Abstract
This study reports on the status of metazoan fish parasites in Lake Victoria following the establishment of introduced Lates niloticus (Latidae) and Oreochromis niloticus (Cichlidae) and changes in environmental quality. For this study, 412 fish specimens were examined for parasites: 103 L. niloticus, 165 O. niloticus, 82 Haplochromis piceatus and 62 H. humilior (endemic cichlids). In total, 25 parasite taxa were identified: Lates niloticus (6), O. niloticus (19) and Haplochromis spp. (13). The myxosporean Henneguya ghaffari, prevalence (P) = 79% and the monogenean Diplectanum lacustris (P = 34%), were the dominant parasites on L. niloticus. Myxobolus sp. (P = 44%) was dominant on O. niloticus while for the haplochromines, metacercariae of ‘Neascus’ sp. (Diplostomidae) was dominant (P = 37%). Contrary to reports of high diversity of monogeneans on endemic species, the haplochromines harboured only Cichlidogyrus gillardinae (P = 6.9%). Oreochromis niloticus harboured seven monogenean species: Cichlidogyrus sclerosus, C. halli, C. tilapiae, C. quaestio, Scutogyrus longicornis, Gyrodactylus cichlidarum and G. malalai—they appear to have been co-introduced with the fish. Cichlidogyrus gillardinae, C. quaestio, G. malalai and the acanthocephalan Acanthogyrus (Acathosentis) tilapiae are recorded for the first time in Lake Victoria, representing new geographical records. Presence of A. (A) tilapiae in Haplochromis spp. indicates possible spillover from O. niloticus. Low prevalence and diversity of monogeneans, crustaceans and glochidia on the fish corresponded with increased pollution in the lake. Overall, changing environmental conditions and introductions of fish species have contributed to parasite community changes in Lake Victoria.
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Acknowledgements
We wish to thank The National Council of Science and Technology, Kenya, for approval of this research through the Maseno University Ethics Review Committee: Reference number - MSU/DRPI/MUERC/00672/19. We thank Maseno University, Kenya, for providing laboratory space, facilities and technical assistance during data collection in Lake Victoria. The University of Johannesburg (UJ) Research Committee is thanked for funding to AAO for the DNA analysis and use of infrastructure for acquiring the micrographs at Spectrum Research Facility at UJ. Dr. Elick Otachi is thanked for assisting with the identification of A. macracantha and A. (A) tilapiae while Nicholas Outa is thanked for the identification of the Haplochromis spp. Michael Stachowitsch reviewed the English of this article.
Funding
We thank the Austrian Agency for International Cooperation in Education and Research (OeAD-GmbH) for funding parts of this study through a scholarship award within the Austrian Partnership Program in Higher Education and Research for Development (APPEAR).
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, sample collection, dissection of fish specimen, isolation of parasite specimen and data analysis were performed by James Omondi Outa and Franz Jirsa. Molecular methodology and analyses were performed by Quinton M Dos Santos and Annemariè Avenant-Oldewage. The first draft of the manuscript was written by James Omondi Outa, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Outa, J.O., Dos Santos, Q.M., Avenant-Oldewage, A. et al. Parasite diversity of introduced fish Lates niloticus, Oreochromis niloticus and endemic Haplochromis spp. of Lake Victoria, Kenya. Parasitol Res 120, 1583–1592 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-021-07095-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-021-07095-x