DDEP: Ecological and Evolutionary impacts of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) on the Kafue River, Zambia

围绕尼罗河罗非鱼（Oreochromis niloticus）的全球传播存在争议，反映了尼罗河罗非鱼水产养殖对本地鱼类生产可能产生的负面影响与社会经济效益之间的紧张关系。这个博士论文增强项目的目标是通过量化尼罗河罗非鱼引进对本地Oreochromis渔业的影响来告知这一全球性辩论。对赞比亚卡富埃河的案例研究的中心假设是，引进的O。niloticus的竞争力超过了本地O. andersonii雄性为配偶，推动定向杂交，这可能会改变渔业生产的长期。通过与赞比亚大学讲师Cyprian Katongo博士和赞比亚硕士生等外国合作伙伴开展合作研究，该项目通过提供咨询、规划和实验执行，为博士论文的基础做出贡献。 这将是第一个实验性研究尼罗河罗非鱼入侵非洲和可持续渔业生产之间的生态联系的研究，从而提高了论文的学术价值。此外，实地采样将扩展Kafue的长期渔业数据集，这对将这条河作为案例研究至关重要。更广泛的影响来自与赞比亚大学，赞比亚渔业部和世界渔业中心的强大合作伙伴关系。 这些伙伴关系确保研究将为有关引进尼罗河罗非鱼的决定提供信息，以促进赞比亚和全世界水产资源的可持续发展。该提案通过为未来提案中的具体实验设计提供信息，为更大规模的合作和进一步的NSF支持奠定了基础。 此外，它还为美国研究生提供了参与国际合作研究的机会。该奖项由NSF国际科学与工程办公室资助。

Controversy surrounds the global dissemination of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), reflecting tension between possible negative impacts on native fish production relative to the socio-economic benefits of Nile tilapia aquaculture. The objective of this Doctoral Dissertation Enhancement Project is to inform this global debate by quantifying the impact of Nile tilapia introduction on a native Oreochromis fishery. The central hypothesis of this case study on the Kafue River, Zambia, is that introduced O. niloticus out-compete native O. andersonii males for mates, driving directional hybridization which may alter fisheries production in the long term. Field sampling for genetic detection of hybridization coupled with competition experiments will test this hypothesis by quantitatively parameterizing models which will estimate the differences in somatic and population growth rates between parental and hybrid types.By developing collaborative research with foreign partners, such as University of Zambia lecturer Dr. Cyprian Katongo and Zambian master's students, this project contributes to the underlying doctoral dissertation through advising, planning and experimental execution. This will be the first research to experimentally investigate ecological linkages between Nile tilapia invasion in Africa and sustainable fisheries production, thus improving the intellectual merit of the dissertation. Moreover, field sampling will extend the long term fishery dataset for the Kafue, which is essential to developing this river as a case study.Broader impacts derive from strong collaborative partnerships with the University of Zambia, Zambian Department of Fisheries, and The World Fish Center. These partnerships ensure research will inform decisions about the introduction of Nile tilapia relative to the sustainable development of aquatic resources in Zambia and worldwide. This proposal serves as the seed for a larger collaboration and further NSF support by informing the specific design of experiments in a future proposal. Further, it provides a US graduate student the opportunity to engage in international collaborative research.This award is being funded by NSF's Office of International Science and Engineering.