Haplochromis piceatus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

Bibliography

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	ACTINOPTERYGII	PERCIFORMES	CICHLIDAE

Scientific Name:	Haplochromis piceatus
Species Authority:	Greenwood & Gee, 1969
Synonym/s:	Astatotilapia piceata (Greenwood & Gee, 1969) Astatotilapia piceatus (Greenwood & Gee, 1969)

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Vulnerable D2 ver 3.1

Year Published:

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 it is thought to still occur in Lake Victoria. The threat responsible for its dramatic decline in the early 1980s was the introduction of the Nile Perch (Lates niloticus) to Lake Victoria. 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:

2007	–	Critically Endangered (IUCN 2009.2)
2006	–	Critically Endangered (IUCN 2006)
1996	–	Endangered
1996	–	Endangered (Baillie and Groombridge 1996)

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species is endemic to Lake Victoria. It has been recorded in surveys carried out in Tanzania.
Countries:	Native: Tanzania, United Republic of
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	This species has declined in numbers dramatically since 1980. 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 dropped from 122 in 1979/80 to 0 for 1987/88 and 1993/95, and about 0.1 for 2006/08. A large trawl transect carried out in northern Mwanza Gulf (based on 7 catches in 1978, and 69 in 1987) showed a drop from a mean of 7,600 caught per hour in 1978 to 0 in 1987. Although there is no information from recent large trawls, it is not expected that this species has been wiped out completely.
Population Trend:	Unknown

Population:

This species has declined in numbers dramatically since 1980. 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 dropped from 122 in 1979/80 to 0 for 1987/88 and 1993/95, and about 0.1 for 2006/08. A large trawl transect carried out in northern Mwanza Gulf (based on 7 catches in 1978, and 69 in 1987) showed a drop from a mean of 7,600 caught per hour in 1978 to 0 in 1987. Although there is no information from recent large trawls, it is not expected that this species has been wiped out completely.

Population Trend:

Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	This is a pelagic species from the littoral and sub-littoral zone. The species has been found over sand and mud. It is classified as a zooplanktivore.
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. Habitat restoration is required to protect the species from further degradation.

Conservation Actions:

None known, but the population trend of this species should continue to be monitored. Habitat restoration is required to protect the species from further degradation.

Bibliography [top]

	Greenwood, P.H. and Gee, J.M. 1969. A revision of the Lake Victoria Haplochromis species (Pisces, Cichlidae), Part VII. Bulletin British Museum of Natural History (Zoology) 18(1): 1-65. IUCN. 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2010.3). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 2 September 2010). Mrosso, H.J.D., Msuku, B.S. and Seehausen, O. 2003. Relationships between water transparency and species richness of surviving haplochromines encountered in selected habitats in Mwanza gulf- Lake Victoria (In press). Tanzania Journal of Science.

Greenwood, P.H. and Gee, J.M. 1969. A revision of the Lake Victoria Haplochromis species (Pisces, Cichlidae), Part VII. Bulletin British Museum of Natural History (Zoology) 18(1): 1-65.

IUCN. 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2010.3). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 2 September 2010).

Mrosso, H.J.D., Msuku, B.S. and Seehausen, O. 2003. Relationships between water transparency and species richness of surviving haplochromines encountered in selected habitats in Mwanza gulf- Lake Victoria (In press). Tanzania Journal of Science.

Citation:	Witte, F., de Zeeuw, M.P. & Brooks, E. 2010. Haplochromis piceatus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 25 May 2012.
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