Given the great success of the first special issue on “Cichlid Evolution: Lessons in Diversification”, which will published later this year and include several high-quality research and review papers on cichlid evolution, a decision has been made to publish special issues on cichlid evolution on an annual basis.

Cichlid fishes have long been a well-established evolutionary model system, and with the development of an increasing number of genetic and genomic resources, including the recent sequencing of four cichlid genomes, cichlids are poised to garner even greater attention in future evolutionary research. For the 2012 special issue, we invite investigators to contribute original research as well as review articles that seek to advance our knowledge of mechanisms underlying processes involved in generating and maintaining the tremendous diversity of cichlid fishes. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Advances in phylogenetics, phylogeography, and population genetics
• Genomic and transcriptomic research
• Role of behavioral and ecological specializations in cichlid diversification
• Ecological interactions between cichlid species or between cichlids and other organisms
• Physiological/morphological adaptations to particular environments
• Importance of hybridization for generating diversity
• Sexual versus natural selection
• Evolution of developmental mechanisms
• Conservation biology/genetics and the anthropogenic effects on cichlid diversity

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijeb/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/ according to the following timetable: