the cichlid fish of africa: evolution's rainbow
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The Cichlid Fish of AfricaThe Cichlid Fish of Africa
What’s a cichlid?
Cichlids (sick-lids)
• Are a family of fish
• Found mainly in Africa and South
America
• A shit ton of species
Kenya
Tanzania
Uganda
Rwanda
Burundi
Zambia
Lake Malawi
Lake Tanganyika
Lake VictoriaThe Great
Lakes of
Africa
Malawi
>1300Cichlids of Africa
245Great Lakes of
North America
215Europe
~600Hawaiian Islands
# Fish SpeciesLocation
All one family!
How many species?
Who cares about cichlids?
• Fish farmers
(and fish eaters)
• Hobbyists
• Biologists
Diversity- color andDiversity- color and
morphologymorphology
Jaws
• Cichlids have two sets of jaws!
– Just like Alien
• Inner jaws mash food
• Outer jaws have teeth adapted
to their diet
Fish food
• Plankton
• Aufwuchs : algae and the
microorganisms that live on it
• Sponges– “like eating cardboard laced with indigestible fibers, ground glass in the form
of siliceous spicules, not to mention noxious chemicals”
• Other fish (piscivory)
• Other fishes’ scales (lepidophagy)
• Caviar (oophagy)
Parenting skills
• Parental care is rare in fishes,
but common in cichlids
• Some cichlids use their big
mouths to carry eggs and fry!
• Some guard their fry in nests,
chasing off predators
Hooking up
• Cichlids have a variety of different matingsystems
(1) Polygyny with Lekking
Lek- gathering of males,competitve mating display
Hooking up (for life)
• (2) Monogamy (aw)
• Monogamy rare inanimals, esp. fish
• Why monogamy?– Biparental care
– Secure a high quality mate& territory
Movies!
• “Jewel of the Rift” - Lake Tanganyika
Fish room tour
Julidochromis AKA Julies
Monogamy
Breed in rocky
caves/crevices
Aggressive
females
Astatotilapia burtoni
• Lekking males - 2 phenotypes T and NT
• Maternal Mouthbrooders
– Females become aggressive when brooding
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