page_title: Tilapia as exotic species
section_title: Avian fauna and Salton Sea tilapia
hierarchical_section_title: Tilapia as exotic species / Tilapia by country / United States / Avian fauna and Salton Sea tilapia
caption_attribution_description: English: Tilapia bones along the shore of the Salton Sea, California
context_page_description: Throughout much of the tropics, tilapiine cichlids native to Africa and the Levant have been widely introduced into a variety of aquatic systems. In the U.S. states of Florida and Texas, tilapia were originally introduced to curtail invasive plants. In an effort to meet the growing demand for tilapia, humans have farmed these fish in countries around the world. Capable of establishing themselves into new ponds and waterways, many tilapia have escaped aquaculture facilities across much of Asia, Africa, and South America. In other cases, tilapia have been established into new aquatic habitats via aquarists or ornamental fish farmers.
  Because tilapia are generally large, fast growing, breed rapidly, and can tolerate a wide variety of water conditions, tilapia establish themselves into new habitats rather quickly. In doing so, tilapia often out compete native fish, create turbidity in rivers by digging, and can reduce available sun light for aquatic plants. Tilapia greatly affect and alter local habitat. Many environmental problems wrought by tilapia have been observed in different locations, including Australia, the Philippines, and the United States.
context_section_description: Oreochromis mossambicus plays an important role in the ecology of the Salton Sea. This tilapia, along with several other fish species, provides food for hundreds of birds. Many of these birds are migratory, and utilize the Salton Sea as an important destination for resting and feeding along the Pacific flyway.
caption: Tilapia bones, Salton Sea shoreline.
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