Lake Tanganyika Food Web
Freshwater
East Africa — Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Zambia
Description
Lake Tanganyika is the world's second-deepest lake with over 250 endemic cichlid species and an age of approximately 10 million years. Rock-dwelling cichlid communities exhibit extraordinary ecological specialization, including species that scrape algae, eat scales, and brood-parasitize other cichlids. The lake's deep anoxic waters limit habitable depth.
Trophic Pyramid
Level 5
Decomposers
Benthic bacteria
Deep-water ostracods
Gastropod scavengers
3 species
Level 4
Tertiary Consumers
Nile perch (Lates)
African clawless otter
Fish eagle
3 species
Level 3
Secondary Consumers
Frontosa cichlid
Lates perch
Scale-eating cichlids
3 species
Level 2
Primary Consumers
Algae-scraping cichlids
Lake sardines (dagaa)
Freshwater jellyfish
3 species
Level 1
Producers
Epilithic algae
Phytoplankton
Aquatic plants
3 species
Apex Predators
Tertiary Consumers
Secondary Consumers
Primary Consumers
Producers
Key Interactions
- Scale-eating cichlids (Perissodus) have laterally asymmetric jaws to attack prey from one side
- Mouthbrooding cichlids are parasitized by cuckoo catfish that insert eggs into their mouths
- Deep anoxia below 100 meters restricts most fish to the oxygenated upper layer
- Lake sardines support the largest freshwater pelagic fishery in Africa