Pushed to the edge: Environmental factors drive ecological responses of Aphanius fasciatus when in sympatry with invasive Gambusia holbrooki

1. Interspecific competition may be particularly exacerbated when occurring between native and invasive alien species, with environmental conditions affecting drivers of natural selection and shaping spatio-temporal dynamics of animal communities. The effects of invaders are particularly evident in aquatic ecosystems with delicate and complex balances, such as Mediterranean coastal wetlands, characterized by unpredictable water flows and variable reserves. Understanding how native species respond to human-induced biological invasions is of paramount importance for planning management measures aiming at conservation purposes.
2. This study investigated whether the occurrence of a competing invader species resulted in changes in the ecological adaptations of a native species by comparing two coastal wetland fish species: the invasive eastern mosquitofish Gambusia holbrooki and the native Mediterranean killifish Aphanius fasciatus of conservation concern. The hypothesis was tested by sampling fishes at a coastal Ramsar site in central Italy, over 2 years.
3. Generalized linear mixed models were used to examine the occurrence of killifish in relation to water parameters and the presence of its putative competitor. The aim was to determine whether salinity, temperature, and water depth influenced the presence and abundance of killifish when in sympatry with mosquitofish.
4. Both the probability of presence and abundance of killifish increased with water salinity, but this increase was stronger when mosquitofish was present. Increasing water temperature and water depth were associated with a higher probability of presence and abundance of killifish respectively, although the effect of water depth was small. Both salinity and the presence of the invader acted synergistically in characterizing and shaping the population structure of the native species.
5. Living in the most extreme and stressed environments, the killifish is potentially at higher risk of extinction. These results highlight the importance of considering the interplay between multiple abiotic stressors combined with comparative data between invasive and native species as increasingly critical to aid in conservation efforts.

     

Conservation of fish communities: Extending the ‘research life cycle’ by achieving practical effects

1. This article highlights the practical impact of our 2018 Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems publication, ‘Importance of peripheral basins: Implications for the conservation of fish assemblages’, which described fish communities in a Polish river.
2. Data on the fish assemblages of the Dniester River (Black Sea basin) are scarce; however, evidence indicates that the assemblages have declined. In our 2018 study, we hypothesized that the peripheral basin (the small basin on the edge) of the larger Upper Dniester River basin (the Strwi?? River) could maintain good ecological status and contained unique fish assemblages.
3. To examine the influence of historical factors and assess the role of peripheral basins on fish conservation, data from the Strwi?? basin were compared with the adjacent but unconnected Wiar basin (the Vistula basin; Baltic Sea basin). The Strwi?? River fish assemblages featured higher species richness and a greater number of native Ponto–Caspian species that function near the edge of their ranges.
4. This article focuses on four impacts of the 2018 publication: increasing awareness by various groups and organizations of the unique character of the surveyed river basin; highlighting important issues in assessing the ecological status of European rivers; driving the red‐listing of species and the development of stream fish conservation strategies; and identifying possible future impacts.
5. Our 2018 publication demonstrated the value of studying peripheral basins, which may affect conservation strategy development and encourage study of the importance of other peripheral basins and their role in aquatic resources conservation. Our article influenced the interpretation of fish‐based biotic indices and the conduct of monitoring work and its evaluation. It also strongly emphasized the native origin of the racer goby (Babka gymnotrachelus) in the Strwi?? River, which was important for subsequent works seeking to change the legal status of the species in Poland.

     

Fish fauna in Iberian Mediterranean river basins: biodiversity,introduced species and damming impacts

• 1. A basin approximation was used to analyse distribution patterns of different components of biodiversity (taxonomic richness, endemicity, taxonomic singularity, rarity) and conservation status of freshwater fish fauna in 27 Mediterranean Iberian rivers.
• 2. Basin area alone explained more than 80% of variation in native species richness. Larger basins featured not only a higher number of native species, but also more endemic and rare species and fewer diversified genera than smaller basins.
• 3. In contrast, smaller basins scored higher community conservation values, owing to their lower degree of invasion by introduced species.
• 4. The presence of dams was the most important factor determining the conservation status of fish communities, and it was also positively associated with the number of introduced species.
• 5. While the most important components of Iberian freshwater fish biodiversity are located in large basins, small unregulated basins feature better conserved fish communities.

Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Aquatic macroinvertebrates from littoral vegetated lakes in arid Patagonia: The influence of fish introduction on community structure

1. Wetlands in arid regions are characterized by their great heterogeneity, often including endemic species that contribute to regional aquatic biodiversity. In the Patagonian steppe, most lakes are naturally fishless and sustain a rich aquatic biodiversity, including endemics; however, many of these lakes have been stocked with Oncorhynchus mykiss (rainbow trout) during recent decades. The introduction of predatory fish into aquatic ecosystems naturally devoid of these organisms can produce profound alterations in the structure of the original communities and in the configuration of their biotic assemblages.
2. Aquatic invertebrates play important roles in both the structure and functioning of freshwater ecosystems, including their contribution to global biodiversity and their cascading effects across ecosystem boundaries.
3. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of introduced non-native fish on the pleustonic macroinvertebrate assemblage. Samples were taken from 10 shallow Patagonian lakes (five fishless and five stocked with fish) in two consecutive warm periods.
4. Lakes with fish had higher conductivity and phosphate values. Higher inter-annual differences were also observed in lakes with fish for phytoplanktonic chlorophyll a, nitrate, phosphate, conductivity, and water temperature.
5. The community structure (relative abundance of different taxa, species composition, and diversity index) was affected by the presence of rainbow trout, with the differences mainly driven by the relative abundance of Ostracoda, Hyalella, Chironomidae, and Haliplus species.
6. This approach can be used to assess the required conservation actions in shallow Patagonian steppe lakes, which have been listed as priority areas for waterbird conservation. Specifically, this study provides a baseline for monitoring future trends of the macroinvertebrate communities and for evaluating conservation and management efforts over time.

     

Fishes of the Irrawaddy River: Diversity and conservation

1. Few conservation studies have examined fish communities in entire drainage basins, especially in developing regions such as Southeast Asia, one of the most diverse biomes globally. The aim of this study was to establish conservation projections for the whole of the Irrawaddy River system, based on fish diversity patterns, human impact, and environmental change.
2. The Irrawaddy River is one of the five largest rivers in Southeast Asia. Although it has very high diversity of fish species and species endemism, our understanding of resident fish status remains poor.
3. Based on 1,726 field survey and 1,056 database records, 470 fish species and their distribution patterns (i.e. alpha, beta, threatened species, and endemic species diversities) in sub-basins of the Irrawaddy drainage were identified. Canonical correspondence analysis of diversity and environmental patterns indicated that climatic factors had the largest effect on diversity, compatible with the species–energy theory.
4. Fish conservation priorities of sub-basins were evaluated based on diversity patterns and human impact. The delta and Manipur basin regions were highlighted as areas of focus for future fish diversity conservation, and the importance of connectivity in the Irrawaddy main stem was demonstrated.
5. The results of this study will be valuable for future management of the Irrawaddy basin and as a reference for other river basins when implementing protection strategies for fish diversity. This study also advocates the need for systematic investigations across entire drainage basins and further detailed studies on the ecological conditions of poorly studied river systems.

     

From the lab to the river: Determination of ecological hosts of Anodonta anatina

1. Coextinction is the simplest form of secondary extinction and freshwater mussels (Bivalvia, Unionida) may be particularly prone to this phenomenon as their life cycle includes an obligatory parasitic larval stage on fish hosts.
2. The main aims of this study were to determine the possible ecological fish hosts of Anodonta anatina (Linnaeus, 1758) in several rivers of the Douro basin in northern Portugal and to assess possible spatial and temporal differences in glochidial (larval) loads. In order to achieve this, electrofishing was conducted from December to April, the fish fauna was characterized, and levels of infestation with A. anatina glochidia were determined.
3. Native cyprinid species, mainly Luciobarbus bocagei (Iberian barbel) and Squalius carolitertii (northern Iberian chub), together with the non‐native Lepomis gibbosus (pumpkinseed sunfish) and Alburnus alburnus (common bleak), were found to have the highest glochidial loads. Clear differences in infestation between rivers and throughout time were detected, with an infestation period from January to March, and with the Tâmega River having the highest prevalence.
4. Anodonta anatina is able to infest a variety of fish species, and this together with earlier studies showed that the metamorphosis into juveniles occurs mainly in native cyprinid species, although non‐native species like common bleak can also be considered suitable hosts. However, the larvae infesting other non‐native species, such as the pumpkinseed sunfish, do not metamorphose and can be considered ‘dead ends’.
5. Overall, the results reported here are important for the conservation of A. anatina (and other unionoid species) because several Iberian rivers (and worldwide) have been subjected to the extirpation of native fish species and the introduction of non‐native fish species. Therefore, careful assessments of fish communities should be conducted to assess possible negative interactions with freshwater mussels.

     

Bioindicator role of aquatic Ranunculus in Mediterranean freshwater habitats

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Development and evaluation of a fish‐based index to assess biological integrity of Mediterranean streams

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Freshwater ecosystem vulnerability: Is native climatic niche good enough to predict invasion events?

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Typology in Mediterranean transitional waters: new challenges and perspectives

• 1. Transitional waters are ecotones between terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems, being characterized by high spatial heterogeneity and temporal variability.
• 2. The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) posed to the scientific community the challenge to classify these ecosystems into a small number of types, while retaining a functional classification of ecosystem types.
• 3. A niche theory approach is proposed to identify the limiting forcing factors organizing biological quality elements, i.e. the limiting niche dimensions.
• 4. The analysis of a macro‐invertebrate dataset from published papers on 36 Italian lagoons suggested a two‐level typological classification of Mediterranean lagoons.
• 5. Basic ecological theories, such as niche and island biogeography theories, have fundamental implications for the process of developing a typological classification for all aquatic ecosystems, as required by the WFD.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The representativeness of protected areas for Amazonian fish diversity under climate change

1. The Amazon basin has been subjected to extreme climatic events and according to climate change projections this hydrosystem could face changes in the natural dynamic of flood cycles that support the feeding and reproduction of many fish species, threatening aquatic biodiversity.
2. Protected areas (PAs) are the main tools used to safeguard the biodiversity in the long term; however, they are fixed areas that could be subject to climate change, questioning their future efficiency in protecting biodiversity.
3. The Amazon basin currently benefits from a relatively high level of protection as 52% of its catchment area is under the form of true PAs or indigenous lands. However, the capacity of these PAs to protect freshwater biodiversity remains unclear as they have generally been assessed with little regard to freshwater ecosystems and their hydrological connectivity. Here, the aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of PAs in representing the Amazon fish fauna under current and future climatic conditions.
4. A macroecological approach was used to estimate the minimum size of the geographical range needed by each species to achieve long-term persistence, by a combined function of range size and body size, two ecological traits known to influence species extinction risk.
5. In future the Amazon basin could risk losing 2% of its freshwater fish fauna owing to unsuitable climatic conditions, with a further 34% adversely affected. The present Amazon network of PAs will cover the minimum required range for species persistence for more than 60% of the freshwater fish species analysed under the future climate scenario. However, more than 25% of the future susceptible species are currently concentrated in large tributaries and in the central-lower Amazon floodplain where few PAs occur, highlighting the lack of appropriate conservation actions for these specific water bodies.

     

Hybridization and invasive species in a threatened freshwater fish community under environmental pressures: Morphometric and molecular evidence

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Fish–habitat relationships and fish conservation in small coastal streams in southern Spain

• 1. Studies dealing with the fish fauna of coastal streams are scarce in the scientific literature, particularly those from Mediterranean climates. Owing to their small size, these systems suffer extreme seasonal fluctuations, following the typical Mediterranean flood–drought cycle and leading to a high risk of extinction to freshwater fish.
• 2. This work analyses fish distribution in 14 stream stretches belonging to eight basins in the northern sector of the Strait of Gibraltar (southern Spain). Fish–habitat relationships were studied through multivariate ordination techniques at two scales: basin and stretch.
• 3. A principal components analysis clearly discriminated larger and more sinuous basins from smaller and steeper ones. This ordination was related to the non‐migratory freshwater fish species richness and to the total number of fish species present in the middle reaches of each basin.
• 4. The main sources of variation in community composition and habitat characteristics in the different stretches were related to a clear upstream–downstream gradient, along which total species richness increased.
• 5. These small coastal basins are inhabited by two highly endangered species, Andalusian toothcarp (Aphanius baeticus) and Iberian chub (Squalius pyrenaicus), and have similar or higher overall freshwater species richness than larger adjacent basins. The near absences of flow regulation and introduced species make these streams one of the few types of Iberian aquatic system where unaltered fish–habitat relationships can be studied.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparative analysis of habitat quality between artificial and natural creeks in the Mediterranean killifish Aphanius fasciatus: Implications for conservation

1. In transitional water ecosystems, habitat loss is one of the major threats to fish biodiversity. This is particularly true in the case of temperate salt marshes. Good quality artificial novel habitats may compensate for the loss of natural habitats, acting as a refuge for fish populations.
2. The aim of this study was to use coloured ornamental traits exhibited by the males of a small lagoon-resident fish, the Mediterranean killifish Aphanius fasciatus (Valenciennes, 1821), to assess habitat quality in both the natural and artificial creeks of the Venice lagoon.
3. The conspicuousness of two secondary sexual traits, the yellow/orange caudal fin pigmentation and the contrast between white and dark vertical bars on body sides, proved to be greater in artificial habitats compared to natural salt marshes, highlighting the refuge function of artificial creeks.
4. The use of secondary sexual traits could be extended to other fish species and to other aquatic habitats as a non-invasive approach. This would allow the identification of good quality habitats in the context of fish population management and conservation.

     

Hobbyists acting simultaneously as anglers and aquarists: Novel pathways for non-native fish and impacts on native fish

1. Human translocations of non-native aquatic species are a global conservation challenge. Aquarists and anglers are two hobbyist groups whose practices are particularly likely to translocate non-native aquatic species, especially fish.
2. This article aims to stipulate a change of perspective among these hobbyists, who – by acting simultaneously as anglers and aquarists – establish novel pathways for non-native fish.
3. This study showed that: (i) 51 of 226 respondents to a questionnaire act simultaneously as anglers and aquarists; (ii) 53 of 237 non-native fish species in the European Union are used for both angling and aquarium hobbies; and (iii) hobbyists write online reports on the catch and exchange of a particularly invasive fish, the round goby (Neogobius melanostomus).
4. This combination of knowledge on how hobbyists use non-native fish and the ecological impacts of round goby demonstrates how the impact of an invasive species can be influenced by the combined behaviours of anglers and aquarists.
5. We suggest that future research in aquatic conservation should move beyond considering the commercial aquarium trade and angling as separate pathways for translocating non-native fish, and instead consider these hobbyist groups as interconnected.

     

Conservation of Amazonian aquatic mammals

1. Aquatic mammals worldwide are highly threatened in freshwater ecosystems where they are affected by direct human activities (e.g. hunting) as well as indirect human alteration of freshwater ecosystems (e.g. dams, mining activity). Although aquatic mammals of the Amazon Basin are experiencing many growing threats, little is known about the escalating impacts on them, current limitations in protection mechanisms, and possible strategies to ensure their conservation. This study synthesizes the available information on Amazonian aquatic mammals, including the ecological characteristics of these species, key threats, population status and conservation prospects.
2. Amazonian aquatic mammals comprise seven species – Inia geoffrensis, Inia boliviensis, Inia araguaiaensis, Sotalia fluviatilis, Trichechus inunguis, Pteronura brasiliensis and Lontra longicaudis – which are characterized by low reproductive rates and keystone ecosystem roles. These species are endangered mainly by biological resource use, natural ecosystem modifications, energy production and mining, and climate change. Although information is sparse, there is evidence that these threats are inducing population declines of Inia spp., and hindering the recovery of populations of P. brasiliensis.
3. Protection mechanisms for these species mostly include national and international laws and agreements, legislation governing environmental licensing and protected areas. Each of these protection mechanisms, however, has limited capacity to protect Amazonian aquatic mammals, largely because they are poorly enforced, lack transnational coordination or require population trend data that do not exist.
4. Reversing the current state of affairs for Amazonian aquatic mammals requires an integrated research and policy approach that, at a minimum, substantially increases the present capacity to monitor their population responses to human impacts, establishes effective enforcement of existing legislation and prevents further impacts from hydropower development. To implement such an approach, information on the ecology of these species is necessary to create public and scientific awareness.

     

Introduction of exotic fish species and decline of native species in the lower Po basin,north‐eastern Italy

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Assessment of a terrestrial protected area for the conservation of freshwater biodiversity

1. Freshwater ecosystems are essential to human well-being and most have high biodiversity. However, this biodiversity has been suffering severe declines owing to the expansion of human activities. Protected areas (PAs) are essential for biodiversity conservation and have proved to be successful in stopping species extirpation if managed properly. Unfortunately, they are usually focused on terrestrial biodiversity, leaving freshwater ecosystems aside.
2. The main goal of this study was to determine the influence of a PA (Montesinho Natural Park (MNP), Portugal) on freshwater biodiversity. Aquatic macroinvertebrates and fishes were surveyed, and biodiversity (richness, abundance, Shannon-Wiener diversity, and Pielou's evenness) and water quality (IASPT) indices were calculated inside, at the periphery and outside the MNP.
3. Results showed that the PA does not affect positively either water quality or the two faunal groups monitored. Macroinvertebrate communities were not influenced by the PA; however, the abundance of pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera was significantly higher and size was significantly lower inside the MNP. The richness and abundance of fish communities were significantly higher outside the MNP, except for trout Salmo trutta abundance which was higher inside the MNP.
4. Given these results, the MNP does not guarantee the safeguard of overall aquatic biodiversity and habitats and we propose an extension of MNP to downstream areas in order to increase the number of species (mostly cyprinids) under legal protection. This work demonstrates that terrestrial PA planning and management should also consider aquatic biodiversity to achieve successful conservation.

     

Value of artificial ponds for aquatic beetle and bug conservation in the Cape Floristic Region biodiversity hotspot

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