Ecology Summary - Oreochromis niloticus

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Main Ref.	Philippart, J.-C. and J.-C. Ruwet, 1982
Remarks	Inhabit the littoral zone of lakes and are abundant in Lakes Turkana (Rudolf) and Albert. Although a freshwater species they are also found in brackish water like in the Nile Delta. The area occupied by the species extends from 8° S to 32° N and from 6000 ft (1830 m) to sea level. O. niloticus of Lake Edward form very large schools of 100 sq.m or more at the lake surface when feeding. The species takes epiphytic algae, diatoms or plankton according to conditions. (See also Ref. 3736).

Main Ref.

Philippart, J.-C. and J.-C. Ruwet, 1982

Remarks

Inhabit the littoral zone of lakes and are abundant in Lakes Turkana (Rudolf) and Albert. Although a freshwater species they are also found in brackish water like in the Nile Delta. The area occupied by the species extends from 8° S to 32° N and from 6000 ft (1830 m) to sea level. O. niloticus of Lake Edward form very large schools of 100 sq.m or more at the lake surface when feeding. The species takes epiphytic algae, diatoms or plankton according to conditions. (See also Ref. 3736).

Aquatic zones / Water bodies

	Marine - Neritic	Marine - Oceanic	Brackishwater	Freshwater
Marine zones / Brackish and freshwater bodies	supra-littoral zone littoral zone sublittoral zone	epipelagic mesopelagic epipelagic abyssopelagic hadopelagic	estuaries/lagoons/brackish seas mangroves marshes/swamps	rivers/streams lakes/ponds caves exclusively in caves

Highighted items on the list are where Oreochromis niloticus may be found.

Habitat

Substrate
Substrate Ref.
Special habitats
Special habitats Ref.	Halwart, M. and M.V. Gupta, 2004

Associations

Ref.
Associations
Associated with
Association remarks
Parasitism

Feeding

Feeding type	mainly plants/detritus (troph. 2-2.19)
Feeding type Ref.	Getachew, T. and C.H. Fernando, 1989
Feeding habit	browsing on substrate
Feeding habit Ref.

Trophic Level(s)

Estimation method	Original sample		Unfished population		Remark
Estimation method	Troph	s.e.	Troph	s.e.	Remark
From diet composition	2.00		2.00	0.00	Troph of adults from 1 study.
From individual food items	2.02	0.00			Trophic level estimated from a number of food items using a randomized resampling routine.
Ref.	Getachew, T. and C.H. Fernando, 1989

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