Observation of parasitic behaviour of an invasive neozootic fish species, the topmouth gudgeon, Pseudorasbora parva (Actinopterygii: Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae), on other cyprinid fishes

Martin Oberle,Jan Másílko,Helmut Wedekind

doi:10.3750/aiep/02504

Abstract

The objective of this study was to observe and document behavioural factors of parasitism of an invasive neozootic fish species—the topmouth gudgeon, Pseudorasbora parva (Temminck et Schlegel, 1846)—on different cohorts of 1-year-old and 2-year-old common carp, Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758, as well as 3-year-old tench, Tinca tinca (Linnaeus, 1758), after the overwintering period in ponds and subsequently in aquaria. Fishes cohabited the ponds for seven months and the aquaria for one month. After this period carp and tench were examined for visible lesions on the body surface. During the cohabitation period cyprinids were actively nibbled by the neozootic fish species P. parva. Such attacking or nibbling caused injuries on the skin and deep lesions, which can be interpreted as predation or even parasitism.

Highlights

The topmouth gudgeon, Pseudorasbora parva (Temminck et Schlegel, 1846), is a small cyprinid fish species, which is non-native to Europe
This well-known, highly invasive potential of P. parva has a negative impact on native fish species
Lusk et al (2010) stated that P. parva caused problems to the indigenous cyprinids populations in a small water body, and that it is a strong food competitor for indigenous species (Adámek and Sukop 2000, Oberle unpublished**). These findings were confirmed by Musil et al (2014) who reported that invasive P. parva negatively impacted carp production by its marked grazing pressure on natural food and subsequent unfavourable economic effect in carp farming

Summary

Introduction

The topmouth gudgeon, Pseudorasbora parva (Temminck et Schlegel, 1846), is a small cyprinid fish species, which is non-native to Europe. A high degree of invasive potential, rapid colonization of new bodies of water, and many other successful behavioural and life strategies of P. parva are described in many papers (Katano and Maekawa 1997, Gozlan et al 2002, 2010, Pinder et al 2005, Britton and Brazier 2006, Beyer et al 2007, Yan and Chen 2009, Záhorská and Kováč 2009, Britton et al 2010) This well-known, highly invasive potential of P. parva has a negative impact on native fish species. These findings were confirmed by Musil et al (2014) who reported that invasive P. parva negatively impacted carp production by its marked grazing pressure on natural food and subsequent unfavourable economic effect in carp farming

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Conclusion