Abstract
Background. The topmouth gudgeon, Pseudorasbora parva (Temminck et Schlegel, 1846) (known also as stone moroko), is an alien species of the fish fauna of many European freshwater ecosystems. In large quantities, its may affect negatively the fish fauna and the functioning of ecosystems. It competes for food with native fish species and they occupy their habitat. The knowledge about the invasion dynamics may help to find suitable control measures. The aim of this study was to find and observe the population of P. parva in a small river. Materials and methods. Inventory fishing on three sampling sites at the CiemiÄ™ga River was carried out from 2003 to 2007. The abundance and density of P. parva in the river were calculated. The size distribution of P. parva and its length–weight relation were determined. Abundance, density, length, and mass of the fish from all study sites were analyzed statistically. Results. P. parva was first recorded in the CiemiÄ™ga River in the autumn of 2005. The abundance of P. parva in relation to the structure of the local ichthyofauna was the smallest in the spring and the highest in autumn. The total length of P. parva ranged from 15 to 104 mm, and the mass from 0.2 to 10.4 g. Taking into account the number of the specimens, P. parva constituted between 0.9% and 57.2% of the local ichthyofauna, while its mass ranged from 0.0% to 35.1% depending on the study site and the season. The density of P. parva ranged from 72.9 to 6.5 CPUEN, while the mean value for the river was 30.6 CPUEN. Conclusion. In Polish waters P. parva is an alien species and there is still little information about its occurrence in the flowing waters. Since 2005, this species was present almost in all inventory catches in the CiemiÄ™ga River. Its presence was dependent on the kind of the habitat and the presence of predatory fish species (eg brown trout). P. parva occurring numerous may be a lot of competition for native fish species, and therefore an important problem is to understand his habitat preferences and interactions with native fish species.
Highlights
Three 100-m long sampling sites (located in the vicinity of villages: Jastków (S1), Dys (S2), and Pliszczyn (S3) were defined on the Ciemięga River: S1 (Jastków): bottom covered by sand and gravel, many submerged macrophytes; river bed straight; low, flat embankment; bank vegetation dominated by stinging nettle, Urtica dioica L., and white deadnettle, Lamium album L.; few trees; some sections of the river regulated
S2 (Dys): bottom covered by sand and gravel with occasional mud, many submerged macrophytes; river bed irregular with small meanders, high and steep embankment; bank vegetation dominated by stinging nettle, Urtica dioica L., and white deadnettle, Lamium album L.; few trees; some sections of the river regulated; near the bridge the embankment with concrete blocks
The routes of spread of this species are diverse, but in most cases the fish gets into new ecosystems along with fish fry of such species as e.g., Ctenopharyngodon idella, Hypophthalmichthys nobilis, or H. molitrix)
Summary
The invasion success of P. parva can be explained byThe topmouth gudgeon, Pseudorasbora parva several of its biological attributes: physiological toler-(Temminck et Schlegel, 1846) (known as stone ance, short generation time, high reproductive potential, moroko), is a small cyprinid species native to Japan, China, feeding flexibility, and parental care (Adámek andKorea, and the Amur River basin, and it is a highly invasive Siddiqui 1997, Katano and Maekawa 1997, Rosecchi et fish species in Europe (Caiola and De Sostoa 2002, Pinder al. 2001, Pollux et al 2006).et al 2005, Ekmekçi and Kirankaya 2006).Research issues concerning P. parva are mainlyThe species was introduced probably with stocking focused on the first records of this species in different material of herbivorous fish, such as: grass carp, regions of Europe (Wildekamp et al 1997, Caiola and Ctenopharyngodon idella (Valenciennes, 1844); bighead De Sostoa 2002, Pinder et al 2005, Ekmekçi and carp, Hypophthalmichthys nobilis (Richardson, 1845); Kirankaya 2006) as well as its morphometry, biology, and silver carp, H. molitrix (Valenciennes, 1844) import- behaviour, age, and growth (Sunardi at al. 2005, 2007, ed from China and it has spread in the last 40 years Kapusta et al 2008, Záhorská et al 2009, 2010). The Amur River basin, and it is a highly invasive Siddiqui 1997, Katano and Maekawa 1997, Rosecchi et fish species in Europe The topmouth gudgeon, Pseudorasbora parva (Temminck et Schlegel, 1846) (known as stone moroko), is an alien species of the fish fauna of many European freshwater ecosystems. Its may affect negatively the fish fauna and the functioning of ecosystems It competes for food with native fish species and they occupy their habitat. Density, length, and mass of the fish from all study sites were analyzed statistically. P. parva occurring numerous may be a lot of competition for native fish species, and an important problem is to understand his habitat preferences and interactions with native fish species
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