The Cichlid fishes have played an important role in evolutionary biology, population studies and aquaculture industry with East African species representing a model suited for studying adaptive radiation and speciation for cichlid genome projects in which closely related genomes are fast emerging presenting questions on phenotype-genotype relations. The complete mitochondrial genomes presented here are for two closely related but eco-morphologically distinct Lake Victoria basin cichlids, Oreochromis variabilis, an endangered native species and Tilapia zilli, an invasive species, both of which are important economic fishes in local areas. The complete mitochondrial genomes determined for O. variabilis and T. zilli are 16 626 and 16,619 bp, respectively. Both the mitogenomes contain 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNAs, 2 rRNAs and a non-coding control region, which are typical of vertebrate mitogenomes. Phylogenetic analyses of the two species revealed that though both lie within family Cichlidae, they are remotely related.

Classified in the phylum mollusks, oysters are bivalves which are found in estuaries and coastal zones. Because of their plastic shell, mitochondrial DNA analysis of this species becomes an interesting field, necessary to investigate their phylogenetic and evolution of relations. In our study, two oyster species: Saccostrea mordax and Saccostrea cucullata from Indian Ocean (Madagascar) were investigated. The complete sequence of Saccostrea mordax (16 512 bp) and Saccostrea cucullata (16 396 bp) were described and determined, with their mitogenomes deposited in the GenBank with accession number KP769562 and KP967577 respectively. Both mitochondrial genome sequences contained 12 protein-coding genes, 23 tRNAs, and two rRNAs, all encoded in the same heavy strand. High levels of similarity in the gene arrangement of the two Saccostrea species were evident. The phylogenetic analysis shows a closer relationship between the two Saccostrea species and confirms the strong relationship within Saccostrea, Crassostrea and Ostrea genus in taxonomy of Ostreidae family.

Singidia tilapia (Oreochromis esculentus) is a native Cichlid fish of important commercial value, distributed in Lake Victoria, East Africa. Due to its declining population levels in its natural habitat, this species has now been classified as a Critically Endangerd by the International Union for the Conservation of nature (IUCN). In the present study the complete nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) of O. esculentus was determined. In addition, polymorphism analysis based on the mtDNA's control region sequence was investigated on two of its remaining populations of Yala and Borabu as well as a phylogenetic consideration using 16S rRNA mtDNA genes to explore its position and relationship within Cichlidae fish. The length of the complete mitogenome of O. esculentus is 16 622 bp, containing the same order and an identical number of genes and regions with the other reported Cichlid fishes, which consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and a putative non-coding region. The phylogenetic analysis shows O. esculentus being clustered within the Oreochromini sub-tribe of the Cichlidae. The high genetic diversity and low genetic differentiation between the two populations indicated the need for conservation of both the refuge ecosystems and the fish species under study.

The integration of local and international cultures enhances people’s ability to adapt to external influences of sustainable aid and sustainable development programs and processes. The study was conducted in Turkana, where government intervention on projects was made with deliberate efforts to implement inclusive development projects. Traditionally Turkana society has well-defined gender roles that appear to contradict inclusive and participatory approaches determined by government projects and interventions. The study sought to establish a legitimate influence on youth participation and to assess the impact of cultural norms on youth participation in community projects. The study used a descriptive design and targeted 47,359 young people. The study used Krejecie and Morgan’s table and an equally divided sample procedure to obtain a sample of 381 respondents in the study. Research has shown that educated youth will speak well and seek citizenship, and show that the standard of formal education is negatively correlated (-0251) with youth participation in project planning and community development projects (-0.094) respectively, barriers to youth participation in project planning are not limited to learning and training. Therefore political, institutional, financial and technical factors played out in determining whose voice is heard and which decisions are acceptable. There was an inconsistent balance (-0.109) between gender roles and participation in community project planning meetings and gender issues consideration in community projects, respectively. A negative correlation (-0.14) between age and meeting planning has been revealed which means that the patriarchal values ​​system in rural areas favours gender roles and traditional cultural practices ​​that oppose the development, advancement and participation of women in community development.