Life history and ecological correlates of extinction risk in European freshwater fishes

Abstract

We used phylogenetically based comparative analyses to test for associations between extinction risk in European freshwater fishes and a variety of life history, ecological, and biogeographical traits. Based on the World Conservation Union classification scheme, a total of 47% of Europe's 287 native species are classified as threatened with extinction. Threatened species are significantly smaller than less-threatened species in the same genera when analyses are restricted to fully freshwater species. This trend is reversed when anadromous genera are included. These comprise many large-bodied species in which fishing has often played a greater role in declines than in other taxa. Threatened species did not differ significantly in their habitats, although they tended to occupy a narrower variety of habitats biased toward streams and rivers. Threatened species occupy much narrower latitudinal ranges than close relatives that are less threatened, and they also have more southerly distributions where pressures on habitats are intense. This study suggests that links between life histories and threat status of freshwater fishes are not as clearcut as for marine species. For fish restricted entirely to freshwater, small-bodied species are most at risk owing to their naturally small ranges, which may put them in a more precarious position when their habitats are impacted by humans.