An Analysis of Adriatic Ichthyofauna—Ecology, Zoogeography, and Conservation Status

Lovrenc Lipej,Marcelo Kovačić,Jakov Dulčić

doi:10.3390/fishes7020058

Lovrenc Lipej, Marcelo Kovačić + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes7020058

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Abstract

The paper presents an analysis of biogeographic and habitat distribution patterns, and the conservation status data of Adriatic fishes, based on the last published checklist and evidence-based critical analyses of species presence. The total number of species recorded in the Adriatic is 449. The Adriatic has 58.8% of Mediterranean species richness, 76.1% of its families, and 87.8% of its orders. Among species discovered in the Adriatic after 2010, twelve species were attributed to biological invasion, mostly Atlantic immigrants or alien species, and ten species were attributed to improved research on the native ichthyofauna of the Adriatic area. About 58% of species are native species of Atlanto-Mediterranean origin, 21% are native species of wider global occurrence, 15% are Mediterranean or Mediterranean and Black Sea endemics and 5% originated outside Mediterranean Sea. The majority of species inhabit the benthic environment (71.9%), while others occur in the pelagic environment (20.7%) or are euryhaline (7.3%). The benthic littoral species are the most numerous Adriatic fishes, representing 40% of all species richness, whereas pelagic fishes are mainly eurybathic or epipelagic; only 3.6% of species are deep pelagic species. A Red Book of marine fishes of the Adriatic Sea is urgently needed to assess their conservation status, covering the entire Adriatic Sea and reviewing all fish species to assess their conservation status.

Highlights

Marine biodiversity in the Adriatic is attributed to its geological history, limited by its present bathymetric, hydrographic, and climatic characteristics, and influenced by present geographical connectivity and anthropogenic processes [1]
Contrary to marine fishes, among euryhaline fauna, four species seem to have a native range restricted to the Adriatic and could be true Adriatic endemics, namely, Acipenser naccarii (Bonaparte, 1836), Syngnathus taenionotus (Canestrini, 1871), Knipowitschia panizzae (Verga, 1841), and Ninnigobius canestrinii (Ninni, 1883)
The known total Adriatic fish species richness has been following an upward trend during the two centuries since the first Adriatic fish checklists were published, with an average increase of over two species per year since the end of the last century

Summary

Introduction

Marine biodiversity in the Adriatic is attributed to its geological history, limited by its present bathymetric, hydrographic, and climatic characteristics, and influenced by present geographical connectivity and anthropogenic processes [1]. These characteristics have been crucial in shaping the peculiarities of Adriatic ichthyofauna. It is rapidly changing due to the increasing arrival of non-indigenous fishes and other taxa [4–7]. Such changes have been recorded in the Adriatic Sea. During the last few decades, various factors including climate change, anthropogenic activity, and “Lessepsian migration” have changed the composition of Adriatic ichthyofauna [5–10]. While “Lessepsian migration” is responsible for the arrival of non-indigenous species through the

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