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Life history of an invasive and unexploited population of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and geographical variation across its native and non-native ranges

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Abstract

Although the life history traits of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus have been studied since the early 20th century, the potential range of life history parameters in unexploited populations and geographical variability in life history traits are still poorly understood. We explored life history traits (age composition, growth rate, mortality, size, and age at maturity) of an invasive and unexploited population in the Tabaru River, Yonaguni-jima Island, southwestern Japan, through comparisons with exploited populations across the species’ global distribution. Analysis of sectioned otoliths from 307 fish revealed that growth and maximum age were sexually dimorphic (females growing less but having greater longevity). Large-scale comparisons with exploited populations revealed that the unexploited Tabaru River population had a greater life span than exploited populations in other regions, but the growth rate was in the middle of the range of observed values. Although a high variation in life history parameters was observed among populations (L ∞, K, maximum age), we found no significant variation in life history traits by latitude or between African and non-African populations. Such a combination of long life span and high variability in life history traits in response to environmental and fishing pressures may aid the success of non-native Nile tilapia in various environments.

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Acknowledgments

We thank M. Uehara (University of the Ryukyus) and A. Ebisawa (Okinawa Prefectural Fisheries and Ocean Research Center) for reviewing an earlier version of the manuscript. This study was supported by a grant from the Japan Fisheries Agency, a Grant-in-Aid from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (No. 15580169), and the 21st Century COE program of the University of the Ryukyus.

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  1. Tetsuroh Ishikawa

    Present address: Okinawa Environmental Science Laboratories Co., Ltd., 1-24-13 Aragusuku, Ginowan, Okinawa, 901-2201, Japan

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  1. Laboratory of Fisheries Biology & Coral Reef Studies, Faculty of Science, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903-0213, Japan

    Tetsuroh Ishikawa, Tamaki Shimose & Katsunori Tachihara

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Ishikawa, T., Shimose, T. & Tachihara, K. Life history of an invasive and unexploited population of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and geographical variation across its native and non-native ranges. Environ Biol Fish 96, 603–616 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-012-0050-1

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