Suchergebnisse

Background Monogenea van Beneden, 1858 is a group of parasitic flatworms, commonly found infecting bony fish. Several genera, such as Cichlidogyrus Paperna, 1960, are reported to include potential pathogenic species that can negatively impact aquaculture fish stocks. They can switch from introduced to native fish and vice versa. In Africa (and all over the world), fish species belonging to Cichlidae are often kept in aquaculture and represent a major source of food. Thus, research on the biodiversity and occurrence of monogenean species on these fish is of importance for aquaculture and conservation. The present study is a survey of the diversity of species of Cichlidogyrus in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on three cichlid species: Orthochromis sp. 'Lomami', Serranochromis cf. macrocephalus, and Tilapia sparrmanii Smith, 1840. Methods Specimens of Cichlidogyrus were isolated from the gills and mounted on glass slides with Hoyer's medium. The genital and haptoral hard parts were measured and drawn using interference contrast. Results In total, six species of Cichlidogyrus were found, all new to science: C. bulbophallus n. sp. and C. pseudozambezensis n. sp. on S. cf. macrocephalus, C. flagellum n. sp. and C. lobus n. sp. on T. sparrmanii, C. ranula n. sp. on S. cf. macrocephalus and Orthochromis sp. 'Lomami', and C. maeander n. sp. found on Orthochromis sp. 'Lomami' and T. sparrmanii. The first four species are considered to be strict specialists, C. ranula n. sp. an intermediate generalist and C. maeander n. sp. a generalist. These parasite species show morphological similarities to species found in the Lower Guinea and Zambezi ichthyofaunal provinces, which might be explained by past river capture events between river systems of the Congo Province and both these regions. Conclusions Serranochromis cf. macrocephalus and Orthochromis sp. 'Lomami' can harbour respectively three and two species of Cichlidogyrus, all described in this study. Tilapia sparrmanii can harbour seven species, of which three are described in the present study. These results highlight the species diversity of this parasite genus in the Congo Basin. ; Peer reviewed

Mainstreaming biodiversity in development cooperation activities is called for by scientists and policy-makers alike, as the current biodiversity crisis can only be mitigated if the linkages between biodiversity and human wellbeing are acknowledged. Reconciling biodiversity conservation and human development is a particularly topical challenge in highly biodiverse developing countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the population is highly dependent on natural resources for their livelihood. This study combines expert interviews with an evaluation of environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports, in order to determine the current motivations, obstacles and effectiveness of biodiversity mainstreaming in the DRC and to assess the framing, the representation and use of biodiversity in recently conducted EIAs in the DRC. Our findings indicate that biodiversity mainstreaming in the DRC is considered challenging due to enduring contextual (e.g. governance) factors; and that there is a strong support base for EIA among the interviewed experts. Turning to actual EIAs that were recently performed in the DRC, the diversity of framings motivating the uptake of biodiversity is remarkable. Instrumental reasons do not thwart intrinsic motivations –which is indicative of a support base for the non-instrumental value of biodiversity. The use of biodiversity baseline data in mitigation measures is low, and the taxonomic resolution of the biodiversity data in EIAs is uneven. Despite these challenges, the potential of EIA in the DRC is considered high, and linkages between project-driven EIA practice and biodiversity data collection and dissemination should be strengthened. ; SCOPUS: ar.j ; info:eu-repo/semantics/published