One-quarter of freshwater fauna threatened with extinction.

Freshwater ecosystems are highly biodiverse and important for livelihoods and economic development, but are under substantial stress. To date, comprehensive global assessments of extinction risk have not included any speciose groups primarily living in freshwaters. Consequently, data from predominantly terrestrial tetrapods are used to guide environmental policy and conservation prioritization, whereas recent proposals for target setting in freshwaters use abiotic factors.

The ecological and evolutionary dynamics of inselbergs.

Islands are fundamental model systems in ecology, biogeography, and evolutionary biology. However, terrestrial islands, unlike their aquatic counterparts, have received comparatively less attention. Among these land islands, inselbergs (i.

Validation of a 3D-printed robot-assisted partial nephrectomy training model.

Objectives: Most renal tumours can be treated with a partial nephrectomy, with robot-assisted partial nephrectomy becoming the new gold standard. This procedure is challenging to learn in a live setting, especially the enucleation and renorraphy phases. In this study, we attempted to evaluate face, content, and preliminary construct validity of a 3D-printed silicone renal tumour model in robotic training for robot-assisted partial nephrectomy.

Revision of Nannocharax luapulae Boulenger, 1915 (Characiformes: Distichodontidae) from the Upper Congo basin: Evidence for a species pair.

For many decades, Nannocharax luapulae has been considered to be widespread in the southern part of the Upper Congo basin. However, meristic, morphometric and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) barcoding evidence revealed that its geographical distribution is restricted to the Luapula-Moero basin. The populations of the Upper Lualaba are assigned to a new species, N.

First record of monogenean fish parasites in the Upper Lufira River Basin (Democratic Republic of Congo): dactylogyrids and gyrodactylids infesting Oreochromis mweruensis, Coptodon rendalli and Serranochromis macrocephalus (Teleostei: Cichlidae).

Background: Monogenean parasites have never been formally reported on fishes from the Lufira River Basin. In this context, we decided to record the monogenean parasite fauna of three cichlid species found in the Upper Lufira River Basin for the first time by inventorizing their diversity (species composition) and analysing their infection parameters (prevalence, mean intensity and abundance).

Methods: The African cichlid fishes Oreochromis mweruensis, Coptodon rendalli and Serranochromis macrocephalus were selected for the study, given their economic value and their abundance in the Upper Lufira River Basin.

Population genomics of introduced Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Repeated introductions since colonial times with multiple sources.

During colonial times, Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758) was introduced into non-native parts of the Congo Basin (Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC) for the first time. Currently, it is the most farmed cichlid in the DRC, and is present throughout the Congo Basin. Although Nile tilapia has been reported as an invasive species, documentation of historical introductions into this basin and its consequences are scant.

Keep your natural enemies close - native predators can maintain low mosquito densities in temporary ponds in a malaria expansion area in Northern Tanzania.

Mosquitoes and the diseases they transmit are a global public health threat that affects most human populations. Mosquito abundances are strongly linked to the number of suitable larval habitats available. However, it is still not well understood how different land uses impact larval habitat quality in different parts of the world.

Association between Labeobarbus spp. (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) and environmental variables in the Luhoho basin (Eastern Congo River basin; DRC).

The African cyprinid genus Labeobarbus is characterized by a high polymorphism in mouth morphology. The association between four species of this genus (two chiselmouths, one rubberlip with a well-developed fleshy mental lobe on the lower jaw, i.e.

The synonymy of Haplochromis pharyngalis and Haplochromis petronius (Cichlidae).

Haplochromis pharyngalis and Haplochromis petronius, two endemic cichlids from the Lake Edward system (Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo), are very similar in general morphology but have been reported to differ in pharyngeal jaw morphology and distribution. This study analysed 51 morphometrics and various qualitative characteristics of 48 specimens from different localities. The morphological traits of both species strongly overlap, and differences in the pharyngeal jaw morphology correspond to a geographic morphocline.

Mitogenomic characterization and systematic placement of the Congo blind barb Caecobarbus geertsii (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae).

This study presents the first complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Caecobarbus geertsii, the Congo blind barb, a cave-dwelling, CITES-protected, cyprinid fish endemic to the Lower Congo basin (DRC). The length of the circular mitogenome is 16,565 base pairs. The 13 protein coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes and 22 transfer RNA genes are similar in position and direction to those of other members of the family Cyprinidae.

An annotated checklist of the fish fauna of the river systems draining the Kahuzi-Biega National Park (Upper Congo: Eastern DR Congo).

The Kahuzi-Biega National Park (KBNP), situated mainly in the Eastern Highlands Ecoregion of the Upper Congo basin, is drained by the Lowa and Ulindi rivers, and some western affluents of Lake Kivu. In this study, the first list of the fish diversity of these systems is provided based on museum collections and complemented, for the Lowa River system and the western Lake Kivu affluents, with recently collected specimens (2013-2017). A total of 118 species are reported from the Lowa basin, 22 from the Ulindi basin and seven from these Lake Kivu affluents.

Terrestrial contributions to Afrotropical aquatic food webs: The Congo River case.

Understanding the degree to which aquatic and terrestrial primary production fuel tropical aquatic food webs remains poorly understood, and quantifying the relative contributions of autochthonous and allochthonous inputs is methodologically challenging. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios ( C, N) can provide valuable insights about contributions of terrestrial resources and trophic position, respectively, but this approach has caveats when applied in typical complex natural food webs.Here, we used a combination of C, N, and H ( H) stable isotope measurements and Bayesian mixing models to estimate the contribution of terrestrial (allochthonous) and aquatic (autochthonous) inputs to fish and invertebrate communities in the Congo River (and some tributaries).

Similar ecology, different morphology: Three new species of oral-mollusc shellers from Lake Edward.

Lake Edward, East Africa, harbours a largely understudied assemblage of haplochromine cichlids that displays a range of adaptions to various specialised trophic niches. In this system, we discovered specimens of Haplochromis with morphologies similar to those of oral-mollusc shellers from Lake Victoria. These morphologies are characterised by short oral jaws with stout teeth that are used either to crush molluscs or to grab the soft bodies of snails and wrench them out of their shells.

Where ichthyofaunal provinces meet: the fish fauna of the Lake Edward system, East Africa.

Based on literature, museum collections and three recent expeditions, an annotated species list of the Lake Edward, East Africa, drainage system is presented, excluding the endemic haplochromines. A total of 34 non-Haplochromis species belonging to 10 families and 21 genera are recorded from the system. Three of these are endemic and two others have been introduced in the region.

DNA barcoding fishes from the Congo and the Lower Guinean provinces: Assembling a reference library for poorly inventoried fauna.

The Congolese and Lower Guinean ichthyological provinces are understudied hotspots of the global fish diversity. Here, we barcoded 741 specimens from the Lower and Middle Congo River and from three major drainage basins of the Lower Guinean ichthyological province, Kouilou-Niari, Nyanga and Ogowe. We identified 194 morphospecies belonging to 82 genera and 25 families.

Six new dactylogyrid species (Platyhelminthes, Monogenea) from the gills of cichlids (Teleostei, Cichliformes) from the Lower Congo Basin.

The Lower Congo Basin is characterized by a mangrove-lined estuary at its mouth and, further upstream, by many hydrogeographical barriers such as rapids and narrow gorges. Five localities in the mangroves and four from (upstream) left bank tributaries or pools were sampled. On the gills of Coptodon tholloni, Coptodon rendalli, Hemichromis elongatus, Hemichromis stellifer and Tylochromis praecox, 17 species of parasites (Dactylogyridae & Gyrodactylidae, Monogenea) were found, eight of which are new to science.

Delineating species along shifting shorelines: (Teleostei, Cichlidae) from the southern subbasin of Lake Tanganyika.

Background: Species delineation is particularly challenging in taxa with substantial intra-specific variation. In systematic studies of fishes, meristics and linear measurements that describe shape are often used to delineate species. Yet, little is known about the taxonomic value of these two types of morphological characteristics.

, a new endemic cichlid from Lake Malawi (Teleostei, Cichlidae).

A new species of , , is described from Lake Malawi. So far, it has only been found at Jafua Bay, Mozambique. It can easily be distinguished from by its molariform pharyngeal dentition.

Limited possibilities for prezygotic barriers in the reproductive behaviour of sympatric Ophthalmotilapia species (Teleostei, Cichlidae).

Since prezygotic rather than postzygotic barriers are believed to maintain the diversity of closely related sympatric cichlids, differences in phenotypic traits and reproductive behaviours are likely involved in maintaining species boundaries. Here, we focused on the reproductive behaviour of three Ophthalmotilapia species with distributions that only overlap on a small stretch of the shore line of Lake Tanganyika. Repeated introgression of mitochondrial DNA between these species was previously reported, which suggested they can hybridise.

Diversity and host specificity of monogenean gill parasites (Platyhelminthes) of cichlid fishes in the Bangweulu-Mweru ecoregion.

This study represents the first exploration of the parasite fauna of cichlid fishes in the Mweru-Luapula subregion (Central Africa). Twelve species of cichlids and 14 species of Monogenea from three genera (Cichlidogyrus, Gyrodactylus and Scutogyrus) were collected. We present a first record of the gill parasite fauna of eight host species, Oreochromis mweruensis, Orthochromis sp.

Species richness in the African pike genus Hepsetus: a perfect match between genetics and morphology.

In this study, morphological differences were found that corroborate earlier results that showed the existence of six species within the previously monospecific African pike genus Hepsetus. Additional genetic data (coI, mtDNA and rag1, nDNA) confirm the morphology-based species delineations. Deep genetic divergences imply a relatively old age for diversification within the genus.

A new species of (Perciformes: Cichlidae) from Lake Mweru in the Upper Congo River System.

Pseudocrenilabrus pyrrhocaudalis sp. nov. is described from Lake Mweru in the upper Congo River drainage, on the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.

Re-establishment of the genus Monostichodus Vaillant 1886 (Characiformes, Distichodontidae).

Pellegrin rejected the validity of Monostichodus elongatus, described by Vaillant and type species of the genus Monostichodus, based on the lack of a proper species description, and redescribed Vaillant's specimens as Hemistichodus vaillanti. After review of the relevant articles in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, however, no arguments were found to consider M. elongatus as a nomen nudum.