Broad niche overlap between invasive Nile tilapia oreochromis niloticus and indigenous congenerics in Southern Africa : should we be concerned?

dc.contributor.authorBooth, Anthony J.
dc.contributor.authorZengeya, Tsungai Alfred
dc.contributor.authorChimimba, Christian Timothy
dc.contributor.emailctchimimba@zoology.up.ac.zaen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2016-02-17T09:36:25Z
dc.date.available2016-02-17T09:36:25Z
dc.date.issued2015-07-14
dc.description.abstractThis study developed niche models for the native ranges of Oreochromis andersonii, O. mortimeri, and O. mossambicus, and assessed how much of their range is climatically suitable for the establishment of O. niloticus, and then reviewed the conservation implications for indigenous congenerics as a result of overlap with O. niloticus based on documented congeneric interactions. The predicted potential geographical range of O. niloticus reveals a broad climatic suitability over most of southern Africa and overlaps with all the endemic congenerics. This is of major conservation concern because six of the eight river systems predicted to be suitable for O. niloticus have already been invaded and now support established populations. Oreochromis niloticus has been implicated in reducing the abundance of indigenous species through competitive exclusion and hybridisation. Despite these well-documented adverse ecological effects, O. niloticus remains one of the most widely cultured and propagated fish species in aquaculture and stock enhancements in the southern Africa sub-region. Aquaculture is perceived as a means of protein security, poverty alleviation, and economic development and, as such, any future decisions on its introduction will be based on the trade-off between socio-economic benefits and potential adverse ecological effects.en_ZA
dc.description.librarianam2015en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipThe South African Working for Water (WfW) Programme through the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology (CIB), University of Pretoria, South Africa. It also benefited from partial funding from the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI).en_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://www.mdpi.com/journal/entropyen_ZA
dc.identifier.citationZengeya, TA, Booth, AJ & Chimimba, CT 2015, 'Broad niche overlap between invasive Nile tilapia oreochromis niloticus and indigenous congenerics in Southern Africa : should we be concerned?', Entropy, vol. 17, pp. 4959-4973.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn1099-4300
dc.identifier.other:10.3390/e17074959
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/51426
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherMDPI Publishingen_ZA
dc.rights© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license.en_ZA
dc.subjectEcological niche modellingen_ZA
dc.subjectInvasionen_ZA
dc.subjectIndigenous fishesen_ZA
dc.subjectNile tilapiaen_ZA
dc.subjectConservationen_ZA
dc.subjectSouthern Africaen_ZA
dc.titleBroad niche overlap between invasive Nile tilapia oreochromis niloticus and indigenous congenerics in Southern Africa : should we be concerned?en_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA

Files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Zengeya_Broad_2015.pdf
Size:
2.8 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Article

License bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: