Adrian Indermaur

University of Basel | UNIBAS · Department of Environmental Sciences

Cichlid fishes are an important model system in evolutionary biology, primarily because of their exceptional diversity. However , while some cichlid assemblages, such as the ones of the African Great Lakes, have received considerable attention, others are not well studied, including many riverine species. Here, we focus on the Australoheros autrani...

The small cyprinid genus Prolabeops Schultz 1941 is restricted to the Nyong and Sanaga River systems in Cameroon. In the past, the genus had been suggested to be either a member of the Labeoninae, Torinae or the Smiliogastrinae mainly on the basis of morphological similarities and it nowadays is considered as incertae sedis within the Cypriniformes...

Changes in gene expression play a fundamental role in phenotypic evolution. Transcriptome evolutionary dynamics have so far mainly been compared among distantly related species and remain largely unexplored during rapid organismal diversification, in which gene regulatory changes have been suggested as particularly effective drivers of phenotypic d...

Adaptive radiation is the likely source of much of the ecological and morphological diversity of life1–4. How adaptive radiations proceed and what determines their extent remains unclear in most cases1,4. Here we report the in-depth examination of the spectacular adaptive radiation of cichlid fishes in Lake Tanganyika. On the basis of whole-genome...

Food resource specialization within novel environments is considered a common axis of diversification in adaptive radiations. Feeding specializations are often coupled with striking morphological adaptations and exemplify the relation between morphology and diet (phenotype–environment correlations), as seen in, for example, Darwin finches, Hawaiian...

Many animals can modify the environments in which they live, thereby changing the selection pressures they experience. A common example of such niche construction is the use, creation or modification of environmental resources for use as nests or shelters. Because these resources often have correlated structural elements, it can be difficult to dis...

Many animals can modify the environments in which they live, thereby changing the selection pressures they experience. A common example of such niche-construction is the use, creation, or modification of environmental resources for use as nests or shelters. Because these resources often have correlated structural elements, it can be difficult to di...

Cichlid fishes are the subject of scientific interest because of their rapid adaptive radiation, resulting in extensive ecological and taxonomic diversity. In this study, we examined 11 morphologically distinct cichlid species endemic to Barombi Mbo, the largest crater lake in western Cameroon, namely Konia eisentrauti, Konia dikume, Myaka myaka, P...

Cichlid fishes have as many as seven different cone opsin genes (SWS1, SWS2B, SWS2A, RH2B, RH2Aβ, RH2Aα and LWS) in their genome responsible for colour vision. Each opsin protein is sensitive to different wavelengths (see Figure 1); however, only a subset of them are usually expressed as previously shown in lacustrine cichlids from lakes Victoria,...

In deep‐water animals, visual sensory system is often challenged by the dim‐light environment. Here, we focus on the molecular mechanisms involved in rapid deep‐water adaptations. We examine visual system evolution in a small‐scale yet phenotypically and ecologically diverse adaptive radiation, the species flock of cichlid fishes in deep crater lak...

Ancient Lake Tanganyika in East Africa houses the world's ecologically and morphologically most diverse assemblage of cichlid fishes, and the third most species-rich after lakes Malawi and Victoria. Despite long-lasting scientific interest in the cichlid species flocks of the East African Great Lakes, for example in the context of adaptive radiatio...

1.Available underwater visual census methods such as line transects or point count observations are widely used to obtain community data of underwater species assemblages, despite their known pit‐falls. As interest in the community structure of aquatic life is growing, there is need for more standardized and replicable methods for acquiring underwa...

Random asymmetry, that is the co‐existence of left‐ and right‐sided (or ‐handed) individuals within a population, is a particular case of natural variation; what triggers and maintains such dimorphisms remains unknown in most cases. Here, we report a field‐based cage experiment in the scale‐eating Tanganyikan cichlid Perissodus microlepis (Boulenge...

Animal locomotory morphology, i.e. morphological features involved in locomotion, is under the influence of a diverse set of ecological and behavioral factors. In teleost fish, habitat choice and foraging strategy are major determinants of locomotory morphology. In this study, we assess the influence of habitat use and foraging strategy on importan...

Aggressive mimicry is an adaptive tactic of parasitic or predatory species that closely resemble inoffensive models in order to increase fitness via predatory gains. Although similarity of distantly related species is often intuitively implicated with mimicry, the exact mechanisms and evolutionary causes remain elusive in many cases. Here, we repor...

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...

The species flocks of cichlid fishes in the East African Great Lakes are the largest vertebrate adaptive radiations in the world and illustrious textbook examples of convergent evolution between independent species assemblages. Although recent studies suggest some degrees of genetic exchange between riverine taxa and the lake faunas, not a single c...

The extinction of Stomatepia mongo Trewavas, 1972, a cichlid species from the Barombi Mbo crater lake, Cameroon, has been repeatedly speculated. Here, we review over 180 presumably unpublished records of this species since its description. Because a majority of them originate from our extensive surveys in the last several years, it is evident that...

Divergent natural selection acting in different habitats may build up barriers to gene flow and initiate speciation. This speciation continuum can range from weak or no divergence to strong genetic differentiation between populations. Here, we focus on the early phases of adaptive divergence in the East African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni, w...

The recurrent evolution of convergent forms is a widespread phenomenon in adaptive radiations (e.g., [1-9]). For example, similar ecotypes of anoles lizards have evolved on different islands of the Caribbean [2, 6], benthic-limnetic species pairs of stickleback fish emerged repeatedly in postglacial lakes [1, 3], equivalent sets of spider ecomorphs...

The evolution of convergent phenotypes is one of the most interesting outcomes of replicate adaptive radiations. Remarkable cases of convergence involve the thick-lipped phenotype found across cichlid species flocks in the East African Great Lakes. Unlike most other convergent forms in cichlids, which are restricted to East Africa, the thick-lipped...

The Midas Cichlid species complex (Amphilophus spp.) in Central America serves as a prominent model system to study sympatric speciation and parallel adaptive radiation, since small arrays of equivalent ecotype morphs have evolved independently in different crater lakes. While the taxonomy and evolutionary history of the different species are well...