Freshwater fish assemblages in Cyprus with emphasis on the effects of dams
Background. The distribution of freshwater fishes in Cyprus is poorly known. The island is particularly interesting because of its biogeographical isolation and the long-term influence of humans on the biota, especially due to the recent damming of many rivers. This study documents preliminary basel...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:c51a7fd56fe6490f8849efc2a7332c43 2023-05-15T13:28:04+02:00 Freshwater fish assemblages in Cyprus with emphasis on the effects of dams S. Zogaris Y. Chatzinikolaou N. Koutsikos A.N. Economou E. Oikonomou G. Michaelides E. Hadjisterikotis W.R.C. Beaumont M.T. Ferreira 2012-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3750/AIP2011.42.3.02 https://doaj.org/article/c51a7fd56fe6490f8849efc2a7332c43 EN eng Pensoft Publishers https://aiep.pensoft.net/article/26311/download/pdf/ https://aiep.pensoft.net/article/26311/download/xml/ https://aiep.pensoft.net/article/26311/ https://doaj.org/toc/1734-1515 doi:10.3750/AIP2011.42.3.02 1734-1515 https://doaj.org/article/c51a7fd56fe6490f8849efc2a7332c43 Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria, Vol 42, Iss 3, Pp 165-175 (2012) freshwater fishes fish communities non-indigenou Aquaculture. Fisheries. Angling SH1-691 article 2012 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3750/AIP2011.42.3.02 2022-12-30T21:39:16Z Background. The distribution of freshwater fishes in Cyprus is poorly known. The island is particularly interesting because of its biogeographical isolation and the long-term influence of humans on the biota, especially due to the recent damming of many rivers. This study documents preliminary baseline freshwater fish assemblage patterns including insights on the impact of the dams. Materials and methods. Site-specific fish presence data were gathered using a backpack electrofishing device, literature reviews and unstructured expert interviews. Results. A total of 53 aquatic sites in 18 river basins of Cyprus were surveyed, most of which have dam reservoirs along parts of their channels. The survey confirms the existence of sixteen fish species of which 12 are non-indigenous. Native species were found at very few sites, although the European eel was reported to be ubiquitous. Twenty-four sites sustained non-indigenous fish (45% occurrence at all sites, or 60% at all sites with fish present). Reservoir dams were the most species-rich generic habitats but hosted almost exclusively non-indigenous species. Conclusion. Cyprus’ streams are characterized by a scarcity of fishes. The absence of primary- and primary-like native species is attributed to the palaeogeography of the island which has not been connected to the continent since the Messinian Salinity Crisis. At present, only two peripheral (Anguilla anguilla and Salaria fluviatilis) and one secondary (Aphanius fasciatus) native inland fish species are reported. These, along with euryhaline marine transient species suffer from the extensive degradation of natural riverine habitats. Dams influence riverine fish assemblages by degrading downstream aquatic habitats, impeding fish movements, and by providing refuges for non-indigenous fish populations. Article in Journal/Newspaper Anguilla anguilla European eel Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Acta Ichthyologica Et Piscatoria 42 3 165 175 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
freshwater fishes fish communities non-indigenou Aquaculture. Fisheries. Angling SH1-691 |
spellingShingle |
freshwater fishes fish communities non-indigenou Aquaculture. Fisheries. Angling SH1-691 S. Zogaris Y. Chatzinikolaou N. Koutsikos A.N. Economou E. Oikonomou G. Michaelides E. Hadjisterikotis W.R.C. Beaumont M.T. Ferreira Freshwater fish assemblages in Cyprus with emphasis on the effects of dams |
topic_facet |
freshwater fishes fish communities non-indigenou Aquaculture. Fisheries. Angling SH1-691 |
description |
Background. The distribution of freshwater fishes in Cyprus is poorly known. The island is particularly interesting because of its biogeographical isolation and the long-term influence of humans on the biota, especially due to the recent damming of many rivers. This study documents preliminary baseline freshwater fish assemblage patterns including insights on the impact of the dams. Materials and methods. Site-specific fish presence data were gathered using a backpack electrofishing device, literature reviews and unstructured expert interviews. Results. A total of 53 aquatic sites in 18 river basins of Cyprus were surveyed, most of which have dam reservoirs along parts of their channels. The survey confirms the existence of sixteen fish species of which 12 are non-indigenous. Native species were found at very few sites, although the European eel was reported to be ubiquitous. Twenty-four sites sustained non-indigenous fish (45% occurrence at all sites, or 60% at all sites with fish present). Reservoir dams were the most species-rich generic habitats but hosted almost exclusively non-indigenous species. Conclusion. Cyprus’ streams are characterized by a scarcity of fishes. The absence of primary- and primary-like native species is attributed to the palaeogeography of the island which has not been connected to the continent since the Messinian Salinity Crisis. At present, only two peripheral (Anguilla anguilla and Salaria fluviatilis) and one secondary (Aphanius fasciatus) native inland fish species are reported. These, along with euryhaline marine transient species suffer from the extensive degradation of natural riverine habitats. Dams influence riverine fish assemblages by degrading downstream aquatic habitats, impeding fish movements, and by providing refuges for non-indigenous fish populations. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
S. Zogaris Y. Chatzinikolaou N. Koutsikos A.N. Economou E. Oikonomou G. Michaelides E. Hadjisterikotis W.R.C. Beaumont M.T. Ferreira |
author_facet |
S. Zogaris Y. Chatzinikolaou N. Koutsikos A.N. Economou E. Oikonomou G. Michaelides E. Hadjisterikotis W.R.C. Beaumont M.T. Ferreira |
author_sort |
S. Zogaris |
title |
Freshwater fish assemblages in Cyprus with emphasis on the effects of dams |
title_short |
Freshwater fish assemblages in Cyprus with emphasis on the effects of dams |
title_full |
Freshwater fish assemblages in Cyprus with emphasis on the effects of dams |
title_fullStr |
Freshwater fish assemblages in Cyprus with emphasis on the effects of dams |
title_full_unstemmed |
Freshwater fish assemblages in Cyprus with emphasis on the effects of dams |
title_sort |
freshwater fish assemblages in cyprus with emphasis on the effects of dams |
publisher |
Pensoft Publishers |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3750/AIP2011.42.3.02 https://doaj.org/article/c51a7fd56fe6490f8849efc2a7332c43 |
genre |
Anguilla anguilla European eel |
genre_facet |
Anguilla anguilla European eel |
op_source |
Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria, Vol 42, Iss 3, Pp 165-175 (2012) |
op_relation |
https://aiep.pensoft.net/article/26311/download/pdf/ https://aiep.pensoft.net/article/26311/download/xml/ https://aiep.pensoft.net/article/26311/ https://doaj.org/toc/1734-1515 doi:10.3750/AIP2011.42.3.02 1734-1515 https://doaj.org/article/c51a7fd56fe6490f8849efc2a7332c43 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3750/AIP2011.42.3.02 |
container_title |
Acta Ichthyologica Et Piscatoria |
container_volume |
42 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
165 |
op_container_end_page |
175 |
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1766402022857244672 |