Whether interspecific hybridization is important as a mechanism that generates biological
diversity is a matter of controversy. Whereas some authors focus on the potential of …

The African cichlid fish radiations are the most diverse extant animal radiations and provide
a unique system to test predictions of speciation and adaptive radiation theory. The past few …

It has been asserted that recent mtDNA phylogenies support the plausibility of sympatric
speciation, long considered a controversial mechanism of the origin of species. If such …

Ecology affects each of the three principal processes leading to speciation: genetic
differentiation among populations within species, acquisition of reproductive isolation …

The extraordinary species richness of freshwater fishes has attracted much research on
mechanisms and modes of speciation. We here review research on speciation in freshwater …

Background The adaptive radiations of cichlid fishes in East Africa are well known for their
spectacular diversity and their astonishingly fast rates of speciation. About 80% of all 2,500 …

We propose a new mechanism for diversification of male nuptial–colour patterns in the
rapidly speciating cichlid fishes of Lake Victoria. Sympatric closely related species often …

The question of how genetic variation translates into organismal diversity has puzzled
biologists for decades. Despite recent advances in evolutionary and developmental …

Abstract With more than 3,000 species, the fish family Cichlidae is one of the most species-
rich families of vertebrates. Cichlids occur in southern and central America, Africa …

Abstract Models of adaptive speciation are typically concerned with demonstrating that it is
possible for ecologically driven disruptive selection to lead to the evolution of assortative …