Reproductive biology, length-weight relationship and relative condition of Tilapia leucosticta (Trewavas) in Lake Naivasha, Kenya

In Lake Naivasha Tilapia leucosticta (Trewavas) spawns throughout the year. Males attain maturity at 180 mm and females at 160 mm total length. Males predominate over females in the catches (sex ratio 1-00 : 0-51). Fecundity ranged from 320 to 1328 eggs with an average of 751. The relationship between fecundity (F) and total length (L), body weight (W) and gonad weight (GW) is:
The length-weight regression coefficient is near to the cube. There is little seasonal fluctuation in relative condition of the fishes.     

Reproductive biology of Tilapia zillii (Gervais) in Lake Naivasha,Kenya

Synopsis Tilapia zillii breeds all year round in the equatorial Lake Naivasha with slightly high breeding intensity during wet months (March, May and July–August). A sex ratio of 1 : 1.28 was found between males and females. The smallest mature male and female were 9.0 and 11.0 cm respectively. The fecundity ranged from 2990 to 12344 eggs, with a mean of 6606 eggs. Fecundity showed a curvilinear relationship with total length (log F = 1.7034 + 1.6370 log L) and a linear relationship with body weight (F = 2197 + 28.76 W)     

Breeding behavioural pattern of the lake fish Tilapia discolour Gunther (Teleostei, Cichlidae) in captivity

Close observation of the breeding activities of specimens of Tilapia discolour obtained from Lake Bosomtwe and held captive in glass aquaria, a net cage and a pond showed that this species practises substrate-brooding; the eggs were incubated and hatched in prepared nests. However, brief egg-carrying tendencies were observed; both the male and female brood fish carried the eggs in their mouths from the sites of spawning to new sites. Both sexes also made and guarded the nests, incubated the eggs and provided protection to the young fry.     

Tilapia (Teleostei: Cichlidae) status in Nicaraguan natural waters

We surveyed the watersheds covering more than 80% of the surface area of Nicaragua, and review the history of deliberate introductions and unintentional invasion of tilapias, Oreochromis spp., into the freshwater of Nicaragua. The species have become widely established, with a range of negative consequences for the rich natural fish fauna of this Central American country. Tilapias compete directly with native cichlids in a number of ways, and have also supplanted native species as food fish in local markets. We suggest that introduced tilapias may have been responsible for the outbreak of blindness in native cichlids. We make recommendations on the management of these exotic species and on further introductions. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Fish habitat suitability and community structure in the equatorial Lake Naivasha,Kenya

Habitat suitability indices indicate how fish species respond to different habitat types. We assessed effects of habitat characteristics on fish distribution in an equatorial lake, Lake Naivasha, Kenya, where habitats vary according to substrate, depth and turbidity. Using monthly data between 2008 and 2010 using multi-mesh gill nets, catch per unit effort was used as a relative abundance measure to identify how habitat variables drive fish distribution. The focus was on commercial fishes: two introduced species (Cyprinus carpio and Micropterus salmoides) and two naturalised species (Oreochromis leucostictus and Tilapia zillii). Analyses revealed distinct preferences for different habitat variables by all commercial species except for C. carpio. For example, O. leucostictus preferred shallow waters with silt–clay substrates whilst M. salmoides preferred deeper waters with sandy/rocky substrates. Conversely, C. carpio showed no specialised habitat requirements. Niche overlaps were significantly lower between O. leucostictus and its respective sympatric species than between other species, a likely result of its territorial behaviour. The continued environmental degradation of Lake Naivasha may imperil the preferred habitats of the niche restricted M. salmoides, O. leucostictus and T. zillii. By contrast, the ubiquity of C. carpio may facilitate their invasion, and consequently sustain their dominance in the lake’s commercial fishery.     

Analysis of trophic relationships in two shallow equatorial lakes Lake Naivasha (Kenya) and Lake Ihema (Rwanda) using a multispecifies trophic model

A multispecifies trophic model called ECOPATH II, which can be used to describe the trophic relationships in aquatic ecosystems on a quantitative basis, is briefly presented. When properly used, it can help to explain the trophic relationships in ecosystems and possible evolution of fishstocks after modifications of the environment (e.g. eutrophication, introduction of a new population and/or a significant increase of the fishing effort), and to compare the trophic structure of several ecosystems. Examples are provided on two shallow lakes: Lake Ihema and Lake Naivasha. They are compared with Lake George which was previously documented.     

Magnetic susceptibilities of lake sediment and soils on the shoreline of Lake Naivasha,Kenya

On steep, unvegetated slopes, sands (particle sizes 0.063 to 2 mm) and gravels (2–64 mm) erode from the shoreline of Lake Naivasha (Kenya) and enter the lake basin. This occurred freely where fringing papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) swamp had been cleared in favour of landing jetties or agriculture. Gravel-sized particles have been recovered up to 60 m offshore and sands to 80 m. In an area where papyrus was undisturbed and the swamp margin was 52 m wide, gravel did not enter the lake and sands penetrated to around 35 m. Large particles are much easier to trace to source and to manage than the finer silts and clays (<0.63 m) that form the bulk of Lake Naivasha's sediment. The pattern of mass specific magnetic susceptibilities for the <63 m fraction of lake sediment around the southern shoreline of the lake suggests that fine particles enter open water directly from the shoreline and are not transported from the lake's only perennial inflow, the River Malewa in the north. Such particles originate from a hinterland that supports high intensity horticulture and are therefore a potential source of contamination. Mean ± SD susceptibility (_If) immediately offshore papyrus fringe was 0.49 ± 0.08 × 10^-6 m³ kg^-1 compared with higher values of 1.33 ± 0.14 × 10^-6 m³ kg^-1 where there was no papyrus barrier (P<0.0001). The value for five sites in the middle parts of the lake was 0.45 ± 0.02 × 10^-6 m³ kg^-1 with 1.38 ± 0.10 × 10^-6 m³ kg^-1 near the mouth of the River Malewa. The results of this study are evidence, therefore, that conservation of a continuous papyrus margin of about 50 m width is a priority for intercepting particulate material.     

Midwater spawning inHaplochromis chrysonotus (Boulenger) (Teleostei: Cichlidae) in Lake Malawi

Synopsis Haplochromis chrysonotus, a semipelagic shoaling cichlid from Lake Malawi, has been observed spawning in open water up to ten metres above the substratum. It is suggested that open water spawning without the establishment of a substratum-based territory eliminates competition with other species for breeding space and that it may be a stage in the evolution of a totally pelagic mode of life.     

Aspects of the biology of Tilapia mossambica Peters (Pisces: Cichlidae) in a natural freshwater lake (Lake Sibaya, South Africa)

An account is given of some aspects of the biology of Tilapia mossambica Peters in Lake Sibaya, South Africa. Lake Sibaya is a warm shallow coastal lake with extensive shallow terraces in the littoral which shelve abruptly into underwater valleys. The substrate is predominantly sandy. Aquatic macrophytes are generally restricted to water 1–7 m deep. Adult fishes (over 8 cm standard length) are usually absent from water deeper than 12m and shallower than 0–5 m, whereas juveniles may occur at all depths, and fry only in very shallow water.
T. mossambica inhabits the littoral and sublittoral in the warm and transition periods (August–April) but moves into deep water in the cool season (May–July). Exposed and sheltered areas are utilized for different purposes by adult fishes, the former for nesting, and latter for feeding and mouth–brooding. Habitat selection by males is governed by the availability of suitable nest sites. Nests are most common in sparsely–vegetated sheltered areas. Brooding females preferred sheltered littoral areas but ventured onto the terrace to release the fry. Juveniles and fry inhabited exposed shores with a temperature gradient which reversed diurnally. The breeding, shoaling and feeding behaviour is described. The biology of T. mossambica in Lake Sibaya is compared to data on the same, and similar species, in other systems. The utilization of available resources in the lake by T. mossambica is discussed and reference is made to the importance of the retention of generalized characters for the successful habitation of the cyclically–renewed habitat of the littoral.     

Primary producer dynamics associated with evaporative concentration in a shallow,equatorial soda lake (Lake Elmenteita,Kenya)

Lake Elmenteita (0°27S, 36°15E) lies on the floor of the rift valley at 1776 m above sea level in Kenya. As a consequence of lower than average rainfall, the mean depth decreased from 1.1 to 0.65 m during the study period (February 1973 to August 1974). The initiation of major biological changes coincided with a period of rapid evaporative concentration in 1973 (February to April) when the conductivity increased from 19.1 to 27.0 mmhmos cm^-1. Spirulina platensis, Spirulina laxissima and Anabaenopsis arnoldii decreased in abundance precipitously in parallel with large declines in chlorophyll a concentration and phytoplankton photosynthetic rates. Once the overall abundance of phytoplankton had declined and the transparency had increased, primary productivity by benthic algae increased significantly. Paradiaptomus africanus, the only copepod living in the lake, was abundant in February and March 1973, but was gone by May. Eight hypotheses to explain these changes are evaluated and converge on the suggestion that a rate of change of salinity greater than 5 mmhmos cm^-1 per month and a salinity exceeding 25 mmhmos cm^-1 cannot be tolerated by P. africanus and adversely effects the nitrogen fixer, A. arnoldii. Furthermore, the loss of P. africanus and oxygenation of the sediments by benthic algae reduce the rate of recyling of nutrients which alters phytoplankton abundance and species composition.     

Changes in fish species composition in Lake Naivasha,Kenya

The fish species composition in Lake Naivasha has been modified during recent years. Out of seven introduced and one indigenous species reported in 1962, only three introduced ones are found today. The elimination of species has been brought about by predation and changing ecological conditions. The most common fish species today is Sarotherodon leucosticuus. The hybridization found by previous workers between S. leucostictus x S. spilurus niger has stopped, as S. s. niger is no longer found in the lake. Most of the hybrid characters have been lost by the few surviving hybrids due to backcrossing between hybrids and between hybrids and S. leucostictus. The hybrids now mostly resemble S. leucostictus.     

Feeding of the exotic Louisiana red swamp crayfish,Procambarus clarkii (Crustacea,Decapoda), in an African tropical lake: Lake Naivasha,Kenya

The Louisiana red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, has had a major impact on aquatic ecosystems in Europe and America where it has been introduced for human consumption. In Lake Naivasha, where it was introduced in 1970, it is suspected of causing the complete disappearance of native floating-leaved and submerged plants by 1982 and again by 1996; recovery of submerged plants occurred in between, concurrent with a decline in P. clarkii. Examination of the feeding of P. clarkii by microscopic analysis of gut contents collected from the lake confirmed information from both its native and exotic ranges; that it is an omnivore with green plants and insects the predominant items recognised. Feeding experiments confirmed this omnivory, with a preference from herbivory over carnivory. They further showed the importance of native plants as opposed to exotic water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes. It is concluded that P. clarkii could well have accounted for the observed elimination of native plant species in Lake Naivasha; the cyclical nature of populations of submerged plant species and of P. clarkii in inverse proportion to each other lead us to hypothesise that P. clarkii is a `keystone' species in the lake ecosystem.     

Phytoplankton community structure and succession in the water column of Lake Naivasha,Kenya: a shallow tropical lake

Lake Naivasha is a shallow freshwater lake in the Rift Valley of Kenya. Since the 1980s, when the lake showed a seasonal shift between diatom and cyanobacterial dominance it has become moderately eutrophic. Its algal assemblage is now dominated by a persistent Aulacoseira italica population both numerically and in terms of contribution to overall primary production. Algal and cyanobacterial counts were used to derive Simpson's diversity, succession rate and total community succession, focusing on the 10 most numerically abundant taxa. 170 species were identified, 43 of which were in common with the 143 found in 1979–80, before the increase in trophic state. Most diatoms are indicators of moderate to high nutrient conditions. There is little horizontal or vertical variation in successional processes throughout the lake and although the absolute abundance of cells varies widely, proportional composition is relatively stable. In Crescent Island lagoon, the only regularly stratified site, hypolimnetic succession rates are lower than those in the epilimnion. Overall, community composition is controlled by mixing (and hence light regime) and nutrient availability. With `endless summer' conditions and full mixing, there is a successional pattern of `muted seasonality' adapted to physical instability and environmental stability.     

The growth of Tilapia mossambica Peters (Pisces: Cichlidae) in Lake Sibaya, South Africa

The scales of Tilapia mossambica Peters * from Lake Sibaya show clear rings formed by broken, widely-spaced circuli in the anterior field. In order to determine the rate and time of scale ring formation, the number of circuli in the marginal increment was determined. Five scales from the pectoral region of 2223 fishes caught at regular intervals over two years were examined. When plotted as histograms, the number of circuli in the marginal increment showed a sharp movement to the left in September–October and again in January, indicating that the rings were formed during these months in the majority of fish examined. Pre- and postbreeding feeding migrations, and increases in condition factor, were associated with scale ring formation. Otoliths and opercula were also examined for age determination. Annual length increments were calculated for 450 T. mossambica collected throughout the year, and growth curves plotted. T. mossambica from Sibaya reach maturity after one year at a standard length of about 8 cm in females, and after two years at 10 cm in males. The breeding population had a standard length mode of 11–12 cm in females and 17 cm in males. The maximum final size was about 24 cm.