Ultraviolet radiation enhances zooplanktivory rate in ultraviolet sensitive cichlids

Jordan, Rebecca; Howe, David; Juanes, Francis; Stauffer, Jay R.; Loew, Ellis R.

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.2004.00494.x

Cited by 38 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…In African cichlids, divergent opsin expression profiles and photoreceptor sensitivities represent an adaptation to divergent foraging preferences (Munz and McFarland 1977;Jordan et al 2004;Hofmann et al 2009;O'Quin et al 2010). In both LM and LT cichlids, SWS1 (ultraviolet [UV]) opsin expression and UV single-cone photoreceptor sensitivity is significantly associated with planktivory (Jordan et al 2004;Hofmann et al 2009;O'Quin et al 2010). UV sensitivity presumably helps these and other species detect UV-absorbing zooplankton against the bright down-welling light (Novales-Flamarique and Hawryshyn 1994).…”

Section: Foraging Vision and Heterochrony In African Cichlidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

New evidence for the role of heterochrony in the repeated evolution of cichlid opsin expression

O’Quin

Smith

Sharma

et al. 2011

Evolution &Amp; Development

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SUMMARY Lake Malawi (LM) cichlids have undergone heterochronic shifts in the expression of their cone opsin genes, the genes responsible for color vision. These shifts have generated species with short-, middle-, and long-wavelength-sensitive cone photoreceptors and visual systems. However, it is unclear when during the evolution of African cichlids these shifts occurred, or whether they could account for similar short- and middle-wavelength-sensitive profiles among unrelated cichlids in Lake Tanganyika (LT). To address these questions, we surveyed opsin expression in developing fry of two African cichlids, Astatotilapia burtoni from LT and Melanochromis auratus from LM. We found that A. burtoni expresses a series of three different single-cone opsins over the course of development, while M. auratus exhibits variation in the expression of only two. Neither A. burtoni nor M. auratus exhibits much variation in the expression of its double-cone opsins. These patterns reveal that A. burtoni exhibits progressive development in the sensitivity of its single-cone photoreceptors, but direct development in the sensitivity of its double-cone photoreceptors. M. auratus exhibits neotenic development in the sensitivity of both photoreceptor sets. Given the intermediate phylogenetic placement of A. burtoni between cichlids from LT and LM, our results suggest that the ancestor of LM's cichlids exhibited a progressive developmental pattern of opsin expression. These results indicate that the heterochronic shifts which produced the short- and middle-wavelength-sensitive profiles of LM's cichlids occurred recently, and suggest that the presence of similar profiles among LT's cichlids are due to parallel heterochronic shifts.

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Section: Foraging Vision and Heterochrony In African Cichlidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

New evidence for the role of heterochrony in the repeated evolution of cichlid opsin expression

O’Quin

Smith

Sharma

et al. 2011

Evolution &Amp; Development

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“…However, both studies relied on human visual inspection of photographs and thus have limited significance for understanding the spectral reflectance of cichlids. Recently, the spectral reflectance of several rock-dwelling cichlids was reported (Dalton et al, 2010;Jordan et al, 2004) and showed high conspicuousness of males but not of females under natural conditions (Dalton et al, 2010). To date, however, there has been no comparative investigation aimed at characterizing the spectral reflectance of sand-and rock-dwelling cichlids.…”

Section: Constraints Imposed On the Color Pattern Of Cichlidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The underwater photic environment of Cape Maclear, Lake Malawi: comparison between rock- and sand-bottom habitats and implications for cichlid fish vision

Sabbah

Gray

Boss

et al. 2011

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYLake Malawi boasts the highest diversity of freshwater fishes in the world. Nearshore sites are categorized according to their bottom substrate, rock or sand, and these habitats host divergent assemblages of cichlid fishes. Sexual selection driven by mate choice in cichlids led to spectacular diversification in male nuptial coloration. This suggests that the spectral radiance contrast of fish, the main determinant of visibility under water, plays a crucial role in cichlid visual communication. This study provides the first detailed description of underwater irradiance, radiance and beam attenuation at selected sites representing two major habitats in Lake Malawi. These quantities are essential for estimating radiance contrast and, thus, the constraints imposed on fish body coloration. Irradiance spectra in the sand habitat were shifted to longer wavelengths compared with those in the rock habitat. Beam attenuation in the sand habitat was higher than in the rock habitat. The effects of water depth, bottom depth and proximity to the lake bottom on radiometric quantities are discussed. The radiance contrast of targets exhibiting diffused and spectrally uniform reflectance depended on habitat type in deep water but not in shallow water. In deep water, radiance contrast of such targets was maximal at long wavelengths in the sand habitat and at short wavelengths in the rock habitat. Thus, to achieve conspicuousness, color patterns of rock-and sand-dwelling cichlids would be restricted to short and long wavelengths, respectively. This study provides a useful platform for the examination of cichlid visual communication. Supplementary material available online at

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“…East African cichlids not only exhibit habitat‐associated variation in opsin expression, but also variation in the coding sequence of the opsin genes (Carleton, ; Carleton et al, ; Hofmann et al, ; Seehausen et al, ; Terai, Mayer, Klein, Tichy, & Okada, ; Terai et al, ). Both factors influence color vision, which in cichlids, has been shown to affect ecological performance (foraging; Jordan, Howe, Juanes, Stauffer, & Loew, ) and, as male color is important for female mate preference (Maan & Sefc, ), it may also influence mating patterns. Together, these observations suggest that color vision and adaptation to the local light environment play an important role in cichlid speciation (Maan & Seehausen, , ; Seehausen, Alphen, & Witte, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geographic variation in opsin expression does not align with opsin genotype in Lake Victoria cichlid populations

Wright

Meijer

Eijk

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Sensory adaptation to the local environment can contribute to speciation. Aquatic environments are well suited for studying this process: The natural attenuation of light through water results in heterogeneous light environments, to which vision‐dependent species must adapt for communication and survival. Here, we study visual adaptation in sympatric Pundamilia cichlids from southeastern Lake Victoria. Species with blue or red male nuptial coloration co‐occur at many rocky islands but tend to be depth‐differentiated, entailing different visual habitats, more strongly at some islands than others. Divergent visual adaptation to these environments has been implicated as a major factor in the divergence of P. pundamilia and P. nyererei , as they show consistent differentiation in the long‐wavelength‐sensitive visual pigment gene sequence (LWS opsin). In addition to sequence variation, variation in the opsin gene expression levels may contribute to visual adaptation. We characterized opsin gene expression and LWS genotype across Pundamilia populations inhabiting turbid and clear waters, to examine how different mechanisms of visual tuning contribute to visual adaptation. As predicted, the short‐wavelength‐sensitive opsin (SWS2b) was expressed exclusively in a population from clear water. Contrary to prediction however, expression levels of the other opsins were species‐ and island‐dependent and did not align with species differences in LWS genotype. Specifically, in two locations with turbid water, the shallow‐water dwelling blue species expressed more LWS and less RH2A than the deeper‐dwelling red species, while the opposite pattern occurred in the two locations with clear water. Visual modeling suggests that the observed distribution of opsin expression profiles and LWS genotypes does not maximize visual performance, implying the involvement of additional visual tuning mechanisms and/or incomplete adaptation. OPEN RESEARCH BADGE This article has earned an Open Data Badge for making publicly available the digitally‐shareable data necessary to reproduce the reported results. The data is available at https://hdl.handle.net/10411/I1IUUQ .

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Ultraviolet radiation enhances zooplanktivory rate in ultraviolet sensitive cichlids

Cited by 38 publications

References 15 publications

New evidence for the role of heterochrony in the repeated evolution of cichlid opsin expression

New evidence for the role of heterochrony in the repeated evolution of cichlid opsin expression

The underwater photic environment of Cape Maclear, Lake Malawi: comparison between rock- and sand-bottom habitats and implications for cichlid fish vision

Geographic variation in opsin expression does not align with opsin genotype in Lake Victoria cichlid populations

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