Sexual reproduction in all animals depends on effective communication between signalers and receivers. Many fish species, especially the African cichlids, are well known for their bright coloration and the importance of visual signaling during courtship and mate choice, but little is known about what role acoustic communication plays during mating and how it contributes to sexual selection in t...

Background: There is much evidence indicating that natural substances from edible and medicinal plants possess powerful antioxidant and hepatoprotective activities. The objective of the present study was to investigate the potential hepatoprotective effect of silymarin in fish exposed to malathion. Methods: Zebra cichlid fish were allocated into five groups of which one group received norma...

Tilapia is the name of a group cichlid fish living in Africa that last half century, aquaculture tropics and subtropics have begun to breed. Cultivated species tilapia can usually be distinguished from each other by different patterns strips on tail fin. Nile brightly colored stripes their fins adult male gray or pink pigments throat. These Species are more resistant hypoxia, high salinity, tem...

Theory suggests that genetic polymorphisms in female mating preferences may cause disruptive selection on male traits, facilitating phenotypic differentiation despite gene flow, as in reinforcement or other models of speciation with gene flow. Very little experimental data have been published to test the assumptions regarding the genetics of mate choice that such theory relies on. We generated ...

It is still debated vigorously whether sexual selection can result in speciation without physical barriers to gene flow. In this study, we used field data and molecular methods to investigate the gold-normal color polymorphism in two endemic cichlid fish species of crater lake Xiloá, Nicaragua. We found significant assortative mating by color in both Amphilophus xiloaensis and A. sagittae. Focu...

Adaptive radiations provide an excellent opportunity for studying the correlates and causes for the origin of biodiversity. In these radiations, species diversity may be influenced by either the ecological and physical environment, intrinsic lineage effects, or both. Disentangling the relative contributions of these factors in generating biodiversity remains a major challenge in understanding w...

Fish must integrate information from multiple sensory systems to mediate adaptive behaviors. Visual, acoustic and chemosensory cues provide contextual information during social interactions, but the role of mechanosensory signals detected by the lateral line system during aggressive behaviors is unknown. The aim of this study was first to characterize the lateral line system of the African cich...