The nominal species Petrotilapia tridentiger Trewavas, a rock-frequenting fish from Lake Malawi, occurs in three distinct male and female colour forms at Monkey Bay. Field observations on courtship and aggression indicate that the three colour forms are distinct species. The taxonomy of the three species of Petrotilapia that occur at Monkey Bay is revised. R. tridentiger is redescribed and two new species, P. genalutea and P. nigra, are described. The three species are very similar morphologically and are considered to be sibling species. The only morphological character which reliably separates the three sibling species is live coloration: Live coloration is considered to be an important component of the specific mate recognition systems in Petrotilapia species. The coloration of a further fourteen forms of Petrotilapia is described and it is suggested that these forms are valid species. Space resource partitioning plays an important role in facilitating the coexistence of Petrotilapia sibling species. Space is partially partitioned in terms of depth range. In shallow water, where all three species are sympatric, there are differences in the feeding sites used by the various Petrotilapia forms. Changes in niche breadth and overlap, which are associated with changes in the abundance of epilithic algae, indicate that competition for feeding space occurs between the three Petrotilapia species. The Petrotilapia species partition their resources according to a social dominance hierarchy. Dominant forms, such as territorial males, R. tridentiger females and schooling R. genalutea females, have access to rich food supplies which occur within the territories of certain highly aggressive Pseudotronheus species. are facultative and opportunistic .feeders. Petrotilapia species Speciation in allopatry is considered to be the mechanism which adequately explains the current diversity of the genus Petrotilapia. The importance of an integrative approach to future systematic and ecological research on Lake Malawi cichlids is stressed. / KMBT_363 / Adobe Acrobat 9.53 Paper Capture Plug-in
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:rhodes/vital:5355 |
| Date | 20 March 2013 |
| Creators | Marsh, Alan Clive |
| Publisher | Rhodes University, Faculty of Science, Ichthyology and Fisheries Science |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MSc |
| Format | 213 p., pdf |
| Rights | Marsh, Alan Clive |
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