Rodolphe E. Gozlan

Biodiversity: Disease threat to European fish

The deliberate introduction of new species can have unexpected negative consequences and we show here how a recently introduced fish, the invasive Asian cyprinid Pseudorasbora parva, is causing increased mortality and totally inhibiting spawning in an already endangered native fish, the European cyprinid Leucaspius delineatus. This threat is caused by an infectious pathogen, a rosette-like intracellular eukaryotic parasite that is a deadly, non-specific agent. It is probably carried by healthy Asian fish, and could decrease fish biodiversity in Europe, as well as having implications for commercial aquaculture.

Disease threat to European fish.

The deliberate introduction of new species can have unexpected negative consequences and we show here how a recently introduced fish, the invasive Asian cyprinid Pseudorasbora parva, is causing increased mortality and totally inhibiting spawning in an already endangered native fish, the European cyprinid Leucaspius delineatus. This threat is caused by an infectious pathogen, a rosette-like intracellular eukaryotic parasite that is a deadly, non-specific agent. It is probably carried by healthy Asian fish, and could decrease fish biodiversity in Europe, as well as having implications for commercial aquaculture.

The British river of the future: How climate change and human activity might affect two contrasting river ecosystems in England

The possible effects of changing climate on a southern and a north-eastern English river (the Thames and the Yorkshire Ouse, respectively) were examined in relation to water and ecological quality throughout the food web. The CLASSIC hydrological model, driven by output from the Hadley Centre climate model (HadCM3), based on IPCC low and high CO(2) emission scenarios for 2080 were used as the basis for the analysis. Compared to current conditions, the CLASSIC model predicted lower flows for both rivers, in all seasons except winter. Such an outcome would lead to longer residence times (by up to a month in the Thames), with nutrient, organic and biological contaminant concentrations elevated by 70-100% pro-rata, assuming sewage treatment effectiveness remains unchanged. Greater opportunities for phytoplankton growth will arise, and this may be significant in the Thames. Warmer winters and milder springs will favour riverine birds and increase the recruitment of many coarse fish species. However, warm, slow-flowing, shallower water would increase the incidence of fish diseases. These changing conditions would make southern UK rivers in general a less favourable habitat for some species of fish, such as the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Accidental or deliberate, introductions of alien macrophytes and fish may change the range of species in the rivers. In some areas, it is possible that a concurrence of different pressures may give rise to the temporary loss of ecosystem services, such as providing acceptable quality water for humans and industry. An increasing demand for water in southern England due to an expanding population, a possibly reduced flow due to climate change, together with the Water Framework Directive obligation to maintain water quality, will put extreme pressure on river ecosystems, such as the Thames.

Multi-scale analysis of habitat use during late summer for 0+ fishes in the River Garonne (France)

Abstract: Relationships between environmental variables and 0+fish in the upper River Garonne (France) were studied at different habitat scales during late August 1995. In total, 3911 0+ fish representing 21 species were sampled using point abundance sampling by electrofishing. Fish reproductive function of floodplain channels was evaluated using principal components analysis of 0+ fish distributions (in absence/presence), with distinction of the three main channel types (flowing, partially abandoned and abandoned channels). A descriptive model of microhabitat use and microhabitat profiles of 0+ fish was developed for the more frequently encountered species using canonical correspondence analysis and an electivity index combined with chi-square analysis. Water velocity, water depth and distance from the bank were the most important microhabitat variables, followed by bank gradient and bottom composition. Partially-abandoned channels provide conditions particularly suitable to 0+ fish, with submerged vegetation in these side-channels serving many of the fishes as refuge and feeding areas. Similarities in microhabitat use were found with respect to 0+ juvenile fish in the Danube flood plain (Slovakia/Hungary), the upper River Rhône (France) and the River Great Ouse catchment (England).

Comparison of growth plasticity in the laboratory and field, and implications for the onset of juvenile development in sofie, Chondrostoma toxostoma

The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of environmental conditions (controlled and natural) on the duration and sequence of developmental steps in sofie, Chondrostoma toxostoma, early ontogeny. Few previous studies on the early development of fishes have included relative growth and none have compared relative growth in the laboratory and the field. Such comparison is important to quantify the morphological development of different parts of fish during their early ontogeny, to determine potential variations in growth that may occur under laboratory conditions and to understand better the plastic nature of relative growth. Early development and relative growth of 23 characters were examined in specimens of sofie reared under both laboratory and natural conditions in tributaries of the River Garonne basin (France). The sofie is still present in this basin despite progressive localised extinction in the rivers of south western Europe over the last 30 years. Growth of field and laboratory embryos (in degree days, °days) was the same up to larva step 1 (9 mm SL), but thereafter was markedly slower in the laboratory than in the field. Ontogenetic rate in the field was twice that in the laboratory, suggesting a precocial (specialist) form under natural conditions and an altricial (generalist) form under laboratory conditions. Stabilisation of relative growth, i.e. end of the remodelling process (metamorphosis), occurred well after all larval characteristics (remnants of finfold, rapid allometric growth) had disappeared and all the juvenile structures had appeared (nasal septa, complete scale cover). In the field, this stabilisation occurred in specimens of approximately 50 mm SL, suggesting that metamorphosis ends and the juvenile period begins at the end of the sofies first (0+) year of life.

Early Development of the Sofie, Chondrostoma toxostoma

The developmental biology of embryos, larvae and juveniles of sofie, Chondrostoma toxostoma, reared from artificial insemination, was examined under controlled laboratory conditions, using both in-vivo and preserved specimens. The complete remodelling process (metamorphosis) was described and interpreted according to the theory of saltatory ontogeny, providing a model within which the highly complex ecological niche and behaviour (habitat use, diet, etc.) of the free embryos and larvae can be evaluated. The sofie ova were relatively opaque and the free embryos presented a small yolksac. Consequently, the free embryo steps were short and the free embryos emerged rapidly from the substratum. The circulatory system appeared early and was simple, which suggests that sofie free embryos require well oxygenated water. The remodelling of the mouth from a superior to inferior position characterised changes in the sofies diet during early life history, which is typical of the genus. Differences in development relative to the nase, C. naus, are discussed.