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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Parasitology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1529827
This article is part of the Research Topic Understanding Pathogen Spread in Invasive Vertebrate Species View all articles

Helminth Absence and Invasion Success of Blackchin Tilapia (Sarotherodon melanotheron) in Thailand

Provisionally accepted
Nannaphat Suwannarat Nannaphat Suwannarat 1Alexis Ribas Salvador Alexis Ribas Salvador 2*Jordi Miquel Jordi Miquel 2Srisupaph Poonlaphdecha Srisupaph Poonlaphdecha 2
  • 1 Program in Fishery Science and Aquatic Resources, Department of Agricultural Technology, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Prince of Chumphon Campus, Chumphon 80160, Thailand, Chumphon, Thailand
  • 2 University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: This study investigates the helminth absence in the invasive blackchin tilapia (Sarotherodon melanotheron) in Thailand, testing the Enemy Release Hypothesis (ERH). The ERH suggests that invasive species thrive in new habitats due to the lack of natural parasites that control their populations in native environments. The recent introduction of S. melanotheron in Thailand has raised concerns about its ecological and economic impacts.Methods: We surveyed 164 blackchin tilapia from six different locations in Chumphon Province, Thailand, including the sea, estuary, canal, and shrimp farms, examining them for helminths. Fishermen provided data on the first capture dates in the surveyed areas to determine how long the populations have been established.No helminths were detected in any of the examined fish. The absence of parasites was consistent across all surveyed environments, suggesting a lack of parasitic burden in the population.Discussion: The absence of helminths may contribute to the successful expansion of S. melanotheron in Thailand, supporting the Enemy Release Hypothesis.

    Keywords: helminth, Invasive fish, Enemy release hypothesis, Sarotherodon melanotheron, Thailand

    Received: 18 Nov 2024; Accepted: 23 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Suwannarat, Ribas Salvador, Miquel and Poonlaphdecha. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Alexis Ribas Salvador, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.