Haplochromis plagiodon

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	ACTINOPTERYGII	PERCIFORMES	CICHLIDAE

Scientific Name:	Haplochromis plagiodon
Species Authority:	Regan & Trewavas, 1928

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Vulnerable D2 ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2010

Assessor/s:

Witte, F., de Zeeuw, M.P. & Brooks, E.

Reviewer/s:

Darwall, W. & Smith, K.

Justification:
The population density of this species was known in the past. The current population density is not known, and the species has declined since the 1970s but has been confirmed to still occur in Lake Victoria in low numbers. The threat responsible for its dramatic decline in the early 1980s was the introduction of the Nile Perch (Lates niloticus) to Lake Victoria. It appears that the population trend is starting to increase, however there is an increasing risk of hybridisation as a result of decreased water transparency. It is not known to what extent this is affecting different areas of the lake, but its current distribution is likely restricted to only a few locations, and it is therefore assessed as Vulnerable.

History:

2006

–

Endangered (IUCN 2006)

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species is endemic to Lake Victoria. It has been recorded in surveys carried out in Tanzania and Uganda (Greenwood 1981).
Countries:	Native: Tanzania, United Republic of; Uganda
Range Map:	(click map to view full version)

Population [top]

Population:	The population of this species appears to be increasing. The results from a small trawl transect in the Mwanza Gulf (based on 60 catches from Feb-Jan) show the mean number caught per 10 minutes decrease from less than 2 in 1979/80 to 0 for 1987/88, but increases again to 0.9 for 1993/95. The figures for 2006/08 are still being sorted, but the population size is expected to have increased to more than 2, especially as the habitat has considerably extended.
Population Trend:	Increasing

Population:

The population of this species appears to be increasing. The results from a small trawl transect in the Mwanza Gulf (based on 60 catches from Feb-Jan) show the mean number caught per 10 minutes decrease from less than 2 in 1979/80 to 0 for 1987/88, but increases again to 0.9 for 1993/95. The figures for 2006/08 are still being sorted, but the population size is expected to have increased to more than 2, especially as the habitat has considerably extended.

Population Trend:

Increasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	The species has been found over sand and mud in the littoral and sub-littoral zone. The species is an oral shelling/crushing molluscivore.
Systems:	Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	The main threat to this species is predation by Nile Perch (a potentially reversible threat). It is also potentially threatened by hybridization due to decreased water transparency (on account of eutrophication and erosion leading to increased sedimentation and runoff) interfering with mate recognition visual cues (Mrosso et al. 2003).

Major Threat(s):

The main threat to this species is predation by Nile Perch (a potentially reversible threat). It is also potentially threatened by hybridization due to decreased water transparency (on account of eutrophication and erosion leading to increased sedimentation and runoff) interfering with mate recognition visual cues (Mrosso et al. 2003).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	None known, but the population trend of this species should continue to be monitored.

Conservation Actions:

None known, but the population trend of this species should continue to be monitored.

Citation:	Witte, F., de Zeeuw, M.P. & Brooks, E. 2010. Haplochromis plagiodon. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 09 February 2012.
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