First data on the freshwater fish fauna of Calabria (southern Italy

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First data on the freshwater fish fauna of Calabria

(Southern Italy)

Journal: Italian Journal of Zoology

Manuscript ID: TIZO-2010-0155.R4

Manuscript Type: Original Paper

Date Submitted by the Author:

n/a

Complete List of Authors: Gallo, Luana; Università della Calabria, Dipartimento di Ecologia Lucadamo, Lucio; Università della Calabria, Dipartimento di Ecologia Mezzotero, Antonietta; Università della Calabria, Dipartimento di Ecologia Battegazzore, Maurizio; ARPA Piemonte Morisi, Angelo; ARPA Piemonte Fenoglio, Stefano; Università del Piemonte Orientale, Dipartimento Scienze Ambientali e della Vita

Keywords: freshwater fish, Calabria, ichthyology, allocthonous species

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Fig. 1

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First data on the freshwater fish fauna of Calabria (southern Italy)

LUANA GALLO 1*, LUCIO LUCADAMO 1, ANTONIETTA MEZZOTERO 1, ANGELO

MORISI 2, MAURIZIO BATTEGAZZORE 2, STEFANO FENOGLIO 3

1 Dipartimento di Ecologia, Università della Calabria, Via Pietro Bucci cubo 4B, I-87036

Arcavacata di Rende (Cs), Italy. E-mail: [email protected]

2 ARPA Piemonte, Via Vecchia di Borgo S. Dalmazzo 11, I-12100 Cuneo, Italy

3 Di.S.A.V. Università del Piemonte Orientale, Via T. Michel 11, I-15121 Alessandria, Italy

* Correspondence: L. Gallo, Dipartimento di Ecologia, Università della Calabria, Via Pietro

Bucci cubo 4B, I-87036 Arcavacata di Rende (Cs), Italy. E-mail: [email protected]

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Abstract

Scarce information is available about the presence and distribution of freshwater fishes in southern Italy, and ichthyological information about Calabrian lotic systems is practically inexistent. This paper reports the current status of the freshwater fish fauna in some of the most important lotic systems of Calabria. Ichthyological samplings were performed at 54 stations along 16 Calabrian rivers. Sixteen fish species belonging to eight families were found, and their presence and distribution is discussed on the basis of biogeographic considerations. The freshwater fish fauna of the area has been dramatically altered by the introduction of allochthonous species, mainly originating from the Po plain catchments. This is a prime example of faunistic transformation of a Mediterranean area.

Keywords: Freshwater fishes, Calabria, ichthyology, allochthonous species.

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Introduction

The natural distribution of the native fish fauna in Italy is the result of complex

palaeogeographic and palaeoecological processes. Bianco (1995) recognized four

categories of freshwater fishes in Italy based on salinity tolerance: 1) Primary, taxa that

originated and spread only in freshwaters (such as Cypriniformes); 2) Primary-like,

freshwater species of marine origin (such as many Gobiidae); 3) Secondary, euryhaline

taxa that can survive in marine environments (such as Cyprinodontidae); 4) Peripheral,

recent marine derivates and diadromous taxa (such as Salmonidae, Gasterosteidae and

Acipenseridae). The dispersal capacity differs among these groups. Primary freshwater

fishes are an important group for biogeographic studies since they tolerate only low salt

concentrations and are unable to disperse through marine environments. Hence, unlike

secondary and peripheral fishes, they cannot spread from one river network to another via

the sea and their distribution is strictly related to the history of hydrographical systems.

On the basis of the distribution of indigenous taxa, Bianco (1990) identified two distinct

ichthyogeographic regions in the Italian peninsula, with many endemisms possibly

isolated since the Messinian Age (about 5 million years ago). The Padano-Venetian district

contains basins of the middle and upper Adriatic Sea north of the Vomano River, while the

Tuscano-Latium district includes the Serchio, Arno, Ombrone and Tiber basins. For

palaeogeographic reasons, southern Italian basins were isolated from the rest of the

peninsula and contain few or no native primary freshwater fishes; rivers and streams of

this area were colonised mainly by saline-tolerant species coming from the Mediterranean.

There have been few studies on the presence and distribution of freshwater fishes in

southern Italy, and ichthyological information regarding Calabrian lotic systems is

practically inexistent. A few non-primary species (such as Anguilla anguilla Linnaeus, 1758,

Salaria fluviatilis (Asso, 1801) and Salmo (trutta) macrostigma Duméril 1858) are represented;

according to Rogliano (1963) and Bianco (1981, 1987), they are the only native freshwater

fishes present in most of Calabria (e.g. in the running waters of the Sila mountain system),

where many streams are naturally devoid of fish fauna. The only available information

comes from occasional and isolated reports on the presence of single species in particular

Calabrian rivers (e.g. Rogliano 1963; Bianco 1981, 1987). The aim of the present study is to

provide the first information on the current distribution of fish species in some Calabrian

catchments.

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Materials and Methods

This study collates data from some ichthyological surveys in Calabria (southern Italy).

Fifty-four sites along 16 rivers were analysed to investigate the presence and distribution

of fishes (Figure 1). The rivers (and stations) were: Abatemarco (AB1-AB2), Coscile (CO1-

CO5), Crati (C1-C5), Esaro (ES1-ES3), Lao (L1-L3), Lipuda (LI1-LI2), Neto (NE1-NE5),

Ampollino (AM1), Lese (LE1-LE2), Vitravo (VI1-VI3), Rosa (RS1-RS2), Savuto (SV1-SV4),

Tacina (TA1-TA7), San Antonio (SAN1-SAN2), Soleo (SO1-SO3), and Trionto (TR1-TR4).

The location of each sampling station within a river reach was selected in the field based

on representativeness and accessibility: various habitat types (pools, riffles and runs) were

sampled on each occasion. During low flow conditions, we electrofished each station by

passing once upstream, searching from one bank to the other following the methods

outlined by Bohlin et al. (1989), for a total length of almost 200 m. Single-pass qualitative

electrofishing was conducted using a backpack electric fishing machine (SCUBLA ELT60,

operated at 25-100 Hz and 300/550 V, depending on the water conductivity). Single-pass

electrofishing is a suitable and common method for assessing the distribution of

freshwater fishes in small and medium-sized lotic environments (Jowett & Richardson

1996; CEN 2003; Maceda-Veiga et al. 2010). Fish were identified at species level based on

Kottelat & Freyhof (2007), then were released. Cluster analysis using the Bray-Curtis

similarity coefficient (single linkage - Bray & Curtis 1957) was applied to identify the

faunal similarity of stations, and a similarity dendrogram was produced using

Biodiversity Pro software (McAleece et al. 1997).

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Results

The following is a list of native and introduced fish species recorded at the 54 study sites.

Autochthonous taxa

- Anguilla anguilla Linnaeus, 1758 (Anguillidae)

- Salaria fluviatilis (Asso, 1801) (Blennidae)

- Liza ramada (Risso, 1826) (Mugilidae)

Allochthonous taxa

- Rutilus rubilio (Bonaparte, 1837) (Cyprinidae)

- Alburnus alburnus alborella (De Filippi, 1844) (Cyprinidae)

- Barbus plebejus (Bonaparte, 1839) (Cyprinidae)

- Squalius cephalus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Cyprinidae)

- Scardinius erythrophthalmus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Cyprinidae)

- Carassius carassius (Linnaeus, 1758) (Cyprinidae)

- Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758 (Cyprinidae)

- Tinca tinca (Linnaeus, 1758) (Cyprinidae)

- Cobitis taenia Linnaeus, 1758 (Cobitidae)

- Salmo (trutta) trutta Linnaeus, 1758 (Salmonidae)

- Onchorynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792) (Salmonidae)

- Ameiurus melas (Rafinesque, 1820) (Ictaluridae)

- Gambusia holbrooki Girare, 1859 (Poeciliidae)

The dates of introduction of the allochthonous species are not known, with a single

exception. Fish introductions have been carried out in an uncoordinated, sporadic and

illegal manner. Local fishermen's associations and single individuals have introduced

several alien species, obviously without leaving a trace in documents or publications. The

introduction date is known only for G. holbrooki: this poecilid was first introduced into

Calabria in 1928-31 as part of a large anti-mosquito campaign (Paladino-Blandini 1933).

The distributions of fish species are reported in Table I.

Nine of the stations were fishless, eleven stations had only one species and only four

presented a relatively rich fish community, with a total of seven species. The Bray-Curtis

similarity analysis showed two distinct major clusters (Figure 2).

Discussion and conclusions

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This study is the first structured attempt to analyse the presence and distribution of

freshwater fishes in major lotic systems of Calabria. The analysis of data from 16 rivers,

from both the Ionian and Tyrrhenian sides of the region, produced a preliminary but quite

comprehensive picture of the current situation.

Headwaters of Abatemarco, Coscile, Crati, Lese, Rosa, San Antonio, Savuto, Soleo, Trionto

and Vitravo contained stations with Salmo (trutta) trutta: trout were found as the only fish

taxon, or in association with A. anguilla, or more rarely with O. mykiss or some

accompanying cyprinids, mainly S. cephalus and B. plebejus. The other most important

cluster is characterized by stations lacking Salmonidae, with various assemblages of

Cyprinidae (for the most part including L. cephalus, R. rubilio, C. carpio) and other species.

Two minor clusters can be recognized within this group: a first cluster (including mainly

lowland stations of the Neto hydrographical network plus the final segment of Tacina) is

characterized by A. anguilla, S. fluviatilis and G. holbrooki, while the other (including

stations from the Crati network plus a few others from the Neto and Tacina networks) is

characterized by B. plebejus, C. carassius and L. ramada. The final part of the Trionto River is

isolated in the cluster analysis: this station corresponds to a peculiar environment called

‘fiumara’. The presence of R. rubilio at this station is limited to a few deep pools and can be

considered occasional and ephemeral. The middle part of the Lese also constituted a

separate group in the cluster analysis, since only small allochthonous fishes (A. alburnus,

C. taenia, G. holbrooki) were present at this station.

Bianco (1987) reported that the cyprinid distribution in southern Italy was limited to rivers

north of the line connecting Sinni (Basilicata) and Alento (Campania), while other studies

(Rogliano 1963; Bianco 1980) reported that Calabrian catchments did not naturally contain

primary species or even had no fishes. We report, for the first time, that this original

situation has dramatically changed because of the massive introduction of allochthonous

species, mostly originating from Po plain catchments (such as L. cephalus, B. plebejus, R.

rubilio, S. erythrophtalmus and C. taenia). Nine stations were fishless, probably for historical

reasons because there is no evidence of high alteration or pollution levels. Headwaters

often hosted a fish community dominated by trout, alone or in association with eels: this

could be the typical fish assemblage of the area, although the trout often clearly belonged

to the Atlantic strain and thus derived from anthropogenic introductions. Lowland lotic

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environments were dominated by alien fish species, probably because most introduced

fish species are limnophilic, preferring waters with slow current. In this context, southern

catchments were to some extent separated in the cluster analysis from the Crati catchment:

this difference in fish fauna composition can most likely be related to different episodes of

introductions and to some environmental differences among stations (mainly regarding

streambed width, water column depth, conductivity).

The present distribution of freshwater fishes in Calabria is the result of recent events,

mostly related to human interventions. In fact, introductions have radically altered the

original distributions of freshwater fishes in almost all Italian basins (Gandolfi et al. 1991;

Zerunian 2002). The displacement of fishes into new hydrographical basins has been a

common practice for a long time: Romans were the first to breed and introduce carps

(Cyprinus carpio) from the Danube to the Mediterranean area for breeding purposes, and

the tradition of “piscinae” was extensive in monasteries throughout Europe in the Middle

Ages (Balon 1995). Another interesting example of fish introduction is the rainbow trout

(Onchorynchus mykiss): this species has been released in almost all continents (except

Antarctica) for recreational fishing, with a great impact on the local fauna (Cambray 2003).

However, while the introduction of a single species can represent a serious but also

localised threat to biodiversity, a totally different scenario is represented by the complete

change of the fish fauna of an entire area, as has occurred in Calabria. The original

Calabrian situation has dramatically changed because of the massive introduction of

allochthonous species, mostly originating from Po plain catchments. The official and

unofficial introduction of “white fishes” has caused a process of ‘padanization’ (sensu

Cambray 2003) in most basins of Calabria. Fish introductions reflect human interest,

suitable environmental conditions for fish establishment and the biological attributes of

the introduced fish species. Some species were introduced for direct (such as S. trutta, O.

mykiss, C. carpio, I. melas and many Cyprinidae) or indirect fishing purposes (such as C.

taenia, probably introduced into Lake Ampollino and the Savuto river as food for

introduced trout, as suggested by Bianco and Taraborelli 1984). As mentioned previously,

G. holbrooki was introduced for mosquito control (Paladino-Blandini 1933). The high

tolerance level of some introduced species (such as S. cephalus) surely played an important

role in their widespread diffusion. Human introductions altered biodiversity at the

community level, but also altered genetic pools at the population level: in particular,

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allochthonous brown trout strains dramatically altered the genetic characteristics of native

populations. As reported by Nonnis Marzano et al. (2003), domesticated strains of S.

(trutta) trutta (also known as morpha fario) were transferred from northern Italy to most of

the southern freshwater basins during the last century without consideration of the

presence of native populations of S. (trutta) macrostigma. This practice was subsequently

replaced by the introduction of brown trout of Atlantic origin. In fact, our findings confirm

for Calabria the hypothesis of Schöffmann et al. (2007) that most recently introduced trout

have come from hatchery stocks of Atlantic origin (Ketmaier & Bianco 2004) whereas in

the past century many southern Italian rivers were stocked with hatchery-reared brown

trout originating from the northern part of the Mediterranean basin (Sommani 1969). A

very puzzling situation was found during our samplings: some specimens from a few

populations (found for example in the upper Lese, San Antonio and Lao) had phenotypic

characters that could be referred to the macrostigma type, such as the permanence of parr

marks in the adults. Unfortunately, most populations were clearly derived by recent or

contemporary introductions, with trout mainly having Atlantic phenotypic traits.

In a recent study, Leprieur et al. (2008) included south-western Europe among the six most

important global invasion hotspots, where non-native species represent more than a

quarter of the total number of species per basin. However, information about southern

Italy and especially Calabria has always been lacking. Our study fills this gap, showing

that this area is an important invasion hotspot, with introduced fish species representing

68% of the total fish species richness. This is a very high percentage, compared to the

percentages of non-native species reported in other Mediterranean regions such as most of

Spain (5-20%) and Greece (0-5%, Leprieur et al. 2008). Interestingly, while northern and

central Italian basins have undergone a diffuse ‘danubianization’ and ‘globalisation’ of

their ichthyological communities (Maio 2002), the Calabrian fish fauna has been altered by

the massive introduction of Padano-Venetian species.

Some factors may have favoured the establishment of alien species, such as the absence of

native competitors and the high plasticity and environmental tolerance of introduced taxa.

In the present situation, it may be difficult to make proposals concerning the conservation

and recovery of native fish assemblages. However, reducing habitat fragmentation by the

removal of small and large physical obstacles or the realization of fish passages could

improve the distribution of A. anguilla. Dams and small weirs are probably the main

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reason for the absence of migratory species such as the European eel in many headwaters;

furthermore, dams can be a source of alien species for downstream reaches (as for S.

erythrophthalmus in the Savuto River). Furthermore, releases of any non-native species

should be prohibited. Finally, genetic studies of trout seem to be indispensable to select

native strains for the production of eggs and fry to be used in restocking programs.

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Figure captions

Fig. 1: Main Calabrian lotic systems and sampling stations.

Fig. 2: Bray-Curtis similarity dendrogram regarding 54 freshwater fish sampling stations.

Table I: List of freshwater fish species collected at the sampling stations.

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Tab I

Sa

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t.)

tru

tta

Sq

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ep

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lus

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rbu

s p

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eju

s

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ara

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s

An

gu

illa

an

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a

Am

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rus m

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s

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a r

am

ad

a

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s r

ubili

o

Cyp

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io

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a.)

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Italian Journal of Zoology

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nly

14

Fig. 1

Page 17 of 18

URL: http:/mc.manuscriptcentral.com/tizo

Italian Journal of Zoology

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For Peer Review O

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Fig. 2

Page 18 of 18

URL: http:/mc.manuscriptcentral.com/tizo

Italian Journal of Zoology

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