Insight Into Trophic Niche Differentiation in Labeobarbus (Cyprinidae) in the Luhoho Basin (Upper Congo Basin)
ABSTRACT Mouth morphology plays a crucial role in determining the trophic ecology of fish and sometimes underpins important lineage diversification. Freshwater teleost fish species belonging to the genus Labeobarbus, commonly found in Africa, exhibit intra‐ and interspecific variation and difference...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71171 |
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| author | Tchalondawa Kisekelwa Wilondja Alimasi Mudagi Joyeuse Musombwa Kubota Heri Muzungu Archimède Mushagalusa Mulega Pieter Lemmens Emmanuel Vreven Jos Snoeks Mulungula Masilya Steven Bouillon Benjamin Lejeune |
| author_facet | Tchalondawa Kisekelwa Wilondja Alimasi Mudagi Joyeuse Musombwa Kubota Heri Muzungu Archimède Mushagalusa Mulega Pieter Lemmens Emmanuel Vreven Jos Snoeks Mulungula Masilya Steven Bouillon Benjamin Lejeune |
| author_sort | Tchalondawa Kisekelwa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Mouth morphology plays a crucial role in determining the trophic ecology of fish and sometimes underpins important lineage diversification. Freshwater teleost fish species belonging to the genus Labeobarbus, commonly found in Africa, exhibit intra‐ and interspecific variation and differences in the lower jaw occurring within and between species, respectively. Different phenotypes include a curved U‐shape (‘rubberlips’), a straight lower jaw (‘chiselmouth’) and an intermediate morphology known as the smiling phenotype. In some cases, smiling originates from hybridisation between chiselmouth and rubberlips. However, the trophic relationships of different mouth morphologies in the Labeobarbus taxa are still not well understood, particularly in the Congo Basin. Understanding the trophic ecology of Labeobarbus can enhance understanding of adaptive processes in morphologically diverse lineages. This study aims to investigate how differences in mouth morphology among multiple Labeobarbus species in the Luhoho River (Upper Congo Basin) link with different trophic niche uses. We combined information from gut morphometry, gut contents and stable isotope analyses on 202 fish specimens representing six species across four tributaries of the Middle Luhoho. All approaches consistently revealed trophic niche partitioning between chiselmouth and rubberlip species, respectively, more herbivorous/detritivorous and more insectivorous on the omnivory spectrum. In addition, trophic differences were also found between species within each mouth phenotype. Interestingly, the trophic niche of the smiling phenotype differed strongly from those of other phenotypes at all sites except for L. paucisquamatus, for which the trophic niches overlapped in Tchinganda. The pattern of trophic niche of Labeobarbus suggests subtle strategies to partition feeding resources when they occur across a narrow hydrographic scale. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8a930ab6c2234b4dab605274de922a02 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj-art-8a930ab6c2234b4dab605274de922a022025-08-20T03:26:55ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582025-04-01154n/an/a10.1002/ece3.71171Insight Into Trophic Niche Differentiation in Labeobarbus (Cyprinidae) in the Luhoho Basin (Upper Congo Basin)Tchalondawa Kisekelwa0Wilondja Alimasi1Mudagi Joyeuse2Musombwa Kubota3Heri Muzungu4Archimède Mushagalusa Mulega5Pieter Lemmens6Emmanuel Vreven7Jos Snoeks8Mulungula Masilya9Steven Bouillon10Benjamin Lejeune11Centre for Research in Biodiversity, Ecology, Evolution and Conservation (CRBEC) Bukavu Democratic Republic of the CongoCentre for Research in Biodiversity, Ecology, Evolution and Conservation (CRBEC) Bukavu Democratic Republic of the CongoCentre for Research in Biodiversity, Ecology, Evolution and Conservation (CRBEC) Bukavu Democratic Republic of the CongoCentre for Research in Biodiversity, Ecology, Evolution and Conservation (CRBEC) Bukavu Democratic Republic of the CongoCentre for Research in Biodiversity, Ecology, Evolution and Conservation (CRBEC) Bukavu Democratic Republic of the CongoDépartement de Biologie Centre de Recherche en Hydrobiologie (CRH) d'Uvira Uvira Democratic Republic of the CongoLaboratory of Aquatic Ecology, Evolution & Conservation, Biology Department KU Leuven Leuven BelgiumVertebrates Section, Ichthyology Royal Museum for Central Africa Tervuren BelgiumVertebrates Section, Ichthyology Royal Museum for Central Africa Tervuren BelgiumCentre for Research in Biodiversity, Ecology, Evolution and Conservation (CRBEC) Bukavu Democratic Republic of the CongoDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences KU Leuven Leuven BelgiumDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences KU Leuven Leuven BelgiumABSTRACT Mouth morphology plays a crucial role in determining the trophic ecology of fish and sometimes underpins important lineage diversification. Freshwater teleost fish species belonging to the genus Labeobarbus, commonly found in Africa, exhibit intra‐ and interspecific variation and differences in the lower jaw occurring within and between species, respectively. Different phenotypes include a curved U‐shape (‘rubberlips’), a straight lower jaw (‘chiselmouth’) and an intermediate morphology known as the smiling phenotype. In some cases, smiling originates from hybridisation between chiselmouth and rubberlips. However, the trophic relationships of different mouth morphologies in the Labeobarbus taxa are still not well understood, particularly in the Congo Basin. Understanding the trophic ecology of Labeobarbus can enhance understanding of adaptive processes in morphologically diverse lineages. This study aims to investigate how differences in mouth morphology among multiple Labeobarbus species in the Luhoho River (Upper Congo Basin) link with different trophic niche uses. We combined information from gut morphometry, gut contents and stable isotope analyses on 202 fish specimens representing six species across four tributaries of the Middle Luhoho. All approaches consistently revealed trophic niche partitioning between chiselmouth and rubberlip species, respectively, more herbivorous/detritivorous and more insectivorous on the omnivory spectrum. In addition, trophic differences were also found between species within each mouth phenotype. Interestingly, the trophic niche of the smiling phenotype differed strongly from those of other phenotypes at all sites except for L. paucisquamatus, for which the trophic niches overlapped in Tchinganda. The pattern of trophic niche of Labeobarbus suggests subtle strategies to partition feeding resources when they occur across a narrow hydrographic scale.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71171freshwater fish ecologyisotopic nichemouth morphologyniche differentiationtrait divergencetrophic lineage diversification |
| spellingShingle | Tchalondawa Kisekelwa Wilondja Alimasi Mudagi Joyeuse Musombwa Kubota Heri Muzungu Archimède Mushagalusa Mulega Pieter Lemmens Emmanuel Vreven Jos Snoeks Mulungula Masilya Steven Bouillon Benjamin Lejeune Insight Into Trophic Niche Differentiation in Labeobarbus (Cyprinidae) in the Luhoho Basin (Upper Congo Basin) Ecology and Evolution freshwater fish ecology isotopic niche mouth morphology niche differentiation trait divergence trophic lineage diversification |
| title | Insight Into Trophic Niche Differentiation in Labeobarbus (Cyprinidae) in the Luhoho Basin (Upper Congo Basin) |
| title_full | Insight Into Trophic Niche Differentiation in Labeobarbus (Cyprinidae) in the Luhoho Basin (Upper Congo Basin) |
| title_fullStr | Insight Into Trophic Niche Differentiation in Labeobarbus (Cyprinidae) in the Luhoho Basin (Upper Congo Basin) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Insight Into Trophic Niche Differentiation in Labeobarbus (Cyprinidae) in the Luhoho Basin (Upper Congo Basin) |
| title_short | Insight Into Trophic Niche Differentiation in Labeobarbus (Cyprinidae) in the Luhoho Basin (Upper Congo Basin) |
| title_sort | insight into trophic niche differentiation in labeobarbus cyprinidae in the luhoho basin upper congo basin |
| topic | freshwater fish ecology isotopic niche mouth morphology niche differentiation trait divergence trophic lineage diversification |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71171 |
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