FISH FAUNA

The present conservation status of the endemic fleshwater fish of Spain is reviewed and compared with a former list made in 1986. Ten taxa (species and subspecies) are exclusively endemic to Spanish waters, 13 are lberian endemics (Spain and Portugal), while three other species are also found in neighbouring European (France and Italy) or African (Algeria) countries. Endemic species belong to the families Clupeidae (33% of the native taxa), Cyprinidae (87%), Cobitidae (100%) and Cyprinodontidae (100%). A greater part of the endemic fish fauna is threatened, since three taxa are endangered, five vulnerable, seven rare and two insufficiently known.

ICES Journal of Marine Science, 59: S208–S213. 2002 doi:10.1006/jmsc.2002.1263, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on ... Effects of increased habitat complexity on fish assemblages ... Eric Charbonnel, Christophe Serre, Sandrine Ruitton, Jean-Georges Harmelin, and ...

Abstract A review of the chondrichthyan and osteichthyan fish fossils found in Japan is provided in the form of a series of tabular compilations covering the Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic Era. On the basis of this compilation, considerable changes are recognized in the fish faunas over a period of time. At the end of the Cretaceous Period a number of cartilaginous fishes disappeared. From the Oligocene to the Miocene, modern sharks including the family Carcharhinidae increased, whereas the Hexanchidae and Lamnidae declined. Most Miocene teleostean fishes differ from the Recent congeners at the species level.

The construction of the Římov Reservoir on the Malše River in 1978 significantly influenced the fish assemblage within the river, above the reservoir. Fish species that had successfully colonised the reservoir after impoundment expanded to the inflowing river. The changes in the riverine fish assemblage up to the first impassable weir (4 km upstream) reflected the development of the reservoir assemblage after an impoundment boom of pike (<i>Esox lucius</i>), then the perch (<i>Perca fluviatilis</i>) dominated phase and later the final cyprinid-dominated phase. The changes in the fish fauna over the period 1978–2002 were significant (χ<sup>2</sup>, <i>P</i> < 0.001). During the cyprinid-dominated phase, roach (<i>Rutilus rutilus</i>) became the most abundant species both in the reservoir and in the river, outnumbering the pristine river species. We conclude that the cyprinid-dominated assemblage in the reservoir can b...

The construction of pool-type fishways has greatly increased in recent years in response to widespread river fragmentation by man-made structures. However, the performance of such facilities has often been questioned, particularly for non-salmonid fish fauna, which are frequently the predominant group of species found in rivers. This study presents the main findings from field and experimental research conducted over the last 10 years on pool-type fishways in Portugal. Specific goals were: (i) to catalogue and evaluate the effectiveness of pool-type fishways built at small hydropower plants (SHP); (ii) to assess passage patterns of migrant fish populations through a "highly suitable" facility; (iii) to assess fish use for submerged orifices and surface notches under different flow regimes in experimental conditions and (iv) to determine the effect of hydraulic parameters on upstream movements of fish within these fishways. More than half (n = 19, 51%) of the visited fishways were considered to be unsuitable for the target potamodromous species. Seasonal movements peaked in the spring (>70%) and occurred independently of time of day. Laboratory experiments showed a significantly greater proportion of movements occurring through submerged orifices rather than surface notches. Of all the analyzed hydraulic parameters, the Reynolds shear stress was the one that most influenced fish movements within the fishways investigated. The results of this study provide new information and insights that could have important implications on the design of future fishways, particularly for larger potamodromous cyprinids.

Shore fish community structure off the Jordanian Red Sea coast was determined on fringing coral reefs and in a seagrass-dominated bay at 6 m and 12 m depths. A total of 198 fish species belonging to 121 genera and 43 families was recorded. Labridae and Pomacentridae dominated the ichthyofauna in terms of species richness and Pomacentridae were most abundant. Neither diversity nor species richness was correlated to depth. The abundance of fishes was higher at the deep reef slope, due to schooling planktivorous fishes. At 12 m depth abundance of fishes at the seagrass-dominated site was higher than on the coral reefs. Multivariate analysis demonstrated a strong influence on the fish assemblages by depth and benthic habitat. Fish species richness was positively correlated with hard substrate cover and habitat diversity. Abundance of corallivores was positively linked with live hard coral cover. The assemblages of fishes were different on the shallow reef slope, deep reef slope and seagrass meadows. An analysis of the fish fauna showed that the Gulf of Aqaba harbours a higher species richness than previously reported. The comparison with fish communities on other reefs around the Arabian Peninsula and Indian Ocean supported the recognition of an Arabian subprovince within the Indian Ocean. The affinity of the Arabian Gulf ichthyofauna to the Red Sea is not clear.

The aim of this study is to examine the impact of mans interventions on the present day distribution of fish in a mountain area in southern Norway, the Atna river system. River Atna originates in the Rondane mountains at altitudes of nearly 1600 m a.s.l., and joins River Glomma at 300 m a.s.l. There are 98 lakes in the watercourse

The fish fauna distribution in six rivers in the Crocker Range National Park was examined. All the six rivers surveyed were generally shallow, fast flowing with clear water and rocky and sandy substrate. At the time of survey, all rivers gave excellent water quality data. A total of 17 fish species belonging to four families were sampled. The gastromyzontids represented the major species in all the rivers surveyed, comprising 59.5% of the total number of fish caught. Commercially valuable fish such as the Tor species was also found in the rivers studied.

Seventy one Wsh species belonging to 27 families and 50 genera were collected from various sampling sites spread along the upstream and downstream parts of the Chalakudy river, in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot in Kerala, South India. Cyprinids were the most dominant group represented by 24 species belonging to 13 genera, followed by the catWshes of the family Bagridae (7 species from 2 genera) and loaches belonging to the family Balitoridae (5 species from 5 genera). Of the 71 species, 4 belong to the 'critically endangered' (CR) and 16 to the 'endangered' (EN) category. 3 of the critically endangered species are strictly endemic to the Chalakudy river system. We also collected 5 exotic species several of them categorized as potential pest. Fish species richness (FSR) showed a direct relationship with increasing stream order with maximum values observed in the downstream/low elevation regions. Considerable diVerences were observed in the FSR between diVerent microhabitats with maximum values observed in bed rock and pool riZe and the lowest in regimes followed by step pools. Diversity and species richness decreased with increasing altitude and higher diversity and species richness were observed in sampling sites located between 0-200 m above sea level. A deWnite temporal partitioning was also observed with regard to FSR with higher richness during the day time and the lowest observed at dawn. Indiscriminate collection of endemic and threatened ornamental Wsh species for export, exploitation of endangered food Wshes by forest-dwelling communities and local Wsher folk, pollution, loss of riparian cover, damming and exotic species threaten the rich ichthyofaunal diversity of Chalakudy River. An urgent need exists for studying the life history traits and demography of the most important endemic and threatened Wshes, as lack of information on these aspects have signiWcantly aVected conservation eVorts. The implementation of strong management strategies like Wxing total allowable

The history of the fish fauna (both freshwater and marine) of Iraq and the literature over the last 168 years has been reviewed and the data derived from such review were analyzed for fish biodiversity study. Primarily, this study reviews the taxonomic, species and faunal lists. There are only five papers devoted entirely to freshwater species and two to marine species. The remaining 12 contain several of mixed species. The number of published Iraqi scientific authors is low as only 15 have authored 13 publications, beginning with . Only 30 new species (two marine and 28 freshwater) were described in the period 1843-2011.

The freshwater fish fauna of Ousteri Lake, Puducherry were studied for a period of two months from January to February 2011. We recorded 15 species belonging to 14 families and 17 genera. The status of fish species compared with IUCN-the International Union for Conservation of Nature species category. Though the fish fauna of Ousteri Lake is threatened by anthropogenic activities, the study proposes that it can be considered as a refuge for conservation of some endemic and threatened freshwater fishes of the Puducherry region. The efforts must be maintained to reduce anthropogenic intervention and avoiding an introduction of alien species.

The northeastern Himalayan region is identified as one of the richest regions of the world in bio-diversity. Being in a heavy rainfall zone and also blessed with innumerable snowfed streams and rivers, the region is well-known for fish diversity especially for ornamental fish. The hill streams have poor but distinctive fish fauna, while the floodplain rivers of the region harbour over two hundred species of fish and other aquatic fauna, including the endangered freshwater dolphin, Platanista gangetica. The beels, or the floodplain lakes, are ideal habitats for air-breathing fish and they also act as feeding and breeding grounds for riverine fish during monsoon months. The present communication highlights the hydrobiological features and the ichthyofauna of certain selected water bodies of the northeastern Himalayas with special reference to the Brahmaputra River. : S 0 9 2 5 -8 5 7 4 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 7 5 -6

Freshwater finfish species richness and level of endemism in East, and South and South-East Asia that included 17 nations were studied using available databases, and included nation-wise distribution, habitat types, and conservation status. The number of endemic finfish species in the region was 559, belonging to 47 families. Families Cyprinidae and Balitoridae accounted for 43.5% and 16.2% of the total number of endemic species in the region, respectively, followed by Sisoridae , Gobiidae (20), Melanotaeniidae (19), and Bagridae , and the other 41 families had at least one endemic species. Nation-wise the most number of endemic freshwater finfish species occur in India (191), followed by China , Indonesia , and Myanmar (60). In India, the endemic species accounted for 26.4% of the native freshwater fish fauna, followed by South Korea (16.9%), the Philippines, (16.3%) and Myanmar (15.7%).

The early Eocene great lakes of the Green River system preserved a rich fauna, allowing detailed study of the paleoecology of the area. Two genera, †Priscacara and †Mioplosus, are interesting because they are among the earliest well-known representatives of Percoidei sensu lato, and so offer a chance to explore the evolution of the North American fish fauna. A phylogenetic analysis including †Priscacara, †Mioplosus, and representatives of some 'basal' percoid families suggests that †Priscacara is a member of Moronidae, and that †Mioplosus has affinities with Lateolabrax, Siniperca, and Lates. †Priscacara is recovered as paraphyletic relative to the rest of Moronidae, primarily on the basis of meristic characters; in the absence of more robust evidence, both †P. serrata and †P. liops are retained within †Priscacara. The phylogenetic position of †Priscacara suggests a trans-Atlantic connection, because Moronidae contain genera from eastern North America and Europe. †Mioplosus is suggestive of an Asian link to the Eocene Green River system, due to its relationship with the Western Pacific Lateolabrax, the Asian Siniperca, and the African/Asian Lates.

1. River rehabilitation schemes are now widespread in the UK and elsewhere, but there have been few systematic assessments of their ecological effect, particularly on target organisms such as fish. Fish populations were therefore assessed in 13 lowland rivers using point abundance measures and depletion electrofishing. Each river was sampled in two reaches, respectively containing a small-scale rehabilitation scheme (artificial riffles or flow deflectors) and an unrehabilitated control reach. Detailed geomorphological surveys were undertaken for the two study reaches in each river to assess the physical and hydraulic effect of rehabilitation. 2. There were large qualitative and quantitative differences among rivers and some had relatively impoverished fish faunas. Overall, total fish abundance, species richness, diversity and equitability were not significantly different between rehabilitated and control reaches. This was true for both the sampling methods used. Bullhead Cottus gobio and stone loach Barbatula barbatula tended to be more abundant in rehabilitated reaches, but this was significant only for artificial riffles. There was a significant between-year difference in fish abundance. 3. In general, rehabilitation schemes increased depth and flow heterogeneity, and fish species richness and diversity appeared to respond positively to increased flow velocity in restored reaches. However, there were few significant relationships between the fish fauna and physical variables, indicating that increasing physical (habitat) heterogeneity does not necessarily lead to higher biological diversity. We therefore caution against the use of physical responses to rehabilitation as a surrogate or reliable predictor of ecological response. 4. The weak response of fishes to rehabilitation may have been because the schemes were inappropriate in design and scale for low-gradient rivers. Furthermore, fish assemblages may have lacked the potential for recovery because of poor water quality and /or because the schemes were isolated within longer sections of degraded river. More extensive and directed biological monitoring is essential to improve understanding and enable future improvements in the design of schemes and the selection of sites with greater potential for successful rehabilitation. 5. Synthesis and applications. From this substantial sample of lowland rivers, there is little evidence of any general benefit to fish of small-scale instream structures in river rehabilitation. From present ecological knowledge it may be that resources would be better devoted to promoting the development of lateral and off-channel habitats within the river corridor. Physical restoration will be most effective when used alongside other strategies to augment fish populations such as water quality management.

Many methods and criteria are available to assess aquatic ecosystems, and this review focuses on a set that demonstrates advancements from community analyses to methods spanning large spatial and temporal scales. Basic methods have been extended by incorporating taxa sensitivity to different forms of stress, adding measures linked to system function, synthesizing multiple faunal groups, integrating biological and physical attributes, spanning large spatial scales, and enabling simulations through time. These tools can be customized to meet the needs of a particular assessment and ecosystem. Two case studies are presented to show how new methods were applied at the ecosystem scale for achieving practical management goals. One case used an assessment of biotic structure to demonstrate how enhanced river flows can improve habitat conditions and restore a diverse fish fauna reflective of a healthy riverine ecosystem. In the second case, multitaxonomic integrity indicators were successful in distinguishing lake ecosystems that were disturbed, healthy, and in the process of restoration. Most methods strive to address the concept of biological integrity and assessment effectiveness often can be impeded by the lack of more specific ecosystem management objectives. Scientific and policy explorations are needed to define new ways for designating a healthy system so as to allow specification of precise quality criteria that will promote further development of ecosystem analysis tools.

The diversity and composition of fish communities in brown and black water habitats at Batang Kerang in Balai Ringin, Sarawak, were evaluated during high and low water seasons. A total of 234 individual fish representing 36 species belonging to 13 families ...

At the 8 km bypass section of Chautagne in the Rhône River, most of the flow is diverted due to hydropower production. The environmental flow to the bypass section of the Rhône River was increased from 10 m 3 s À1 (winter) and 20 m 3 s À1 (summer) to 50 m 3 s À1 (winter) and 70 m 3 s À1 (summer) in July 2004. A Norwegian mesohabitat method of classifying the river into physical mesoscale morphological (mesohabitat) classes by visual observation was applied at 10 and 70 m 3 s À1 . The results show that the dominating classes at both flows are deep and low velocity pools, but a higher physical diversity occurs at 70 m 3 s À1 , quantified by indices from and . In total, 6 per cent of the depth measurements and 0.3 per cent of the velocity measurements were outside the expected range at low flow. At high flow, 16.2 per cent of the depth measurements and 19.6 per cent of the velocity measurements were outside the expected range. The change in mesohabitats gives impacts on the composition and abundance of fish and invertebrates. Rheophilic taxa are favoured by the increased flow while more limnophilic species will find less amount of suitable habitat at 70 m 3 s À1 . Other studies show that population densities of grayling, brown trout, nase and dace have decreased greatly and become endangered since hydropower development, while densities of gudgeon, minnow and stone loach have increased. Fish habitat preferences from Lamouroux et al. (1999a) and Mallet et al. (2000) were used. Most of the endangered species need high velocity mesohabitats and both high and low depths during all life stages. The increase of such mesohabitat proportions at 70 m 3 s À1 indicates that their population should recover soon. The method may be a useful tool to compare different flow situations and their impact on the invertebrate and fish population structure even in large rivers. A. HARBY ET AL.

A new ichthyofauna from southeastern Morocco, comprising five forms, is briefly discussed. The faunal composition differs from the Early Cenomanian Kem Kem and Early Turonian Goulmima assemblages, but is close to that from Jebel Tselfat. We propose a Late Cenomanian age for the new fauna and that from Jebel Tselfat. The evolution of these fish assemblages shows the Moroccan fish faunas to have been related to those from South America until at least the Early Turonian. Central Tethyan influence on faunas seems to have been restricted to a short period of time during the beginning of the Late Cenomanian transgressive phase.

Fishes were collected from seamounts and insular slopes of the northern Tasman and southern Coral Seas in the environs of the Reinga Ridge, Norfolk Ridge and Lord Howe Rise, at depths ranging from 49 to 1927 m. A total of 348 demersal fish species in 99 families, which were collected from 135 samples taken with a variety of sampling gear, greatly improved taxonomic knowledge of this poorly known area. Twenty five percent of the fish sampled are considered to be potentially new species. Relatively high levels of regional endemicity and diversity are attributed to geological history, and the complexity of contemporary climatology, hydrography and habitat diversity of the region. Fish assemblages were highly structured by depth, but across regions, deep-water fish faunas showed stronger taxonomic affinities than shallower faunas. Although less pronounced, spatial differences pointed towards distinct faunas between the southern and northern parts of the area. The distribution patterns and affinities to regions adjacent to the survey area indicate that (1) the fish fauna on the Lord Howe Rise near Lord Howe Island and further north is distinct from the rest of the survey regions, and exhibits eastern Australian and northern (Coral Sea) affinities, (2) the Northern Norfolk Ridge fauna is distinct from the other regions and has strong affinities with New Caledonia, (3) fishes on the Southern Norfolk Ridge, Western Norfolk Ridge and Lord Howe Plateau have more shared species compared to the other regions indicating a high level of connectedness and affinities with New Zealand fauna, and (4) some species have a wide distribution along the Norfolk Ridge providing a possible deepwater pathway between New Caledonia and New Zealand. Survey data is also useful for assessing the regions' conservation values by identifying rare or unusual components of the fauna, those with very limited distributions, those with low productivity that may be vulnerable to human disturbance (fishing, mining), and for defining bioregions.

The consequences of introducing Cichla cf. monoculus Spix & Agassiz, Astronotus ocellatus (Agassiz) and Pygocentrus nattereri Kner into lakes in the River Doce basin, Brazil, on richness, diversity and efficiency of aquatic macrophytes as natural refugia to native fishes was investigated. Samples were taken from lakes with and without alien fishes in areas with and without aquatic macrophytes. The presence of alien fishes reduced richness and diversity of the native fish community. The refugia function, which could be attributed to the clustering of aquatic macrophytes, does not exist in these lakes probably because the alien fishes exploit such habitats for reproduction. Since introductions threaten the native fish diversity of the region, studies on regional dispersion and factors that minimise the spread of alien fishes are needed. K E Y W O R D S : alien species, Brazil, habitat heterogeneity, River Doce State Park, tropical fish community.

Aim South-eastern Australia is a climate change hotspot with well-documented recent changes in its physical marine environment. The impact on and temporal responses of the biota to change are less well understood, but appear to be due to influences of climate, as well as the non-climate related past and continuing human impacts. We attempt to resolve the agents of change by examining major temporal and distributional shifts in the fish fauna and making a tentative attribution of causal factors.

Page 1. Accepted by L. Rocha: 8 Dec. 2009; published: 26 Feb. 2010 ZOOTAXA ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) Copyright © 2010 · Magnolia Press Zootaxa 2378: 1–84 (2010) www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ Monograph ZOOTAXA ...

The Chihuahuan Desert region contains a numberof unique aquatic environments, but with fewexceptions, these have been little studied. Because of the dearth of information aboutthese environments and because many of the fishin the region are threatened with extinction orhave gone extinct, we sampled the RíoConchos basin and adjoining aquatic habitats inthe Rio Grande to assess the status of the fishof this region. Most sites showed some degreeof human-induced impacts. A number ofpotentially threatened fish were eitherabundant at only a few sites or rare or absentthroughout the localities sampled. Withoutconcerted binational efforts to conserve thefish of the region, further deletions to thenative fish fauna will likely occur.

Taim Hydrological System is a unique subtropical wetland in southern Brazil harboring an exceptional biological diversity. In 1978, an ecological reserve was established to protect part of this area from increasing anthropogenic impacts in its surroundings. Fishes have been poorly investigated in this system. Based on a multi-gear sampling study encompassing several years (2001-2005), and on comparisons with previous fish inventories, we provide an up-to-date species list of fishes occurring in the Taim Wetland. In addition, we made the first preliminary description of fish dominance patterns found in the main lakes of the system (Flores, Nicola, Jacaré and Mangueira). Checklist comparison resulted in 62 fish species distributed in 24 families, with Characidae (19 species) and Cichlidae (7) showing the highest species richness. Six species are cited for the first time in the reserve: Trachelyopterus lucenai (Auchenipteridae), Hoplosternum littorale (Callichthyidae), Rineloricaria cadeae (Loricariidae), Eigenmannia trilineata (Sternopygidae), Odontesthes mirinensis and O. perugiae (Atherinopsidae). Apparently, the black catfish T. lucenai invaded the system in the last decade and became one of the dominant species in the pelagic waters. Although differences in gears hindered direct comparisons, differences in species composition and dominance patterns between shallow margins and pelagic waters of lakes seem to occur in the lakes. A more diverse assemblage dominated by small fishes (< 5cm) occurred in the protected, vegetated lakes margins. In contrast, an assemblage with lower species richness comprised of larger fishes (> 15 cm) seemed to dominate in pelagic waters.

The construction of pool-type fishways has greatly increased in recent years in response to widespread river fragmentation by man-made structures. However, the performance of such facilities has often been questioned, particularly for non-salmonid fish fauna, which are frequently the predominant group of species found in rivers. This study presents the main findings from field and experimental research conducted over the last 10 years on pool-type fishways in Portugal. Specific goals were: (i) to catalogue and evaluate the effectiveness of pool-type fishways built at small hydropower plants (SHP); (ii) to assess passage patterns of migrant fish populations through a "highly suitable" facility; (iii) to assess fish use for submerged orifices and surface notches under different flow regimes in experimental conditions and (iv) to determine the effect of hydraulic parameters on upstream movements of fish within these fishways. More than half (n = 19, 51%) of the visited fishways were considered to be unsuitable for the target potamodromous species. Seasonal movements peaked in the spring (>70%) and occurred independently of time of day. Laboratory experiments showed a significantly greater proportion of movements occurring through submerged orifices rather than surface notches. Of all the analyzed hydraulic parameters, the Reynolds shear stress was the one that most influenced fish movements within the fishways investigated. The results of this study provide new information and insights that could have important implications on the design of future fishways, particularly for larger potamodromous cyprinids.

Weight-length relationships (WLR) are presented for 40 fish species inhabiting the mangrove creeks in the Curuçá Estuary in Northern Brazil. Samples were taken bimonthly between July 2003 and 2004 with a fyke net. This study represents the first reference available on WLR for 28 fish species.

IV Resumo: Com o objetivo de inventariar as espécies de peixes dos sistemas hídricos da Floresta Nacional (FLONA) de Caxiuanã (Melgaço/Portel, PA), foram realizadas coletas entre os anos de 1999 e 2004, abrangendo o maior número de ambientes distinguíveis com diversos métodos amostrais. Os métodos utilizados foram redes de tapagem, rede de cerco, rede de espera, mergulho livre e encontros

Mangroves and seagrass beds are considered important nursery habitats for coral reef fish species in the Caribbean, but it is not known to what degree the fish depend on these habitats. The fish fauna of 11 different inland bays of the Caribbean island of Curaçao were compared; the bays contain 4 different habitat types: seagrass beds in bays containing mangroves, seagrass beds in bays lacking mangroves, mud flats in bays containing mangroves and seagrass beds, and mud flats in bays completely lacking mangroves and seagrass beds. Principal component analysis showed a high similarity of fish fauna among bays belonging to each of the 4 habitat types, despite some differences in habitat variables and human influence between bays. Juveniles of nursery species -fish species using mangroves and seagrass beds as juvenile nurseries before taking up residence on reefs -showed highest abundance and species richness on the seagrass beds, and on the mud flats near mangroves and seagrass beds, but were almost absent from bays containing only mud flats. The high abundance and species richness on the mud flats near nursery habitats can be explained by fishes migrating from the adjacent mangroves/seagrass beds to the mud flats. Seagrass beds near to mangroves showed a higher richness of nursery species than did seagrass beds alone, suggesting an interaction with the mangroves resulting in an enhancement of species richness. Comparison of fish densities from the 4 different habitat types indicates that for the nursery species the degree of dependence on a combination of mangroves and seagrass beds as nurseries for juvenile fish is high for Ocyurus chrysurus and Scarus iserti, the dependence on seagrass beds is high for Haemulon parrai, H. sciurus, Lutjanus apodus, L. griseus, Sparisoma chrysopterum and Sphyraena barracuda, and the dependence on mud flats near mangroves/seagrass beds is high for L. analis. The dependence on mangroves and/or seagrass beds is low for Chaetodon capistratus, Gerres cinereus, H. flavolineatum and L. mahogoni, which can also use alternative nursery habitats.

The diversity and composition of fish communities in brown and black water habitats at Batang Kerang in Balai Ringin, Sarawak, were evaluated during high and low water seasons. A total of 234 individual fish representing 36 species belonging to 13 families were captured. The fish communities in both the habitats were apparently from 32 species belonging to 12 families in brown water, and only 12 species from 7 families in the black water habitats. The fish fauna in the brown water was dominated by the Cyprinidae (63.8%) family, while the Helostomatidae (59.8%) family dominated the black water habitat. Various water parameters, such as dissolved oxygen, pH values, conductivity and water transparency, total suspended solid (TSS) and ammonium-nitrogen concentrations were significantly different (p<0.05) between the black and brown water habitats. The brown water habitat supports more diverse and abundant populations of freshwater fishes than the black water habitat. However, introduced species such as H. temmincki and the increase of commercial fishing may also have affected the population of native fish.

According to the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the status of European surface waters is assessed using aquatic organism groups. Here we present an overview of 297 assessment methods, based on a questionnaire survey addressing authorities in all countries implementing the WFD. Twenty-eight countries reported on methods applied to rivers (30%), coastal waters (26%), lakes (25%) and transitional waters (19%). More than half of the methods are based on macroscopic plants (28%) or benthic invertebrates (26%); in addition, phytoplankton (21%), fish (15%) and phytobenthos (10%) were assessed. Countries of Central and Western Europe had developed almost all methods required for the WFD implementation. Two main sampling strategies were discernable: small-scale sampling of the taxonomically diverse groups of benthic invertebrates and phytobenthos that demand elaborate processing, versus large-scale sampling of vast, species-poor plant stands or the mobile fish fauna. About three-quarters of methods identified organisms to species-level while in particular phytoplankton-based methods used class- or phylum-level, or included no taxonomic information. Out of nine metric types distinguished, river methods used more sensitivity and trait metrics while for other water categories abundance metrics prevailed. Fish-based methods showed the highest number of metrics. Fifty-six percent of methods focussed on the detection of eutrophication and organic pollution, with shares decreasing from autotrophic to heterotrophic organism groups: phytoplankton > phytobenthos > macroscopic plants > benthic invertebrates > fish fauna. The order was almost reverse for hydrological or morphological deterioration: fish fauna and macroscopic plants > benthic invertebrates > phytoplankton > phytobenthos. These pressures were mainly assessed by methods applied to rivers and transitional waters. The pressure-impact relationship of about one-third of methods was not tested empirically with methods for transitional waters being the least validated. The strength of relationships differed significantly between organism groups and water categories. The correlation coefficients generally covered a broad range (<0.4 to >0.8), but on average with the pattern: phytoplankton > macroscopic plants > benthic invertebrates > phytobenthos and fish fauna. In terms of water categories the following order resulted: coastal waters > lakes > transitional waters > rivers. Status boundaries were mostly defined using statistical approaches. We advocate better reflection of the necessary sampling effort and precision, full validations of pressure-impact relationships and an implementation of more ecological components into classification.

Until the 1970s, the fish fauna of Lake Victoria in East Africa was dominated by about 500 endemic haplochromine cichlid species, which comprised about 80% of the demersal fish mass. The cichlids were extremely diverse ecologically; however, the small diversity in gross morphology and the presence of intraspecific variation made it difficult to distinguish among species. In the first half of the 1980s, the Nile perch Lates niloticus, an introduced predator, suddenly boomed and cichlids declined dramatically. During the same period eutrophication increased strongly. With the decline of Nile perch catches in the 1990s, the cichlids showed some recovery. These events have triggered many studies and debates. Disagreements about the severity and causes of the decline often stemmed from considering the cichlid flock as a single unit owing to the lack of proper taxonomic and ecological knowledge. By studying cichlid communities, trophic groups, and individual species, researchers uncovered differential impacts that helped them to unravel the causes of the changes. It seems that lakewide Nile perch predation and eutrophication had the strongest impact and that the fishery only had a local effect. Knowledge of the differential decline and recovery of the haplochromine cichlids and the underlying causes is important for the proper management of biodiversity and the fishery in Lake Victoria. Consequently, knowledge of the systematics of cichlids is a key issue in managing the lake.

This preliminary study was conducted from March 2011 to November 2011 to evaluate the fish fauna of River Panjkora at District Dir Upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. During the study eleven fish species were identified. These species were belonging to four orders including Cypriniformes, Channiformes, Salmoniformes and Siluriformes, and four families including Cyprinidae, Channidae, Salmonidae and Sisoridae. Cyprinidae was the richest family represented by seven fish species consisting of Schizothorax esocinus, Racoma labieta, Orienus plagiostomus, Crossocheilus diplocheilus, Gara gotyla, Barilius pakistanicus and Carassius auratus. The family Sisoridae was embodied to two species namely Gagata cenia and Glyptothorax punjabensis. The family Channidae and Salmonidae were comprised of one species each, Channa punctata and Oncorhynchus mykiss respectively. It was concluded that River Panjkora at District Dir Upper has got high fish biodiversity and has got potential to be utilized for culturing...

In the present communication habitat ecology, species diversity; distribution and different indices of fish biodiversity management were studied in a Central India river (River Betwa, a tributary of River Ganga basin approved under India's first river linking plan). Correlation between fish species richness with the hydrological attributes showed good relationship and water depth, dissolved oxygen and pH were found the most important variables in shaping fish assemblage. Altogether, sixty-three fish species belonging to 20 families and 45 genera were collected from five sampling stations spread along the upstream, mid stream and lower streams. Cyprinids were the most dominated group represented by 26 species belonging to 15 genera, followed by Bagridae (6 species from 3 genera), and Schilbeidae (4 species from 4 genera). The distribution of fish showed interesting pattern and about 10% species were common to all the sites showing long migration range. Shannon-Weiner diversity index showed considerable variation and ranged from 1.89 to 3.51. Out of 63 species status of 10 species were not known due to data deficit, 29 categorized as lower risk, 14 as vulnerable, 8 as endangered, while the remaining two species were introduced. Our study shows that the River supports considerable diversity of the fishes and is important for conservation and about 34% fish fauna is threatened being either vulnerable or endangered. We assessed that the river supports considerable percentage of food fish (89.47), ornamental fish (49.12%) and sport fish (5.26%). Among the eight major types of fish habitats identified along the entire stretch of river, open river, shallow water and deep pools were habitats contributing maximum diversity. Fish species richness (FSR) were significantly different (P \ 0.05) in all the habitats except channel confluence and scour pool. Trophic niche model may be useful for assessing altered as well as less altered fish habitat of the tropical rivers. Since this river will be interlinked in near future, this study would be useful for conservation planning and management and also for future assessment after interlinking. Issues related to various threats to aquatic environment and conservation management strategies have been discussed.

The African Great Lakes are important sources of fishes and water for domestic use, are used as avenues of transport, and receive agricultural, domestic and industrial effluents and atmospheric residues. Some of these lakes have speciose fish faunas of great interest to science. The catchment areas of some of the lakes are highly populated and user conflicts have increased the demands on the lakes' resources. There have been drastic reductions in fish stocks in most of the lakes due to overfishing. Introductions of new fish species, though followed by increases in fish catches, have been accompanied by a decline and in some cases extinction of native fish species. Some of the lakes have been invaded by the water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes. Agricultural activities, deforestation and devegetation of the catchment areas have increased siltation, and led to loss of suitable habitats and biodiversity. There are increased nutrient inputs from agriculture, sewage and industrial discharges and combustion processes which can cause eutrophication. There are also increased threats of toxic pollution from industrial waste discharge, mining, pesticides, and oil residues and spills. Climatic changes may also affect thermal stability of the lakes. These factors threaten availability of dietary protein, clean water and biodiversity. National and international efforts are required to manage the fisheries, guide the introduction of exotics, conserve biodiversity, control the water hyacinth, control eutrophication, reduce input of contaminants and manage climate change.

The Northeast, Central, Western and Northwestern, and Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego regions dominate Argentina inland recreational fishing. Being each unique in terms of environmental context, fish fauna and fishery types. High species diversity, extractive fishing and highly priced fly-fishing catch and release fisheries characterizes the Northeast. The Central Western and Northwestern fisheries are extractive, targeting few species. Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego have extractive and catch and release salmonid fisheries on the Andes. There are extractive fisheries of native species on Atlantic drainages of northern Patagonia, and anadromous rainbow and brown trout fisheries on southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.