The Biology and Culture of Tilapias

Introduction

This conference brought together 19 tilapia biologists and experimental

culturists from 10 countries. It was designed from the outset as a technical

conference on the basic biology of the tilapias and applications in culture

systems. The conference did not consider the commercial aspects of tilapia

culture. A further conference will be held in Israel, 8-13 May 1983."

The conference consisted of fifteen major review papers grouped under

three main session headings:

Biology - taxonomy and speciation, ecology and distribution, tilapias

in fish communities, and life histories.

Physiology - environmental, reproductive, feeding and digestion, metabo-

lism and growth.

Culture - ponds, cages, diseases, hybridization, genetic markers, con-

trol of rbproduction and mass fry production systems.

The proceedings follow this arrangement with each session preceded by a

chairman's overview. The culture session was split into two parts: culture

systems and culture-related topics. About half the conference was devoted to

discussion sessions and a summary of these follows the papers presented. The

conference produced a consensus statement and a list of research require-

ments, which may stimulate the further development of tilapia culture.

The references cited have been combined into a single bibliography to

provide a useful information source on both cultured and wild tilapias. The

indexing is designed for easy referencing on systematics, biology and culture.

*Details from the Organizing Committee, International Symposium on Tilapia in Aqua-
culture, P.O. Box 3064, Tel Aviv, 61030, Israel.

vii i