Ecological plasticity of tubenose goby, a small invader in South Moravian waters
Result description
The western tubenose goby Proterorhinus semilunaris, an invasive Ponto-Caspian fish species, has established populations in a wide range of habitat types in the Dyje/Morava river basin (Danube basin, Czech Republic). In this study, we assessed tubenose goby tolerance to environmental variables potentially contributing to its spread and performance in new habitats. Of the seven aquatic habitats examined (lowland rivers, brooks, backwaters, oxbow lakes, borrow pits, reservoirs and carp aquaculture ponds), all except small brooks proved suitable for survival and reproduction, with habitat size the only limiting factor. Diet analysis indicated chironomid larvae as preferred prey, though tubenose gobies were able to switch to other food items under specific conditions (e.g. high macrozoobenthos density), suggesting feeding plasticity. Fish condition was positively correlated with individual diet range, but not with parasite burden. Eighteen metazoan parasite taxa were identified, greatly exceeding the known parasite fauna from the species' native range. Parasite species richness decreased significantly with fish host dominance. Foraging plasticity, the ability to occupy different habitats and cope with parasitism observed in this study all may have important implications for tubenose goby dispersal success and invasiveness.
Keywords
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
Result on the web
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
Ecological plasticity of tubenose goby, a small invader in South Moravian waters
Original language description
The western tubenose goby Proterorhinus semilunaris, an invasive Ponto-Caspian fish species, has established populations in a wide range of habitat types in the Dyje/Morava river basin (Danube basin, Czech Republic). In this study, we assessed tubenose goby tolerance to environmental variables potentially contributing to its spread and performance in new habitats. Of the seven aquatic habitats examined (lowland rivers, brooks, backwaters, oxbow lakes, borrow pits, reservoirs and carp aquaculture ponds), all except small brooks proved suitable for survival and reproduction, with habitat size the only limiting factor. Diet analysis indicated chironomid larvae as preferred prey, though tubenose gobies were able to switch to other food items under specific conditions (e.g. high macrozoobenthos density), suggesting feeding plasticity. Fish condition was positively correlated with individual diet range, but not with parasite burden. Eighteen metazoan parasite taxa were identified, greatly exceeding the known parasite fauna from the species' native range. Parasite species richness decreased significantly with fish host dominance. Foraging plasticity, the ability to occupy different habitats and cope with parasitism observed in this study all may have important implications for tubenose goby dispersal success and invasiveness.
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
Jimp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
10617 - Marine biology, freshwater biology, limnology
Result continuities
Project
GBP505/12/G112: ECIP - European Centre of Ichtyoparasitology
Continuities
I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace
Others
Publication year
2019
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Name of the periodical
Hydrobiologia
ISSN
0018-8158
e-ISSN
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Volume of the periodical
829
Issue of the periodical within the volume
1
Country of publishing house
NL - THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS
Number of pages
19
Pages from-to
217-235
UT code for WoS article
000456178700016
EID of the result in the Scopus database
2-s2.0-85057340193
Basic information
Result type
Jimp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database
OECD FORD
Marine biology, freshwater biology, limnology
Year of implementation
2019