Invasive potential of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in American freshwater systems

Abstract

Nonnative fish introductions disrupt ecosystem processes and can drive native species to local extinction. Two of the most widespread, introduced species are the common carp (Cyprinus carpio) from Eurasia and the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) from Africa. In North and South America, these introductions stem from aquaculture facilities, as well as historical introductions for recreational angling. An emergent field of ecological niche modeling provides robust predictions of the geographic potential of alien species to better understand their capacity to become established at broad scales. We used this modeling approach to produce spatially explicit predictions of the invasive potential of common carp and Nile tilapia in the Americas. Model predictions were tested using occurrence data for established populations in their native area and in the Americas. Results indicated that predictive power of niche models was high. Distributional potential of common carp in the Americas covers most temperate regions and high mountain tropical aquatic systems, whereas that of Nile tilapia is focused in the tropics and coast areas. The consequences of the potential establishment of these exotic species can be profound on native aquatic faunas, particularly on highly diverse regions such as the Amazon Basin and central Mexico.

Histological development of the digestive system of the Amazonian pimelodid catfish Pseudoplatystoma punctifer

“…Aquaculture in Latin America accounts for 3.1% of the world's production (FAO, Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, 2013) and is mostly based on the culture of exotic freshwater species, such as the common carp (Cyprinus carpio), Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) (Martínez-Espinosa and Pedini, 1998). However, different authors have highlighted an increasing concern over the impact of exotic species on native fish populations and aquatic habitats (Zambrano et al, 2006;Gozlan et al, 2010;Loebmann et al, 2010 among others), whereas this area, especially the Neotropical region, has the most diverse freshwater fish fauna in the world (Goulding, 1980). Consequently, different authorities are paying more attention to the development of indigenous species aquaculture in rural habitats.…”

Tradeoffs among Ecosystem Services Associated with Global Tilapia Introductions

“…While the results from these countries dominate the literature they should, however, also be viewed with caution because neither the United States nor Sri Lanka represents typical biogeography of tilapia introductions. The United States exists at the very edge of the environmental tolerances of tilapia (Zambrano et al, 2006) and winter die-offs occur even in southern states (Germany and Noble, 1977). Meanwhile Sri Lanka is environmentally well suited for tilapia but there are few if any native freshwater fish species (De Silva, 1989) to resist or be affected by introductions (Moyle and Marchetti, 2006).…”

Ecological niche model to predict the potential distribution of phytoplankton in the Aguamilpa Dam, Nayarit. Mexico (doi:10.4136/ambi-agua.154) (Spanish)

“…Los estudios anteriores han tenido que depender de las variables que se obtienen a partir de mediciones terrestres, tratando con esto de sustituir a las dimensiones acuáticas (por ejemplo, la temperatura de la superficie y la precipitación, Domínguez-Domínguez et al, 2006;Iguchi et al, 2004;Zambrano et al, 2006). En este estudio, estas limitaciones fueron superadas mediante la medición de las variables físico-químicas y biológicas del agua, directamente con la toma de muestras en diferentes sitios, y en diferentes épocas del año, como se describe en la siguiente sección.…”

“…Estos modelos se han utilizado con éxito en especies de plantas y animales (Nix, 1986;Carpenter et al, 1993;Sánchez-Cordero et al, 2001;Anderson et al, 2003) y recientemente en algunas especies acuáticas (Domínguez-Domínguez et al, 2006;Zambrano et al, 2006;Iguchi et al, 2004, McNyset, 2005 pero nunca en fitoplancton.…”

“…Maxent ha demostrado ser una metodología confiable para predecir la distribución geográfica de las especies acuáticas (Domínguez-Domínguez et al, 2006;Zambrano et al, 2006). Para construir el modelo con Maxent se utilizaron las coberturas de los parámetros físico-químicos y biológicos del agua, de las tres épocas climáticas, y los datos de presencia de cada una de las especies de fitoplancton correspondiente a cada época.…”