First record from Sicily of the Adriatic dwarf goby, Knipowitschia panizzae (Osteichthyes, Gobiidae), a threatened species or a threat for conservation?

Lagoon Resident Fish Species of Conservation Interest According to the Habitat Directive (92/43/CEE): A Review on Their Potential Use as Ecological Indicator Species

“…Sand gobies are often dominant and they can be used as an indicator of habitat productivity. In Venice lagoon saltmarshes, in particular, their productivity was found to be higher than in other Mediterranean wetlands, reaching up to a total annual production >600 g ha −1 year −1 [70]. The main threat compromising this significant contribution to secondary production in coastal lagoons is represented by the destruction of saltmarshes.…”

“…The body is grey-yellowish with darker and reticulated mottles; the females have a body and fins that are brighter than those of males and during spawning the females' bellies are yellow [68]. It is a small predator (a few centimetres in length), of no commercial interest [69], opportunist and generalist [70], that feeds, above all, on meio-fauna and juvenile macrofauna [71][72][73][74]. Reproduction takes place in brackish waters where the life cycle is completed in about 1 year, as adults disappear after spawning during their second summer of life [69,75].…”

“…Therefore, it is believed that the male chooses females with a bigger yellow ventral patch since they are in better condition and therefore are more fertile, preferring them also to larger females but with a less extensive coloration [79]. After breeding, adults die and only juveniles survive [70,75].…”

“…K. panizzae itself is not at risk of extinction, given its high adaptability. In Italy, in fact, accidental introductions are reported along the Tyrrhenian coast, in Trasimeno and Bolsena Lakes and in Sicily, with good survival [39,70,83]. The concern could be on the survival of local populations that have to be preserved, protecting or restoring saltmarsh systems.…”

“…Beyond the interventions to preserve coastal lagoon shallow habitat, river systems can also have a significant role in population survival, as demonstrated by the fact that the populations so far attributed to K. mrakovcici and K. radovici are K. panizzae and usually live in freshwater environments in the Croatian Krka and Neretve basins [12]. On the other hand, particular attention has to be paid to the accidental introduction of K. panizzae in other basins, because it can become invasive and compromise the ecological equilibrium in fragile ecosystems [70], entering in competition with local species with a similar ecological niche.…”