Phylogenetic Analysis of the Lamprologine Cichlids: Taxonomic Diversity and Morphological Exuberance in the African Cichlidae

非洲的蓝脯鱼是一种种类丰富、生态多样的鱼类。在坦噶尼喀湖内，它们构成了75%的沿岸鱼类群落，是坦噶尼喀湖生态系统生态学和经济学的重要组成部分。对于物种形成和多样化过程、形态和分子转化模式以及生态、营养和生殖分化的研究，很难想象一个比lamproloines更适合的稚鱼模型。该研究将记录该类群所表现出的解剖变异，确定lamprologines在非洲奇鱼科中的系统发育位置，并解决它们在物种水平上的内在关系。该项目对我们对慈鲷形态系统学的理解做出了重大贡献，也将为真正综合研究一个主要鱼类群体的形态、分子和生态进化奠定基础。私家侦探和她的机构有能力进行这项研究。

The lamprologine chichlids of Africa are an extraordinarily species-rich and ecologically diverse group of fishes. Within Lake Tanganyika, where most of the species occur, they constitute 75% of the littoral fish community and form a centrally important component of the ecology and economics of the Lake Tanganyika ecosystem. For the study of processes of speciation and diversification, patterns of morphological and molecular tranformation, and ecological, trophic and reproductive divergence, it is hard to imagine a better suited cichlid model than the lamprologines. The study will document the anatomical variation exhibited by the group, determine the phylogenetic position of the lamprologines within the African Cichlidae, and resolve their species-level intrarelationships. The project represents a major contribution to our understanding of cichlid morphological systematics, and will also lay the foundation for the truly integrative study of morphological, molecular and ecological evolution in a major group of fishes. The PI and her institution are well equipped to conduct this research.