Alcolapia grahami

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

Bibliography

View Printer Friendly

Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	ACTINOPTERYGII	PERCIFORMES	CICHLIDAE

Scientific Name:	Alcolapia grahami
Species Authority:	(Boulenger, 1912)
Taxonomic Notes:	Also reported under the old names Tilapia grahami and Oreochromis (Alcolapia) alcalicus grahami. Specific rank according to Seegers and Tichy (1999). Reported as Tilapia mossambica (non Peters, 1852) by Woodhouse (1912), a misidentification.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Vulnerable D2 ver 3.1
Year Assessed:	2006
Assessor/s:	Bayona, J. & Akinyi, E.
Reviewer/s:	Snoeks, J. (Freshwater Fish Red List Authority) & Darwall, W. (Freshwater Biodiversity Assessment Programme)
Justification: The natural range of this species is restricted to a single location: Lake Magadi. Current threats are not certain, however the population is thought to be declining.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Lake Magadi. Introduced in Lake Nakuru in 1953, 1959 and 1962 (Vareschi 1979). Possibly also introduced in Lake Elmenteita. Lake Natron in Tanzania (Lever 1996).
Countries:	Native: Kenya; Tanzania, United Republic of
Range Map:	(click map to view full version)

Population [top]

Population:	No information available.
Population Trend:	Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Lives in springs and lagoons around the edge of the lake. Occurs in generally unfavourable environmental conditions for fishes (water temperature, chemical composition) (Seegers and Tichy 1999). Primary food sources are blue-green algae (90%), Crustacea (Copepods) and dipteran larvae. Has no marked breeding season. The male has a breeding territory and constructs a pit of about 15 cm in diameter where he tries to attract females to spawn. No firm pair bond relationship. Female is a mouthbrooder, brooding period two weeks (Seegers and Tichy 1999). Max. size: 69.0 mm SL (Seegers and Tichy 1999).
Systems:	Freshwater

Habitat and Ecology:

Lives in springs and lagoons around the edge of the lake. Occurs in generally unfavourable environmental conditions for fishes (water temperature, chemical composition) (Seegers and Tichy 1999). Primary food sources are blue-green algae (90%), Crustacea (Copepods) and dipteran larvae. Has no marked breeding season. The male has a breeding territory and constructs a pit of about 15 cm in diameter where he tries to attract females to spawn. No firm pair bond relationship. Female is a mouthbrooder, brooding period two weeks (Seegers and Tichy 1999). Max. size: 69.0 mm SL (Seegers and Tichy 1999).

Systems:

Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Not certain but population thought to be declining.

Major Threat(s):

Not certain but population thought to be declining.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	None known.

Conservation Actions:

None known.

Bibliography [top]

	IUCN. 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 04 May 2006. Lever, C. 1996. Naturalized Fishes of the World. Academic Press. Seegers, L. and Tichy, H. 1999. The Oreochromis alcalicus flock (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Natron and Magadi, Tanzania and Kenya, with descriptions of two new species. Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters 10(2): 97–146 Vareschi, E. 1979. The ecology of Lake Nakuru (Kenya). II. Biomass and spatial distribution of fish. Oecologia 37: 321–335 Woodhouse, G.W. 1912. The fish in Lake Magadi. Journal of East Africa Uganda Natural History Society 2: 95–97.

IUCN. 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 04 May 2006.

Lever, C. 1996. Naturalized Fishes of the World. Academic Press.

Seegers, L. and Tichy, H. 1999. The Oreochromis alcalicus flock (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Natron and Magadi, Tanzania and Kenya, with descriptions of two new species. Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters 10(2): 97–146

Vareschi, E. 1979. The ecology of Lake Nakuru (Kenya). II. Biomass and spatial distribution of fish. Oecologia 37: 321–335

Woodhouse, G.W. 1912. The fish in Lake Magadi. Journal of East Africa Uganda Natural History Society 2: 95–97.

Citation:	Bayona, J. & Akinyi, E. 2006. Alcolapia grahami. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 10 February 2012.
Disclaimer:	To make use of this information, please check the <Terms of Use>.
Feedback:	If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown on this page, please fill in the feedback form so that we can correct or extend the information provided