Trophic specialization and morphological divergence between two sympatric species in Lake Catemaco, Mexico.

The association of morphological divergence with ecological segregation among closely related species could be considered as a signal of divergent selection in ecological speciation processes. Environmental signals such as diet can trigger phenotypic evolution, making polymorphic species valuable systems for studying the evolution of trophic-related traits. The main goal of this study was to analyze the association between morphological differences in trophic-related traits and ecological divergence in two sympatric species, Astyanax aeneus and A. caballeroi, inhabiting Lake Catemaco, Mexico. The trophic differences of a total of 70 individuals (35 A. aeneus and 35 A. caballeroi) were examined using stable isotopes and gut content analysis; a subset of the sample was used to characterize six trophic and six ecomorphological variables. In our results, we recovered significant differences between both species in the values of stable isotopes, with higher values of δ15N for A. caballeroi than for A. aeneus. Gut content results were consistent with the stable isotope data, with a higher proportion of invertebrates in A. caballeroi (a consumption of invertebrates ten times higher than that of A. aeneus, which in turn consumed three times more vegetal material than A. caballeroi). Finally, we found significant relationship between ecomorphology and stable isotopes (r = .24, p < .01), hence, head length, preorbital length, eye diameter, and δ15N were all positively correlated; these characteristics correspond to A. caballeroi. While longer gut and gill rakers, deeper bodies, and vegetal material consumption were positively correlated and corresponded to A. aeneus. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that morphological divergence in trophic-related traits could be associated with niche partitioning, allowing the coexistence of closely related species and reducing interspecific competition.

Fish functional groups in a tropical wetland of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

La caracterización de los rasgos funcionales de las especies es un paso importante en la comprensión y descripción de las comunidades en hábitats naturales. La clasificación de especies en grupos funcionales es una herramienta útil para identificar la redundancia y la especialización. Se estudió la comunidad de peces de un humedal prístino de agua dulce en la Reserva de la Biosfera de Sian Ka'an, analizando dos funciones multidimensionales: adquisición de alimento y la locomoción. Analizamos los cambios en la estructura de los grupos funcional entre hábitats (permanentes y temporales) y temporadas (lluvias y secas). Seis grupos funcionales con características ecológicas distintas fueron detectados, dos de los cuales presentaron una alta redundancia funcional y tres de ellos están representados únicamente por una especie con una función ecológica particular. En las pozas permanentes durante la temporada de secas, la riqueza y diversidad de grupos funcionales fueron menores; mientras que la equitatividad de grupos funcionales fue mayor. Durante la temporada de lluvias se detectaron todos los grupos funcionales y la estructura de los grupos fue similar entre los hábitat. Estos resultados sugieren que los filtros ambientales tienen un efecto durante la temporada de secas y la complementariedad de nicho durante la temporada de lluvias.

The characterization of species' functional traits is a major step in the understanding and description of communities in natural habitats. The classification of species into functional groups is a useful tool to identify redundancy and uniqueness. We studied the fish community of a pristine freshwater wetland in the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve by analysing two multidimensional functions: food acquisition and locomotion. We investigated changes in the functional group structure between habitats (permanent and temporary pools) and seasons (dry and wet). Six functional groups with different ecological characteristics were detected, two of which had high functional redundancy and three of them were represented by single species with unique ecological functions. In permanent pools during the dry season, functional group richness and diversity were lower, while evenness was higher. During the wet season, all functional groups were detected and similar functional group structure was found between habitats. These results suggest an effect of environmental filtering during the dry season and niche complementarity during the wet season.