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.

     

Do non-native ornamental fishes pose a similar level of invasion risk in neighbouring regions of similar current and future climate? Implications for conservation and management

1. Global trade in non-native ornamental species coupled with high connectivity among countries is well known to result in worldwide biological invasions, which pose challenges for the conservation and management of biodiversity.
2. There are few studies aimed at implementing management strategies that have examined differences in the potential invasiveness of non-native species between neighbouring political regions within the same ecoregion.
3. To compare the potential risk of invasiveness of non-native ornamental fishes with high commercial value in the river basins of two neighbouring regions of East and Southeast Asia, 32 extant and horizon species were screened with the aquatic species invasiveness screening kit (as-isk ) for the lower Pearl River basin (South China) and the Chao Phraya River basin (Thailand). Both regional (i.e. basin level) and combined risk-ranking thresholds were determined by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.
4. Of the 32 species screened, 14 were categorized as posing a high risk and seven were categorized as posing a medium risk of being invasive in both regions, under current and future climate conditions. These species have a history of invasiveness and the climate of their native ranges is similar to that of the two study regions. Pterygoplichthys pardalis received the highest risk score in both regions. The risk ranks of 11 species differed between the two regions, based on either the combined or regional thresholds, and this was partly related to the different risk of invasiveness between the two regions, coupled with cognitive subjectivity among the assessors.
5. The results of the present study suggest that the invasion of non-native ornamental fish species could pose similar threats to biodiversity in neighbouring regions. This will serve to inform policy makers of neighbouring countries in the development of coordinated, mutually beneficial regulations and management strategies to enhance the conservation of native species.

     

Prioritizing aquatic conservation areas using spatial patterns and partitioning of fish community diversity in a near‐natural temperate basin

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Selecting areas with rare and restricted fish species in mountain streams of Southern Brazil

1. The delimitation of conservation units may be supported by information on compositional (taxonomic), functional, and phylogenetic diversity of a given locality or region. In this context, systematic conservation planning and key biodiversity areas are promising approaches for biodiversity protection.
2. Factors such as species representativeness and exclusivity may be used to identify geographical distribution patterns and select relevant areas for conservation at a local scale.
3. This study aims to identify areas with rare and restricted fish species in mountain streams in Southern Brazil, using a method that unites ecological and biogeographical approaches.
4. Seven river basins and 152 mountain streams in Southern Brazil were sampled to obtain data on the occurrence and abundance of 115 fish species. The rarity status of each species was determined and endemicity analysis was used to find areas of restricted species (ARS) with three cell sizes.
5. Using larger cells, continuous areas were identified and supported by a higher proportion of rare fish species. Using smaller cells, discontinuous areas were identified within each of the river basins, where rare and endemic fish species occur. Most of the smaller areas relevant for protecting fish fauna were located outside of conservation units.
6. Fundamental areas were selected for the protection of fish species in mountain streams in Southern Brazil. Both the method proposed and the areas with rare and restricted fish species identified may be used to support systematic conservation planning and to delimit new priority areas for conservation.

     

Spatial distribution patterns of fish egg and larval assemblages in the lower reach of the Yangtze River: Potential implications for conservation and management

1. River fish diversity is threatened by anthropogenic environmental alteration to landscapes. The early life-history stages of fish play an important role in maintaining diversity and population recruitment and can be heavily influenced by landscape patterns. Information on temporal and spatial distribution patterns of fish eggs and larvae is also important for biodiversity conservation and management of fish resources.
2. The Yangtze River possesses a high diversity of fishes, including many commercially important species. The economy along the lower reach of the river is well developed, and most of the area is experiencing high pressure from human impacts. This section of the Yangtze River connects with the largest freshwater lake in China at the upstream end and flows into the estuary at the downstream end. These two landscape features are likely to have a significant impact upon the spatial distributions of fish egg and larval assemblages.
3. Environmental variables, fish eggs, and larval assemblages were sampled in three locations, at Hukou, Anqing, and Jingjiang, in the lower reach of the Yangtze River. The results suggest that the higher number of species and greater abundance in upstream sites reflect the critical function of connectivity of Poyang Lake with the river for fish recruitment in the lower Yangtze. The delayed bloom of larval fish, occurrence of estuarine species, and a lower species number and abundance of freshwater fish downstream reflect the influence of tidal intrusion from the estuary.
4. This study highlights the value of maintaining natural river–lakes connectivity in the Yangtze River as a conservation measure. The connected river–lake system should be designated as a priority area for fish resource protection in the lower reach of the Yangtze River. We recommend further measures to break down barriers between the river and other lakes and to restore the natural lateral connectivity of the floodplain ecosystem.

     

Vulnerability of the biota in riverine and seasonally flooded habitats to damming of Amazonian rivers

1. The extent and intensity of impacts of multiple new dams in the Amazon basin on specific biological groups are potentially large, but still uncertain and need to be better understood.
2. It is known that river disruption and regulation by dams may affect sediment supplies, river channel migration, floodplain dynamics, and, as a major adverse consequence, are likely to decrease or even suppress ecological connectivity among populations of aquatic organisms and organisms dependent upon seasonally flooded environments.
3. This article complements our previous results by assessing the relationships between dams, our Dam Environmental Vulnerability Index (DEVI), and the biotic environments threatened by the effects of dams. Because of the cartographic representation of DEVI, it is a useful tool to compare the potential hydrophysical impacts of proposed dams in the Amazon basin with the spatial distribution of biological diversity. As the impact of Amazonian dams on the biota of both rivers and periodically flooded riparian environments is severe, DEVIs from different Amazonian tributary basins are contrasted with patterns of diversity and distribution of fish, flooded forest trees and bird species.
4. There is a consistent relationship between higher DEVI values and the patterns of higher species richness and endemism in all three biological groups. An assessment of vulnerability at the scale of tributary basins, the assessment of biodiversity patterns related to DEVI, and the analysis of teleconnections at basin scale, demonstrate that recent construction of dams is affecting the biota of the Amazon basin.
5. The evidence presented here predicts that, if currently planned dams are built without considering the balance between energy production and environmental conservation, their cumulative effects will increase drastically and represent a major threat to Amazonian biodiversity.

     

Dams in the Amazon: The importance of maintaining free-flowing tributaries for fish reproduction

1. Free-flowing tributaries are important for the maintenance of fish diversity in dammed systems. In relation to the reproduction of fish species, the role of a free-flowing tributary was evaluated and compared with that of a dammed tributary downstream of large dams in the Madeira River, one of the main tributaries of the Amazon River.
2. Two hypotheses were tested: (i) the densities of the ichthyoplankton differ between the dammed and the free-flowing tributaries; and (ii) the free-flowing tributary contributes a greater diversity of fish larvae species to the assemblage structure of the main stem than the dammed tributary.
3. Fish eggs and larvae were sampled at five sites: one in each tributary (Jamari – dammed – and Machado – free-flowing) and three in the main stem (Madeira River), upstream and downstream from the mouth of each tributary.
4. Fitted Bayesian models showed that the densities both of eggs and larvae were more than twice as high in the free-flowing tributary than in the dammed tributary. The results also indicated that the free-flowing tributary makes a major contribution to the fish assemblage structure of the Madeira River, whereas the dammed tributary does not have a significant influence on the main stem assemblage structure.
5. The results demonstrate the importance of conservation and maintenance not only of the Machado River but also of other free-flowing tributaries in dammed basins, especially those basins with high biodiversity, such as the Amazon. Moreover, this study helps inform the decision-making process regarding the location of new dams, which is critical in fish diversity conservation.

     

Harnessing the potential for otolith microchemistry to foster the conservation of Amazonian fishes

1. Freshwater environments host roughly half of the world’s fish diversity, much of which is concentrated in large, tropical river systems such as the Amazon. Fishes are critical to ecosystem functioning in the Amazon River basin but face increasing human threats. The basic biology of these species, and particularly migratory behaviour, remains poorly studied, in part owing to the difficulty associated with conducting tagging studies in remote tropical regions.
2. Otolith microchemistry can circumvent logistical issues and is an increasingly important tool for studying fish life histories. However, this approach is still new in the Amazon, and its potential and limitations to inform fish conservation strategies remain unclear.
3. Here, otolith microchemistry studies in the Amazon are reviewed, highlighting current possibilities, and several key factors that limit its use as a conservation tool in the Amazon are discussed. These include the dearth of spatiotemporal elemental data, poor understanding of environment–fish–otolith pathways, and insufficient funding, facilities, and equipment.
4. A research initiative is proposed to harness the potential of this technique to support conservation in the Amazon. Key aspects of the proposal include recommendations for internal and external funding, which are critical to acquiring and maintaining technical staff, cutting-edge equipment, and facilities, as well as fostering regular scientific meetings and working groups. Meetings can facilitate a systematic approach to investigating environment–otolith pathways, broadening the chemical baseline for most Amazonian tributaries, and exploring potential valuable elements.
5. These outcomes are urgently needed to conserve biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in the Amazon, especially given threats such as widespread hydroelectric damming. The initiative proposed here could make otolith microchemistry an important, cost-effective tool to inform and foster conservation in the Amazon, and act as a template for other imperilled tropical river basins, such as the Mekong and the Congo.

     

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.     

Movement ecology of imperilled fish in a novel ecosystem: River‐reservoir movements by razorback sucker and translocations to aid conservation

1. Reservoirs and associated river fragments are novel ecosystems not experienced by fishes in their evolutionary history, yet they are now commonplace across the globe. Understanding how fishes use these novel habitats is vital to conservation efforts in contemporary riverscapes.
2. Movement patterns of the endangered razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) synthesized from tagging efforts in the upper Colorado River basin, USA, illustrate the applications of tagging technology and data sharing by multiple agencies to better understand the spatial ecology of large river fishes.
3. Tagging studies between 2014 and 2018 in Lake Powell and its two main tributary rivers, the Colorado (unfragmented) and San Juan (waterfall‐fragmented), were used to quantify movement of razorback sucker within this river–reservoir habitat complex. In addition, facilitated translocations of fish upstream of a waterfall barrier in the San Juan River were assessed in 2016–2017.
4. Extensive movement of fish occurred within and across river and reservoir habitats. Of 722 fish captured in the Colorado River arm of Lake Powell, 36% of re‐encounters occurred upstream in the Colorado or Green rivers, or fish dispersed through the reservoir and were detected in the San Juan River arm. Fourteen fish moved more than 600 km. In the San Juan arm of the reservoir, 29% and 20% of fish in 2017 and 2018, respectively, had moved ~30–40 km upstream below the waterfall in the San Juan River within a year. In 2016–2017, 303 fish were translocated upstream of the waterfall into the San Juan River, but 80% were re‐encountered downstream of the waterfall within a year.
5. Long‐distance movements by razorback sucker were common within and among rivers and reservoirs illustrating how large river fish, in general, might maintain population connectivity in highly altered ecosystems.

     

Geographic variation in host fish use and larval metamorphosis for the endangered dwarf wedgemussel

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High gene flow in two migratory Neotropical fish species,Salminus franciscanus and Brycon orthotaenia,and implications for conservation aquaculture

1. Two migratory and endangered freshwater fish species, Salminus franciscanus and Brycon orthotaenia, are endemic to one of the most important basins for hydropower capacity in South America. These two fish are target species of conservation aquaculture programmes along the São Francisco River system.
2. In order to implement effective strategies for the conservation of these species, microsatellite markers were developed and used to assess the genetic diversity and structure among wild groups. Fish were collected during the spawning season at four sampling sites, covering more than 1000 km.
3. Polymorphism loci were assessed, and a total of 133 and 107 alleles were found for S. franciscanus and B. orthotaenia, respectively. Despite the critical conservation status, B. orthotaenia showed high levels of genetic diversity, comparable with those of other closely related species.
4. Salminus franciscanus exhibited half of the genetic diversity of its sister species in terms of allelic diversity, indicating that this species will be more prone to genetic drift and inbreeding in conservation aquaculture programmes.
5. The results of an analysis of molecular variance for microsatellite markers in these species (F_ST = 0.007 for S. franciscanus and F_ST = 0.003 for B. orthotaenia) and the estimated recent migration rates (>40% among sampling sites) support panmixia in both species, despite the heterogeneities of the riverscape.
6. The results of this study and the microsatellites developed will play an important role in assisting agencies in making informed decisions on conservation aquaculture programmes.

     

Priority habitats for the conservation of large river fish in the Ganges river basin

• 1. Three classes of habitat used by groups of fish species classified as conservation and management priorities were developed for the Gerua River (also known as the Girwa River, Karnali River) in the Ganges river basin. This river is large (mean annual discharge ca 1500 m³ s^?1, up to 900 m wide), surrounded by protected lands of India and Nepal, and upstream of major diversions and river alterations.
• 2. Fish and habitat sampling was conducted at 45 sites from 2000 to 2003. Data were analysed for 2172 fish of 14 species. Species and life stages found occupying a statistically distinct subset of the river habitats were grouped to identify classes of river habitat for conservation.
• 3. Most species and life‐stage groups specialized on specific habitat conditions revealed by multivariate analyses of variance and a principal component analysis. The most numerous and diverse group (six species, 15 life stages) was associated with deep depositional habitats with sandy substrate. Two species covering three life stages were primarily oriented to erosional habitat marked by fast current velocity with pebble and cobble substrate. A third group of three species of adults and juveniles were intermediate in habitat use.
• 4. River conservation for fish faunas should maintain both erosional and depositional channel habitats with depths, substrates, and current velocity inclusive of the ranges reported. The erosional and depositional nature of the key habitats requires that rivers be maintained with flows capable of channel‐forming functions.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Distribution and habitat characteristics of three sympatric cetacean species in the coastal waters of Matang,Perak, Peninsular Malaysia

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How deforestation drives stream habitat changes and the functional structure of fish assemblages in different tropical regions

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Historical distribution of freshwater fishes and the reference conditions concept in a large Mediterranean basin

1. The European Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD) defines the ecological status of aquatic systems as the deviation between their present biological state and that which would be expected in the absence of any major human disturbance, referred to by the WFD as the ‘reference condition’ (RC). It assumes that their biotic composition should remain balanced and constant over time. This study tested both assumptions against an analysis of the historical distribution of the fish fauna in a large and highly disturbed Mediterranean basin. If fish communities change substantially over time, it will mean that the validity of the RC concept comes into question.
2. Using presence/absence data for historical native fish fauna from the Guadalquivir Basin, distribution changes among sub-basins were quantified by mapping between the nineteenth century and today.
3. The range of two native species (Anguilla anguilla and Salmo trutta) has changed significantly. In addition, the diadromous species assemblage has almost become locally extinct, with the exception of the eel. Finally, most Guadalquivir sub-basins (94.7%) have suffered major changes in the composition of their fish communities, either by losing native species or by adding new non-native species.
4. These results render the definition of any RC unlikely. In Mediterranean areas, the WFD objective of ‘good ecological status’ recovery based on the integrity of aquatic communities is a theoretical rather than a real goal. Nonetheless, the WFD provides an ecological guiding principle that can also be transferred to the conservation of freshwater ecosystems.
5. As an alternative to the RC concept in Mediterranean lotic ecosystems, specific multimetric indices can be used, based on expert criteria, the metrics of which can also relate to the conservation value of water bodies, and not only to their ecological status.

     

The conservation of migratory fishes in the second largest river basin of South America depends on the creation of new protected areas

1. Freshwater ecosystems, providing valuable goods and services to humans, have been subjected to multiple human impacts, among which climate change plays a central role in threats to species. It is expected that protected areas, the cornerstone of biodiversity conservation efforts, will assume a decisive role in protecting freshwater species from the impacts of climate change.
2. This study assessed the effects of climate change on migratory fish of the second largest neotropical river basin, evaluating the effectiveness of protected areas in safeguarding fish species, and hence the ecological functions that they perform and the ecosystem resources that they provide. The present range of 23 migratory fish of economic interest in the Paraná–Paraguay basin was estimated and the responses to future climatic shifts projected to the middle and end of the 21st century were examined, quantifying predictive uncertainties.
3. Changes and losses of climatically suitable areas will trigger severe contractions in range, with the greatest impact on the most valuable species in commercial fishing, where range losses are likely to surpass 65% in the future. The main channel of the Upper Paraná River and tributaries of its left margin are projected to serve as climatic refuges for many species, and such regions are not affected by high predictive uncertainty. The results revealed that protected areas do not sufficiently protect migratory fish at present, and that they will continue to offer negligible protection in the face of climate change.
4. This study alerts decision makers to the potential damage to inland fishery resources from climate change and provides useful information to guide conservation strategies spatially. We advocate that the creation of new protected areas and the redesign of the existing network to encompass regions that maximize current and future occupancy of migratory fish are crucial to conserve the valuable ecological, societal, and economic benefits that they provide.

     

湟水流域水生态保护与修复研究

研究湟水流域水生态现状和保护与修复措施,加强湟水流域水生态保护,维持黄河尤其是黄河上游流域及青藏高原和黄土高原-川滇生态屏障生态安全。湟水干流、大通河梯级开发集中,河流纵向连通性遭到严重破坏,且大部分水电站是引水式小水电站,枯水期水电站下游河道脱流现象严重,河流水流连续性及横向连通性遭到破坏,河流生态功能严重下降。根据国家及黄河流域对湟水流域生态保护定位及要求,在湟水流域水生态状况评价及问题识别的基础上,明确各区域(河段)水生态保护目标,提出了湟水上中下游水生态保护与修复总体布局、重要断面生态需水指标及保障措施和重要湿地、重要鱼类栖息地等保护与修复措施体系。     

Fish community responses to stream flow alterations and habitat modifications by small hydropower projects in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot,India

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The Amazonian dwarf cichlid Apistogramma agassizii (Steindachner, 1875) is a geographic mosaic of potentially tens of species: Conservation implications

1. Assessing biodiversity and understanding how it works is a prerequisite for species conservation. The Amazon basin is one of the main biodiversity hotspots where fish are heavily exploited for ornamental purposes.
2. The ornamental trade heavily exploits the genus Apistogramma, which is one of the most species‐rich among Neotropical cichlids with 94 formally described species. This number is certainly underestimated owing to the limitations of conventional taxonomy, which is still too often based solely on morphological criteria and sometimes on few individuals.
3. Most species of this genus have a high degree of endemism and are highly prized on the ornamental market, which could put them at risk. A few species are supposed to have extensive distributions, and in particular Apistogramma agassizii, present from the Amazon estuary up to the Ucayali and Marañon rivers in Peru.
4. This study assessed the taxonomic status of 1,151 specimens of A. agassizii collected from 35 sites around Iquitos in the Peruvian Amazon. On the basis of molecular analyses (nuclear and mitochondrial DNA) and mate choice experiments, at least three biological species within the nominal A. agassizii were evidenced in the sampling area, which is extremely small compared with the known distribution of the species as initially described.
5. According to the molecular calibrations, these three species would have diverged during the Plio‐Pleistocene. Two of them seem to be endemic from small sub‐basins, one from the Nanay River and the other from the Apayacu/Ampiyacu systems. A possible scenario that may explain the evolutionary history of these species is proposed.
6. The conservation implications of these results on the estimation of the diversity of A. agassizii, of Apistogramma species in general, and of other Amazonian cichlids are discussed.