BRAINCAKECichlids Under Threat
The huge diversity of cichlids in Lake Victoria has declined sharply since the mid-twentieth century. An estimated 200 or more of the lake's endemic cichlid species have disappeared or become extremely rare. Because the species are endemic, their loss from the lake means global extinction.
The main threats are:
1. Introduced predator. The Nile perch, a large predatory fish, was introduced into the lake in the 1950s to support commercial fishing. Its population increased rapidly in the 1980s, and it ate huge numbers of cichlids.
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Key terms in this lesson
- gene pool
- All the alleles of all the genes present in a population at a given time.
More in Natural Selection
- Endemic Species
- Desert Pupfish
- Adaptive Radiation
- Sympatric Speciation
- Howea Palm Tree
- Fruit Fly Rhagoletis pomonella
- Cichlid Fish
- Cichlid Speciation
All 29 lessons in Natural Selection · All Edexcel AS-level Biology topics