New markers for new species: microsatellite loci and the East African cichlids

The radiation of the East African cichlid fishes has engaged biologists for over a century. Because so much taxonomic diversity has evolved recently, they are an ideal natural system in which to study the process of speciatio n. Hypervariable microsatellite loci have been used to verify multiple pate rnity and maternity in cichlid broods, to quantify the fitness of cooperati ve breeders and reproductive parasites, to estimate effective population si zes in captive populations, and to illuminate the spatial and temporal scal e of gene flow among natural populations, The patterns that have emerged fr o m these studies often reflect important biological differences among taxa . The cichlid species of East Africa represent a Targe amount of taxonomic and adaptive diversity all neatly packaged into a single lineage and confin ed to a modest geographical area. Data from microsatellite loci are now pro viding us with the means to understand one of the world's most intriguing a nd instructive comparative evolutionary systems.