The freshwater ichthyofauna of Greece - an update based on a hydrographic basin survey

Economou, Alcibiades N.; Giakoumi, Sofia; Vardakas, Leonidas; Barbieri, Roberta; Stoumboudi, Maria Th.; Zogaris, Stamatis

doi:10.12681/mms.164

Cited by 97 publications

(178 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…For instance, the sunfish is a highly invasive freshwater species already established in northern Greece and it is suspected that it originally found its way to natural habitats through accidental or deliberate releases by aquarists (Zenetos et al, 2009). However, the introduction of the sunfish in a large number of river basins in Greece (Economou et al, 2007) still remains unclear since no specimen was recorded during our study, raising doubts about its original pathway. However, introduction through angling cannot be excluded, as this was a common route in other countries (Copp & Fox, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…To date, three ornamental fish species have established viable populations in the freshwaters of Greece: the goldfish (Carassius auratus L.), the sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna Lesueur, 1821) and the sunfish (Lepomis gibossus L.). So far, the former two species present a restricted distribution range in the Hellenic region, while the latter has spread to a large number of river basins in the northern part of the country (Economou et al, 2007). Currently, we have no knowledge of how these species affect the native fish fauna as no research surveys have been conducted to assess possible negative impacts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ornamental fish in pet stores in Greece: a threat to biodiversity?

Papavlasopoulou

Vardakas

Perdikaris³

et al. 2013

Medit. Mar. Sci.

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The aquarium trade has been recognized as an important pathway for the introduction of invasive species around the world. This study investigates the availability of ornamental fish species in ten large-size, centrally positioned aquarium stores that control a large share of imports and the Hellenic market chain, and aims to provide a provisional checklist on the aquarium fish trade in Greece. For each recorded species, additional data concerning various aspects (e.g. natural environment, native range, established as aliens, conservation status and threats to humans) were collected from Fishbase, IUCN red list and the scientific literature. Overall, 326 fish species belonging to 64 families were reported according to the store labels. The majority of the species recorded were freshwater (66%), originating mainly from South America and Asia, while most of the marine species (26%) had primarily an Indo-Pacific native distribution. Among the freshwater fishes, Cichlidae and Cyprinidae were the dominant families with 64 and 27 species, respectively, while the family Acanthuridae dominated within the marine fishes with ten species. The vast majority of both freshwater and marine species (>90%) were tropical. Concerning the presence of alien species, 62 ornamental species have been established outside their natural range, with 22 of them positively confirmed as aliens in the European waters. Moreover, 25 species were listed in the critically endangered (CR), endangered (EN) and vulnerable (VU) categories of the IUCN red list. Even more surprisingly, for 192 species recorded, data were missing to assign their conservation status or had not been assessed at all. Finally, the majority of the species (84%) were harmless to humans. However, 35 species (11%) were recognised as potentially harmful (i.e. venomous, ciguatera poisoning, traumatogenic) and two were found to be poisonous if consumed. In conclusion, the aquarium fish sector in Greece is practically uncontrolled given the presence of: a) threatened species, b) species potentially harmful to humans and c) species capable of establishing non-indigenous populations, if released into the wild.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ornamental fish in pet stores in Greece: a threat to biodiversity?

Papavlasopoulou

Vardakas

Perdikaris³

et al. 2013

Medit. Mar. Sci.

Self Cite

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“…In Western Greece, P. acarnanica is restricted to the southern part of the Ionian Ecoregion, an area well known for its higher endemicity in the Hellenic peninsula (e.g. freshwater fish; Economou et al, 2007). The results from the demographic changes (Table 1, Fig.…”

Section: Eastern Mediterraneanmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…4). The alternative scenario is a colonization during the connection of the Hellenic Peninsula and Anatolia in the upper Miocene, i.e., before the MSC (Economou et al, 2007;Poulakakis et al, 2015). However, this seems unlikely since the age of this event falls outside the confidence interval for the semirugata-acarnanica divergence.…”

Section: Eastern Mediterraneanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phylogeny, phylogeography, and evolution in the Mediterranean region: News from a freshwater mussel (Potomida, Unionida)

Froufe

Prié

Faria

et al. 2016

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution

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a b s t r a c tThe Potomida genus (Bivalvia, Unionida) has a Circum-Mediterranean distribution and like other freshwater mussel species, its populations have suffered dramatic declines. Although this genus is currently considered as monotypic, it has a long history of taxonomic revisions and presently many aspects of its systematics and evolutionary history are unclear. We sampled a total of 323 individuals from 39 different sites across the Potomida genus distribution, and sequenced two mitochondrial (16S rDNA and Cytochrome c Oxidase Subunit I) and one nuclear (28S rDNA) genes to clarify its phylogeny and phylogeographic history. Our results show that the genus includes two well-supported clades, one comprising solely the western Mediterranean species Potomida littoralis, and the other including two eastern Mediterranean species, the Greek endemic P. acarnanica and the Anatolian and Middle Eastern P. semirugata. We suggest that Potomida started radiating during the upper Miocene, and that both vicariance and dispersal events shaped the diversification and distribution of the genus along the Mediterranean region. P. littoralis is further divided in two mitochondrial lineages, one restricted to Europe and the other occurring mostly in North Africa. Moreover, some European basins present both lineages in sympatry. The conservation status of the three recognized species should be reevaluated, particularly P. acarnanica, since it is restricted to two Greek river basins presenting a high risk of extinction. Overall, our results clarify some important gaps in knowledge concerning the phylogeny, phylogeography and evolution of the Potomida genus in the Mediterranean region with important taxonomical, ecological and conservational implications.

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“…In the inland waters of Greece, Prussian carp (known also as gibel carp), Carassius gibelio (Bloch, 1783), is considered as invasive species (Economidis et al 2000) and its known distribution pattern extends to at least twenty hydrographic basins (Economou et al 2007). Prussian carp is distributed in 31 countries (Froese and Pauly 2008).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%