Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) is the dominant non‐native fish species in Kenya's inland waters, but its spread reflects a coupled socioecological process rather than a simple biological invasion. This review examines the socio‐economic, governance and ecological drivers of its expansion within a socioecological systems and invasion biology framework, with evidence published between 2000 and 2025. A systematic search was conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, AGRIS, CAB Abstracts and Google Scholar, supplemented by institutional repositories and selected grey‐literature sources. The search identified 1220 records, of which 62 studies met the predefined inclusion criteria after screening and full‐text assessment in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. The 62 included studies indicate that Nile tilapia contribute substantially to fish production and rural livelihoods in Kenya. Strong market demand, food‐security objectives and production‐oriented policies have supported aquaculture expansion, stocking and movement of Nile tilapia between water bodies. These activities have increased opportunities for both intentional and unintentional dispersal, particularly through stocking programmes, hatchery distribution, aquaculture escapes and informal fish movements. The ecological evidence documents genetic introgression with native tilapiines, declines in native fish populations and changes in the fish community and trophic structure in several freshwater systems. However, the reviewed evidence indicates that the magnitude of these effects varies among systems and that native fish declines cannot be attributed to Nile tilapia alone because other anthropogenic pressures also contribute. The findings indicate that Nile tilapia spread is shaped by interactions among socio‐economic incentives and human‐ and non‐human‐mediated dispersal and governance conditions. Its economic and food‐security benefits can simultaneously create ecological risks where fish movement, hatchery practices and biosecurity are inadequately controlled. Fisheries management should therefore combine stronger hatchery traceability and biosecurity, regulation and monitoring of live‐fish movements, genetic surveillance and biodiversity safeguards with continued attention to food‐security and livelihood objectives.

Background: Cobras ( Naja spp.) are widely consumed and traded in Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia, yet their role in the transmission of zoonotic cestodes of the genus Spirometra remains unresolved at the species level. Accurate molecular identification is essential to clarify host associations, population connectivity, and potential public health implications. Methods: Plerocercoids were collected from Naja sputatrix (East Java) and Naja sumatrana (West Sumatra). Specimens were characterised morphologically and subjected to mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (cox1) sequencing. Phylogenetic analyses at the species level were conducted to determine the identity of the isolated cestodes and assess genetic relationships among isolates. Pairwise genetic distances were calculated to examine whether genetic differentiation correlated with host species. Results: All newly generated sequences were consistently placed within the Spirometra mansoni clade with strong nodal support. Despite observable differences in larval body size between host species, all 15 isolates were distributed across only two cox1 haplotypes ( P -distance = 0.000 within haplotypes, 0.020 between haplotypes), both of which were shared between N. sputatrix and N. sumatrana , indicating no host-associated genetic differentiation between the two examined cobra species. Indonesian isolates exhibited high genetic similarity to previously reported S. mansoni sequences from other domestic and wild vertebrates ( P -distance ≤ 0.026), as well as from geographically distant regions including Australia, China, and South America. These findings provide the first molecular confirmation of S. mansoni in N. sputatrix and the first record of Spirometra infection in N. sumatrana . Conclusions: Spirometra mansoni was confirmed to infect two cobra species in Indonesia ( N. sputatrix and N. sumatrana ) without evidence of host-specific genetic partitioning. The limited genetic differentiation across regions suggests substantial population connectivity, potentially facilitated by anthropogenic activities such as wildlife exploitation and trade. Cobras may represent an epidemiologically relevant interface linking sylvatic transmission cycles with human exposure. Molecular surveillance of Spirometra in wildlife entering food chains is warranted to better assess zoonotic risk.

Avian schistosomes (AS) are trematodes of significant medical importance as the causative agents of cercarial dermatitis, a re-emerging waterborne human disease. Their monitoring has traditionally relied on examination of snail hosts; however, this approach is time-consuming, requires taxonomic expertise and often underestimates their diversity due to low prevalence of infection. Although environmental DNA (eDNA)-based methods have shown promise in detecting AS, most studies have employed species-specific assays that restrict the discovery of novel genetic lineages. This study integrated three complementary methodologies to comprehensively assess AS diversity in Central Europe: (i) metabarcoding of environmental water samples from various localities; (ii) metabarcoding of naturally infected snail hosts to detect pre-patent stages and (iii) standard parasitological examination and collection of cercariae released from snail hosts. In total, 34 species/genetic lineages were detected at 19 localities. Of these, three species were identified by all three techniques, two lineages by both water sample and snail tissue metabarcoding; 17 exclusively through water sample metabarcoding, 10 only in snail tissues and two solely by the standard method. Notably, metabarcoding of environmental water samples was the most powerful tool for capturing most of the AS diversity, while snail tissue metabarcoding uncovered early pre-patent infections and additional unique lineages not detected in water. These findings underscore the critical value of a multi-method approach to minimise detection bias associated with any single technique.