Tropodiaptomus burundensis
Overview
A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.
Tropodiaptomus burundensis faces severe pressure from agricultural expansion and intensification around Lake Tanganyika's shoreline, which increases nutrient runoff and alters water chemistry. Overfishing and introduction of non-native fish species in the lake ecosystem disrupts the planktonic food web that this copepod depends upon. Climate change-induced alterations to lake temperature and stratification patterns threaten the delicate balance of this endemic species' aquatic habitat.
Habitat
This endemic copepod inhabits the pelagic waters of Lake Tanganyika in East Africa, one of the world's oldest and deepest freshwater lakes. It occupies specific depth zones within the lake's stratified water column, requiring particular temperature and oxygen conditions found in this ancient rift lake ecosystem.
