Ecological characterization of two species of exotic fish, pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus) and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) in the international Minho river

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Ecological characterization of two species of exotic fish, pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus) and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) in the international Minho river Ana C. Lages1* and Carlos Antunes2 1 Universidade do Minho, Ciências da Terra, Portugal 2 Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental - CIIMAR, Portugal The introduction of exotic species is considered the main cause for the decline of native species. The largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus) are two native species from North America, introduced in Portugal to enhance sport fishing. However, their diet and great adaptability made them considered predatory and harmful. In order to understand the ecological impact of M. salmoides and L. gibbosus in the international section of the Minho River, three sampling sites were selected: two in Vila Nova de Cerveira and one in Lapela, at distance of the mouth of the river of 17 and 45 Km, respectively. The fish were gathered using fyke nets and trammel nets, electric fishing and fishing rod, with performed samplings since July 2014 until October 2015. For all fish caught the biometric data (weight, total and fork length, gonad and liver weight), sex, stomach contents analysis were registered as well as collection of otoliths and scales for age reading. Both species feed on small macroinvertebrates specially the juveniles while adults of largemouth bass and pumpkinseed sunfish prefer eat fish and gastropods, respectively. Because L. gibbosus is a recent introduction in the Minho river estuary its abundance increased a lot in the last two years and it was possible verify the increase of the fish population average length. With this work it is intended to evaluate the impact in the Minho River estuary of both exotic species studying the population structure, trophic webs and reproduction. Figure 1 Keywords: Lepomis gibbosus, Micropterus salmoides, Minho River, invasive species, Ecosystem impact Conference: XV European Congress of Ichthyology, Porto, Portugal, 7 Sep - 11 Sep, 2015. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Ecology, Conservation and Invasive Species Citation: Lages AC and Antunes C (2015). Ecological characterization of two species of exotic fish, pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus) and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) in the international Minho river. Front. Mar. Sci. Conference Abstract: XV European Congress of Ichthyology. doi: 10.3389/conf.fmars.2015.03.00103 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 20 Nov 2015; Published Online: 21 Nov 2015. * Correspondence: Miss. Ana C Lages, Universidade do Minho, Ciências da Terra, Braga, Portugal, acflageslanhelas92@hotmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Ana C Lages Carlos Antunes Google Ana C Lages Carlos Antunes Google Scholar Ana C Lages Carlos Antunes PubMed Ana C Lages Carlos Antunes Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.