The first certified record of the endemic fish speciesPachychilon macedonicum (Steindachner, 1892) in a lake complex outsideof its nominal range, with notes on its biological features

The cyprinid Pachychilon macedonicum (Steindachner, 1892) is a species that is endemic to the southern Balkan Peninsula with limited distribution in Greece. Here we confirm the species expansion and establishment in a complex of 4 lakes located outside of its currently known distribution range and provide, for the first time, some of its biological features. The species presence was certified in 3 (Vegoritida, Petron, Chimaditida; northern central Greece) of the 4 lakes studied (Lake Zazari was also sampled), which now constitute a new western limit for its distribution in Greece. Pachychilon macedonicum specimens in Lake Vegoritida were longer (mean length: 5.8 ± 0.04 cm) than those in Lake Petron (mean length: 5.5 ± 0.05 cm), with the longer and heavier specimens recorded from depths of between 9 and 12 m in Lake Vegoritida (ANOVA, P < 0.001). The highest rate of individuals per 100 m2 of nets (NPUE) and weight of individuals per 100 m2 of nets (BPUE) were observed in the upper depth strata (0 3 and 3 6 m). The densities, in terms of NPUE, as well as the extracted length-frequency distributions, show evidence for the species establishment in Lake Vegoritida and for a newly existing population in Lake Petron. The estimated length weight relationships revealed positive allometric growth of the species in both lakes, Vegoritida (b = 3.3235) and Petron (b = 3.4594). In general, Pachychilon macedonicum exhibited an adaptive selection to littoral environments and an occupation of the epilimnion, avoiding the deeper water strata.

PDF

___

Appelberg M (2000). Swedish Standard Methods for Sampling Freshwater Fish with Multimesh Gillnets. Fiskeriverket Information 1. Goteborg, Sweden: Institute for Freshwater Research.
Bobori DC, Moutopoulos DK, Bekri M, Salvarina I, Munoz AIP (2010). Length-weight relationships of freshwater fish species caught in three Greek lakes. J Biol Res-Thessaloniki 14: 219224.
Bobori DC, Salvarina I (2010). Seasonal variation of fish abundance and biomass in gillnet catches of an East Mediterranean lake: Lake Doirani. J Environ Biol 31: 9951000.
CEN (2005). Water Quality Sampling of Fish with Multimesh Gillnets. EN 14757. Brussels, Belgium: European Committee for Standardization.
Economidis PS (1991). Checklist of Freshwater Fishes of Greece. Athens, Greece: Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature.
Economidis PS (2009). The freshwater fish. In: Legakis A, Maragou P, editors. The Red Data Book of Threatened Animal Species of Greece. Athens, Greece: Hellenic Zoological Society, pp. 86159.
Economidis PS, Banarescu PM (1991). The distribution and origins of freshwater fishes in the Balkan Peninsula especially in Greece. Intern Rev Ges Hydrobiol Hydrogr 76: 257283.
Economidis PS, Bobori DC (2003). Ichthyologic Study in the Area of the Previous Lake Karla. Technical Report (in Greek).
Economidis PS, Dimitriou E, Pagoni R, Michaloudi E, Natsis L (2000). Introduced and translocated fish species in the inland waters of Greece. Fisheries Manag Ecol 7: 239250.
Economou AN, Giakoumi S, Vardakas I, Barbieri R, Stoumboudi M, Zogaris S (2007). The freshwater ichthyofauna of Greece an update based on a hydrographic basin survey. Medit Mar Sci 8: 91166.
European Commission (2000). Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for community action in the field of water policy. Official Journal of the European Communities L 327: 172.
Froese R (2006). Cube law, condition factor and weightlength relationships: history, meta-analysis and recommendations. J Appl Ichthyol 22: 241253.
Froese R, Pauly D. Editors. (2013). FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication, version (10/2013). Available at www.fishbase.org.
Gayanilo F, Sparre P, Pauly D (1995). The FiSAT Users Guide. FAO Computerized Information Series Fisheries, 99. Rome, Italy: ICLARM, DIFMAR.
Howes GJ (1991). Systematics and biogeography: an overview. In: Winfield IJ, Nelson JS, editors. Cyprinid Fishes: Systematics, Biology and Exploitation. Fish and Fisheries Series, No. 3. London, UK: Chapman & Hall, pp. 133.
Karaman S (1972). Süsswaserfische der Türkei. 9. Revison einiger kleinwűchsiger Cyprinidengattungen Phoxinellus, Leucaspius, Acantobrama usw. Aus Sűdeuropa, Kleinasien, Vorder-Asien und Nordafrika. Mitteil Hamb Zool Mus Instit 69: 115155 (in German).
Kostov V, Ristovska M, Slavevska-Stamenković V, Miljanović B, Paunović M (2011). Setting up a system for ecological status assessment based on fish fauna: the Pcinja River case study. Maced J Anim Sci 1: 369376.
Kottelat M, Freyhof J (2007). Handbook of European Freshwater Fishes. Cornol, Switzerland: Publications Kottelat.
Leonardos I, Bobori DC (2013). The freshwater fish fauna of Greece. In: Proceedings of the 15th Panhellenic Conference of Ichthyologists; 1013 October 2013; Thessaloniki, pp. 439440 (in Greek).
Leonardos D, Tsikliras AC, Eleftheriou V, Cladas Y, Kagalou I, Chortatou R, Papigioti O (2008). Life history characteristics of an invasive cyprinid fish (Carassius gibelio) in Chimaditis Lake (northern Greece). J Appl Ichthyol 24: 213217.
Petrakis G, Stergiou KI (1995). Weight-length relationships for 33 fish species in Greek waters. Fish Res 21: 465469.
Ráb P, Rábová M, Economidis PS, Triantaphyllidis C (2000). Banded karyotype of the Greek endemic cyprinid fish, Pachychilon macedonicum. Ichthyol Res 47: 107110.
Smith KG, Darwall WRT, editors (2006). The Status and Distribution of Freshwater Fish Endemic to the Mediterranean Basin. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN.
orić V (1992). Osteology and taxonomic status of the genus Pachychilon Steind., 1882 (Pisces, Cyprinidae). Bios (Macedonia, Greece) 1: 4967.
Vaek M, Kubečka J, Peterka J, Čech M, Dratik V, Hladik M, Prchalova M, Frouzova J (2004). Longitudinal and vertical spatial gradients in the distribution of fish within a canyon-shaped reservoir. Intern Rev Hydrobiol 89: 352362.
Vavalidis T, Bobori DC, Michaloudi E (2010). Diet composition of Perca fluviatilis Linnaeus, 1758 and Pachychilon macedonicum(Steindachner, 1892) in Lake Doirani. In: Proceedings of the 14th Panhellenic Conference of Ichthyologists; 69 May 2010; Piraeus, pp. 115118.
Zar JH (1999). Biostatistical Analysis. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA: Prentice Hall.