Project R-7967

Reconstructing Nile tilapia stocking in Africa: parasites, nextgeneration-sequencing and museum collections (Research)

Nile tilapia is one of the most important fish species in aquaculture in Africa. For this reason it has been introduced in many countries outside its native range. The reverse side of this medal, however, is that unintentionally-introduced Nile tilapia can become a threat to the indigenous fish fauna, in part because they introduce alien parasites. Indeed, introduction of invasive species is regarded the second leading cause of species extinction and endangerment worldwide. The historical introduction of Nile tilapia in African countries is badly documented, and its impact on the native fish fauna in terms of parasite introduction is underexplored. In this project we will try to disentangle the historical introduction of Nile tilapia in three African regions: the (former) province of Katanga (Democratic Republic of Congo), the Sanaga basin (Cameroon) and the middle Zambezi basin (Zimbabwe), based on genetic analyses of the fish and of the monogenean flatworm parasites they carry. In a second part of the project, we will assess whether the introduction of Nile tilapia has led to the introduction of alien parasites (monogenean flatworms), and whether these parasites have managed to switch from their original host (Nile tilapia) to new, native hosts. A comparative analysis between different geographic localities that includes several biotic and abiotic factors will try to uncover the factors that drive species introductions and host-switching events.

01 October 2017 - 30 September 2021