Ecological Impacts of Nonnative Freshwater Fishes

Abstract

AbstractThere is a long history of introduction of non‐native fishes in fresh waters and the introduction rate has accelerated greatly over time. Although not all introduced fishes have appreciable effects on their new ecosystems, many exert significant ecological, evolutionary, and economic impacts. For researchers, managers, and policy makers interested in conserving freshwater diversity, understanding the magnitude and array of potential impacts of non‐native fish species is of utmost importance. The present study provides an illustrative conspectus of the most recent literature reporting ecological impacts of non‐native freshwater fishes from a wide range of species and geographic locations and concludes with a prospectus of needed areas of scientific inquiry. Both directly and indirectly, invasive fishes affect a wide range of native organisms from zooplankton to mammals across multiple levels of biological organizations ranging from the genome to the ecosystem. Although a great deal of knowledge has been recently accumulated, this body of knowledge dwarfs in comparison to what we still need to learn. Specifically, we cite the need for additional scientific inquiry to fill knowledge gaps that are principally caused by taxonomically, geographically, disciplinarily, and methodologically unbalanced approaches.