Invasion of the European River Lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis in the Upper Volga

Aleksandr O Zvezdin,Dmitry S Pavlov,Natalia V Polyakova,Anzhelika V Kolotei,Aleksandr V Kucheryavyy

doi:10.3390/w13131825

Aleksandr O Zvezdin, Dmitry S Pavlov + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/w13131825

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Journal: Water	Publication Date: Jun 30, 2021
Citations: 5	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution

Abstract

The European river lamprey came to the Upper Volga from the Baltic Sea most probably via a system of shipways developed in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Vyshnii Volochek, Tikhvin, and Mariinskaya water systems are possible invasion pathways for this species. Dispersal and colonization of the Caspian Basin was likely a combination of upstream and downstream migrations. Analysis of museum and our own samples showed that lamprey possibly migrated upstream (for spawning) along rivers of the Baltic Basin until they reached the watershed boundary from which they could disperse downstream (in the juvenile period) into rivers of the Caspian Basin. Dispersal in the Volga River could occur in accordance with the migration cycle of this opportunistic lamprey species and lead to the present distribution. Key features (dentition and number of trunk myomeres) showed that lamprey from the studied area are similar to lampreys from the Baltic basin, although specimens in each population have their own peculiarities in morphology (size and coloration). Genetic data (Cyt-b) support the idea of a relatively recent invasion of lamprey into the Upper Volga. The haplotype, found in three rivers, is one of the most widespread in Europe and is found along the supposed route of invasion.

Highlights

Four genera of lamprey (Petromyzontiformes) occur in the central part of EasternEurope (European part of Russia, Figure 1)
This study was based on an analysis of our own collected material: collections of lamprey larvae and spawning adults as well as observations on the distribution of lamprey in the Upper Volga
Invasion is a constant process associated with changes in the environment for a long time

Summary

Introduction

Four genera of lamprey (Petromyzontiformes) occur in the central part of EasternEurope (European part of Russia, Figure 1). Northeast Atlantic Ocean and the rivers of Europe) and Lethenteron (drainages of the White and Barents seas of the Arctic Ocean) are represented by both migrant (anadromous and potamodromous) and freshwater (the so-called resident) ecological forms. Caspiomyzon (the Caspian Sea and the rivers of its northern, western, and southern watersheds) includes only anadromous lampreys, while the genus Eudontomyzon Lamprey traveled up the Volga as far as the city of Kalinin ( Tver) and the mouth of the Tvertsa River [10] These migration routes were later obstructed by the dams in the Upper Volga (the section of the Volga between the source and the confluence with the Oka River) and blocked entirely after the construction of the Volga Hydroelectric Station. The ecological niches vacated by the Caspian lamprey “attracted” representatives of other lamprey genera: Lampetra from

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