Body Shape Variation in Relation to Resource Partitioning
AnimalBiology ,Vol.53, No. 1, pp. 59-70 (2003) Ó KoninklijkeBrill NV ,Leiden,2003. Alsoavailable online - www.brill.nl Body shape variation inrelation to resourcepartitioning within cichlidtrophic guilds coexisting along the rocky shore of Lake Malawi 1; 2 3 DAUDD. KASSAM ¤,DEANC. ADAMS ,AGGREYJ.D. AMBALI , KOSAKUY AMAOKA 1 1 Departmentof Aquaculture,Kochi University, B 200Monobe, Nankoku-shi, Kochi, 783-8502, Japan 2 Programin Ecology and Evolution, Department of Zoology and Genetics, Iowa State University, Ames,Iowa 50010, USA 3 Departmentof Biology,University of Malawi, Chancellor College, P .O.Box 280, Zomba, Malawi Abstract—Toappreciatebetter how cichlids segregate along the trophic, spatial and temporal dimen- sions,it is necessary to understand the cichlids’ body design, and its role in resourcepartitioning. We investigatedbody shape variation, quanti ed usinglandmark-based geometric morphometrics, among cichlidspecies belonging to algaland zooplankton feeders coexisting along the rocky shores of Lake Malawi,in order to elucidate the adaptive signi cance of body shape. Signi cant differences were foundwithin zooplankton feeders in which Copadichromisborleyi hada shortergape, smaller eyes andshorter caudal peduncle relative to Ctenopharynxpictus and,within algal feeders, Labeotropheus fuelleborni hada shorterand inferior subterminal gape, and shorter head relative to Petrotilapiagena- lutea.Variationamong species is discussedwith reference to trophicand feeding microhabitat differ- entiationwhich enables us to appreciate the role
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