Astatoreochromis Alluaudi (A Fish, No Common Name) Ecological Risk Screening Summary

Astatoreochromis alluaudi (a fish, no common name) Ecological Risk Screening Summary

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, April 2011 Revised, February 2019 Web Version, 8/19/2019

Photo by: G. Banyankimbona. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported. Available: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Astatoreochromis-alluaudi-LakeRweru-GB.jpg. (February 2019).

1 Native Range and Status in the United States Native Range From Froese and Pauly (2019):

“Africa: Lakes Victoria, Kyoga, Edward, George, Nabugabo, Kachira and Nakavali; rivers and streams associated with these lakes.”

From CABI (2019):

“The native range of A. alluaudi encompasses the lakes of Victoria, George, Edward, Kyoga, Nakavali, Rugwiro, Mugesera, Ihema, Nabugabo, Kachira, Cyohoha, Kivu and rivers and streams associated with these lakes (found in the countries Tanzania, Uganda, Kenyak, Rwanda and Burundi) [Greenwood 1959; Banyankimbona et al. 2013].”

Status in the United States There are no records of Astatoreochromis alluaudi in the wild or in trade in the United States.

Means of Introductions in the United States There are no records of Astatoreochromis alluaudi in the United States.

Remarks A search was done using the valid name Astatoreochromis alluaudi and the synonym Astatoreochromis alluaudi occidentalis (Fricke et al. 2019).

2 Biology and Ecology Taxonomic Hierarchy and Taxonomic Standing From Fricke et al. (2019):

“Current status: Valid as Astatoreochromis alluaudi Pellegrin 1904.”

From ITIS (2019):

“Kingdom Animalia Subkingdom Bilateria Infrakingdom Deuterostomia Phylum Chordata Subphylum Vertebrata Infraphylum Gnathostomata Superclass Actinopterygii Class Teleostei Superorder Acanthopterygii Order Perciformes Suborder Labroidei Family Cichlidae Genus Astatoreochromis Species Astatoreochromis alluaudi Pellegrin, 1904”

Size, Weight, and Age Range From Froese and Pauly (2019):

“Max length : 19.0 cm SL male/unsexed; [Eccles 1992]”

Environment From Froese and Pauly (2019):

“Freshwater; benthopelagic; pH range: 7.5 - 8.5; dH range: 15 - ?; depth range ? - 20 m.[…] 24°C - 28°C [Baensch and Riehl 1991; assumed to be the recommended aquarium temperature]; […]”

From CABI (2019):

“A. alluaudi inhabits shallow littoral areas less than 20 m deep and is found in a wide range of habitats that include rocky shores, sandy areas and over mud areas, although it is uncommon in well-vegetated areas. It is also known to occur in riverine and swampy habitats [Greenwood 1959; Ntakimazi 1985; Binning and Chapman 2008].”

Climate/Range From Froese and Pauly (2019):

“Tropical; […] 2°N - 4°S”

Distribution Outside the United States Native From Froese and Pauly (2019):

“Africa: Lakes Victoria, Kyoga, Edward, George, Nabugabo, Kachira and Nakavali; rivers and streams associated with these lakes.”

From CABI (2019):

Introduced From CABI (2019):

“A. alluaudi is a haplochromine cichlid native to East African rift lakes, satellite lakes and river systems. It was widely introduced into novel river and lakes systems in East Africa […].”

“It was reported to have been further introduced into several countries in central Africa (Congo republic, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Central African Republic (CAR) and Zambia) [Welcomme 1988] but there is no evidence that these introductions were successful [Banyankimbona et al. 2013].”

CABI (2019) lists Astatoreochromis alluaudi as introduced in Central African Republic, Cameroon, Congo, Congo Democratic Republic, and Zambia.

Means of Introduction Outside the United States From CABI (2019):

“It was widely introduced into novel river and lakes systems in East Africa for the biological control of molluscs. These introductions were largely successful and it is now widespread throughout East Africa.”

From Froese and Pauly (2019):

“Used for snail control [Eccles 1992].”

Short Description From Froese and Pauly (2019):

“Dorsal spines (total): 16 - 20; Anal spines: 4-6”

From CABI (2019):

“Small to medium sized species, […], moderately compressed body with a fairly steeping dorsal head profile that can be straight or decurved, becoming concave in adults. A horizontal or slightly oblige mouth with jaws that are equal anterior and the posterior edge of the maxilla, reaching or almost reaching the vertical to anterior orbital margin.

Gill rakers are short and stout, with 8-9 on the lower limb of the first gill-arch. Flank scales on the lateral line are ctenoid, while scales from elsewhere on the body are cycloid. There are 29-32 scales along the lateral line, excluding the small scale on the caudal fin base. The cheek has 3 series of scales. There are 17-19 dorsal fin spines, 7-8 soft rays, 4-7 anal spines, 6-8 rays. There are 13-14 pectoral fin rays. The caudal fin is rounded.

The colour pattern is grey to yellowish on the anterior and dorsal surface, whereas the posterior ventral surface is greenish to bluish. A dark band that is continuous with lachrymal stripe runs obliquely through or just a little behind the eye to near the gill opening. The lower jaw is a faint bluish grey. The fins are general yellowish-grey. The dorsal fin is darker with blackish spots on the soft parts. The caudal fin has similar spots. The pelvic fin is blackish on the distal parts. The anal fin of specimens (both male and female) larger than 80 mm SL has three rows of bright orange-yellow ocelli which are absent in smaller specimens.

Although sexual dimorphism is less marked in this species than in other haplochromines, minute differences in breeding dress are evident between males and females. Relative to the breeding dress of females, the soft dorsal rays of males are densely spotted, the spinous dorsal and entire caudal fins are intense maroon and the cephalic marking are more prominent than in females.”

Biology From Froese and Pauly (2019):

“Not confined to any particular type of substrate in Lake Victoria. […]. Found in papyrus swamps [van Oijen and Snoeks 1991]. Omnivorous, swamp-dweller [Brichard 1989].”

From CABI (2019):

“A. alluaudi is a mouth brooder and substrate spawning. Information on its breeding season is not clearly understood. Data from laboratory experiments [Slootweg et al. 1994] suggest that A. alluaudi might breed throughout the year, producing about 2-3 broods annually. However, data from wild populations is scarce. In Lake Victoria, the average fecundity of mature females (100 mm SL) was about 170 eggs [Goldschmidt 1989].”

“A. alluaudi is a generalist feeder that consumes a wide range of food items including insects, fish, molluscs, algae and plant material [Binning and Chapman 2008, 2010]. It exhibits versatile feeding strategies that reflect the abundance and composition of food sources in different environments, seasons and the presence or absence of competing fish species and predators [Witte, 1981]. For example, in Lake Victoria its diet is primarily composed of molluscs [Hoogerhoud, 1986b; Mbabazi, 2004], whereas in river systems in Uganda, A. alluaudi is an omnivore that is known to consume insects, fish, algae and plant material [Binning and Chapman, 2008]. This adaptable feeding behaviour is attributed to the phenotypic plasticity in its pharyngeal jaw apparatus that are able to change in relation the type of food been utilize by the fish […].”

Human Uses From Froese and Pauly (2019):

“Aquarium: commercial”

From CABI (2019):

“A. alluaudi was introduced for biological control of molluscs into river and lake systems in east Africa, where it is now widespread, and in some parts of central Africa. Although field trials showed initial short-term success, in the long term A. alluaudi proved to be ineffective in snail control.”

Diseases According to Poelen et al. (2014), Astatoreochromis alluaudi is the host of parasite Cichlidogyrus tubicirrus.

No OIE-reportable diseases (OIE 2019) were found for Astatoreochromis alluaudi.

Threat to Humans Froese and Pauly (2019):

“Harmless”

3 Impacts of Introductions No information on impacts of introductions was found.

4 Global Distribution

Figure 1. Known global distribution of Astatoreochromis alluaudi. Locations are in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Map from GBIF Secretariat (2019).

5 Distribution Within the United States No records of Astatoreochromis alluaudi in the wild in the United States were found.

6 Climate Matching Summary of Climate Matching Analysis A majority of the contiguous United States had a low match. Few areas of medium match were found along the southern border of the United States as well as along the Pacific Coast. The Climate 6 score (Sanders et al. 2018; 16 climate variables; Euclidean distance) for the contiguous United States was 0.000, low (scores between 0.000 and 0.005, inclusive, are classified as low). All States had low individual Climate 6 scores, except for Florida, which had a medium individual score.

Figure 2. RAMP (Sanders et al. 2018) source map showing weather stations in eastern Africa selected as source locations (red; Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and non-source locations (gray) for Astatoreochromis alluaudi climate matching. Source locations from GBIF Secretariat (2019). Selected source locations are within 100 km of one or more species occurrences, and do not necessarily represent the locations of occurrences themselves.

Figure 3. Map of RAMP (Sanders et al. 2018) climate matches for Astatoreochromis alluaudi in the contiguous United States based on source locations reported by GBIF Secretariat (2019). 0 = Lowest match, 10 = Highest match.

The High, Medium, and Low Climate match Categories are based on the following table:

Climate 6: Proportion of Climate Match (Sum of Climate Scores 6-10) / (Sum of total Climate Scores) Category 0.000≤X≤0.005 Low 0.005

7 Certainty of Assessment Basic information is available on Astatoreochromis alluaudi. There is information available on a short description, environment, and biology. A. alluaudi has been introduced outside of its native range but there is little information on the impacts of the introduction. The certainty of assessment is low.

8 Risk Assessment Summary of Risk to the Contiguous United States Astatoreochromis alluaudi is a freshwater cichlid native to Africa’s lakes Victoria, Kyoga, Edward, George, Nabugabo, Kachira, Nakavali, and the surrounding rivers and streams in Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, and Burundi. This species has been introduced to Congo Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Central African Republic (CAR), and Zambia to be used as a biological control of molluscs. No information on the impacts of their introduction has been found, causing the history of invasiveness to be None Documented. The contiguous United States had a low overall climate match. Areas of medium match were found in Florida and along the Gulf Coast. The certainty of assessment is low. The overall risk assessment category for Astatoreochromis alluaudi is uncertain.

Assessment Elements  History of Invasiveness (Sec. 3): None Documented  Climate Match (Sec. 6): Low  Certainty of Assessment (Sec. 7): Low  Remarks/Important additional information: No additional information.  Overall Risk Assessment Category: Uncertain

9 References Note: The following references were accessed for this ERSS. References cited within quoted text but not accessed are included below in Section 10.

CABI. 2019. Astatoreochromis alluaudi (Alluaud’s Haplo) [original text by T. Zengeya]. In Invasive Species Compendium. CAB International, Wallingford, U. K. Available: https://www.cabi.org/ISC/datasheet/120150. (February 2019).

Fricke, R., W. N. Eschmeyer, and R. van der Laan, editors. 2019. Eschmeyer’s catalog of fishes: genera, species, references. Available: http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatmain.asp. (February 2019).

Froese, R., and D. Pauly, editors. 2019. Astatoreochromis alluaudi Pellegrin, 1904. FishBase. Available: https://www.fishbase.in/summary/Astatoreochromis-alluaudi.html (February 2019).

GBIF Secretariat. 2019. GBIF backbone taxonomy: Astatoreochromis alluaudi Pellegrin, 1904. Global Biodiversity Information Facility, Copenhagen. Available: https://www.gbif.org/species/2373819. (February 2019).

ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). 2019. Astatoreochromis alluaudi Pellegrin, 1904. Integrated Taxonomic Information System, Reston, Virginia. Available: https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=649 031#null. (February 2019).

OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health). 2019. OIE-listed diseases, infections and infestations in force in 2019. Available: http://www.oie.int/animal-health-in-the- world/oie-listed-diseases-2019/. (February 2019).

Poelen, J. H., J. D. Simons, and C. J. Mungall. 2014. Global Biotic Interactions: an open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics 24:148–159.

Sanders, S., C. Castiglione, and M. Hoff. 2018. Risk assessment mapping program: RAMP, version 3.1. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

10 References Quoted But Not Accessed Note: The following references are cited within quoted text within this ERSS, but were not accessed for its preparation. They are included here to provide the reader with more information.

Baensch, H. A., and R. Riehl. 1991. Aquarien atlas. Bd. 3. Melle: Mergus, Verlag für Natur-und Heimtierkunde, Germany.

Banyankimbona G., E. Vreven, and J. Snoeks. 2013. A revision of the genus Astatoreochromis (Teleostei, Cichlidae), East Africa. European Journal of Taxonomy 39:1–21.

Binning, S. A., and L. J. Chapman. 2008. Feeding ecology and diet overlap in riverine cichlids from western Uganda. Verhandlungen des Internationalen Verein Limnologie 30(2):283– 286.

Binning, S. A., and L. J. Chapman. 2010. Is intraspecific variation in diet and morphology related to environmental gradients? Exploring Liem's paradox in a cichlid fish. Integrative Zoology 5(3):241–255.

Brichard, P. 1989. Pierre Brichard's book of cichlids and all the other fishes of Lake Tanganyika. T. F. H. Publications.

Eccles, D. H. 1992. FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Field guide to the freshwater fishes of Tanzania. Prepared and published with the support of the United Nations Development Programme and FAO, Project URT/87/016, Rome.

Goldschmidt, P. T. 1989. An ecological and morphological field study on the haplochromine cichlid fishes of Lake Victoria. Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Greenwood, P. H. 1959. The monotypic genera of cichlid fishes in Lake Victoria, part II. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Zoology 5(7):165–177.

Hoogerhoud, R. J. C. 1986. Ecological morphology of some cichlid fishes. University of Leiden, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Mbabazi, D. 2004. Trophic characterization of the dominant fishes in the Victoria and Kyoga basins. Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.

Ntakimazi, G. 1985. Volumes I-II. Fondation Universitaire Luxembourgeoise, Luxembourg.

Pellegrin, J. 1904. Contribution à l'étude anatomique, biologique et taxinomique des poissons de la famille des Cichlidés. Mémoires de la Société Zoologique de France 16(2–4):41–400.

Slootweg, R., E. A. Malek, and F. S. McCullough. 1994. The biological control of snail intermediate hosts of schistosomiasis by fish. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 4(1):67–90.

Van Oijen, M. J. P., and J. Snoeks. 1991. Astatoreochromis. Pages 9–10 in J. Daget, J.-P. Gosse, G. G. Teugels, and D. F. E. Thys van den Audenaerde, editors. Checklist of the freshwater fishes of Africa. ISNB, Brussels, MRAC, Tervuren, Belgium, and ORSTOM, Paris.

Welcomme, R. 1988. International introductions of inland aquatic species. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 294:1–318.

Witte, F. 1981. Initial results of the ecological survey of the haplochromine cichlid fishes from the Mwanza Gulf of Lake Victoria, Tanzania: breeding patterns, trophic and species distribution. Netherlands Journal of Zoology 31:175–202.