events. Here we report the discovery of P. cf. philander in Lake Chila, a small lake south of Lake Tanganyika. We were interested whether discrete morphs, similar to what has been found in Lake Mweru and the Lunzua River, were present in Lake Chila. We evaluated the phenotypic variability of the population in relation to other lacustrine and riverine populations by quantifying colouration and body shape. To place the specimens in a phylogeographic framework, we inferred a phylogeny based on the most variable part of the mitochondrial control region. We found two divergent mtDNA lineages in Lake Chila and tested for population structure and admixture between the lineages using microsatellite data. Our study reveals a complex phylogeographic pattern and demonstrates admixture of distant mtDNA lineages in Lake Chila, producing a hybrid swarm with substantial phenotypic variability. Unlike in Lake Mweru, Pseudocrenilabrus has not diversified further into discrete morphs in Lake Chila, probably because of the long-term instability of the lake and the presumed recency of the admixture event.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank our helpers in the field, J. Bachmann, T. Bosia and L. Schild, the Kasanka Trust, the Lake Tanganyika Research Unit, Department of Fisheries, Republic of Zambia, for research permits and Radim Blazek and Martin Reichard for providing samples. This study was supported by grants from the European Research Council (ERC, Starting Grant ‘INTERGENADAPT’), the University of Basel, and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF, Grant 3100A0_138224) to W. S.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoological Institute, University of Basel, Vesalgasse 1, 4051, Basel, Switzerland

    B. Egger, Y. Klaefiger, A. Indermaur, A. Theis, S. Egger, T. Näf & W. Salzburger

  2. Department of Zoology, Karl-Franzens University of Graz, Universitatsplatz 2, 8010, Graz, Austria

    S. Koblmüller & C. Sturmbauer

  3. Zoology Department, Ichthyology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Leuvensesteenweg 13, 3080, Tervuren, Belgium

    M. Van Steenberge

  4. Laboratory of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Genomics, Department of Biology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Charles Deberiotstraat 32, 3000, Louvain, Belgium

    M. Van Steenberge

  5. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Zambia, P.O. Box 32379, Lusaka, Zambia

    C. Katongo

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  1. B. Egger
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Guest editors: S. Koblmüller, R. C. Albertson, M. J. Genner, K. M. Sefc & T. Takahashi / Advances in Cichlid Research: Behaviour, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

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Egger, B., Klaefiger, Y., Indermaur, A. et al. Phylogeographic and phenotypic assessment of a basal haplochromine cichlid fish from Lake Chila, Zambia. Hydrobiologia 748, 171–184 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-014-1919-0

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