Parasite species richness in New Zealand fishes: a grossly underestimated component of biodiversity?

Estimates of total parasite species richness, for given host groups in given geographical areas, are always much higher than the numbers of known parasite species on which they are based. The discrepancy is a reflection of our limited current knowledge of parasite diversity. This is illustrated by a comparison of the parasite faunas of New Zealand fish species with those of Canadian fish; the latter have been well studied by fish parasitologists, and provide a standard for comparisons. More parasite species are known per host species for Canadian fish than for New Zealand fish, for both marine and freshwater fishes. This difference remains after correcting for differences in study effort, i.e. in the number of published studies per fish species. There are also more parasite species per fish species in Canada than in New Zealand when parasite species richness is expressed as number of species per unit of host body length. For freshwater fish, the difference can be explained by the restricted phylogenetic origins and geographical isolation of New Zealand fish species. For marine fish, however, there is no a priori reason to expect a difference in parasite species richness between fish in New Zealand and Canadian waters, and the observed difference probably results from a lack of appropriate parasitological surveys in New Zealand. If the true species richness of the parasite faunas of New Zealand marine fish species approaches that of their Canadian counterparts, then most of the diversity and ecosystem function of fish parasites in New Zealand remains unknown.     

An annotated list of fish parasites (Isopoda, Copepoda, Monogenea, Digenea, Cestoda, Nematoda) collected from Snappers and Bream (Lutjanidae, Nemipteridae, Caesionidae) in New Caledonia confirms high parasite biodiversity on coral reef fish

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Coral reefs are areas of maximum biodiversity, but the parasites of coral reef fishes, and especially their species richness, are not well known. Over an 8-year period, parasites were collected from 24 species of Lutjanidae, Nemipteridae and Caesionidae off New Caledonia, South Pacific. RESULTS: Host-parasite and parasite-host lists are provided, with a total of 207 host-parasite combinations and 58 parasite species identified at the species level, with 27 new host records. Results are presented for isopods, copepods, monogeneans, digeneans, cestodes and nematodes. When results are restricted to well-sampled reef fish species (sample size[THIN SPACE]>[THIN SPACE]30), the number of host-parasite combinations is 20[EN DASH]25 per fish species, and the number of parasites identified at the species level is 9[EN DASH]13 per fish species. Lutjanids include reef-associated fish and deeper sea fish from the outer slopes of the coral reef: fish from both milieus were compared. Surprisingly, parasite biodiversity was higher in deeper sea fish than in reef fish (host-parasite combinations: 12.50 vs 10.13, number of species per fish 3.75 vs 3.00); however, we identified four biases which diminish the validity of this comparison. Finally, these results and previously published results allow us to propose a generalization of parasite biodiversity for four major families of reef-associated fishes (Lutjanidae, Nemipteridae, Serranidae and Lethrinidae): well-sampled fish have a mean of 20 host-parasite combinations per fish species, and the number of parasites identified at the species level is 10 per fish species. CONCLUSIONS: Since all precautions have been taken to minimize taxon numbers, it is safe to affirm than the number of fish parasites is at least ten times the number of fish species in coral reefs, for species of similar size or larger than the species in the four families studied; this is a major improvement to our estimate of biodiversity in coral reefs. Our results suggest that extinction of a coral reef fish species would eventually result in the coextinction of at least ten species of parasites.     

塔里木盆地鱼类入侵及区系演变趋势

鱼类入侵是塔里木盆地土著鱼类濒危的关键性影响因素之一,结合历史文献数据及近年调查数据,系统综述了塔里木盆地鱼类入侵现状,并就鱼类入侵引起的鱼类区系均一化问题进行了分析。结果显示,该地区记录鱼类63种,其中土著种19种,入侵种44种。尽管入侵鱼类提升了塔里木盆地鱼类群落属级及科级的多样性水平,但相应的G-F多样性指数却明显下降,表明该区鱼类群落从物种组成简单、分化明显的特点演变为物种成分复杂、分化贫乏的特点。入侵种中源于长江和额尔齐斯河分别有30种(68.2%)和7种(15.9%),源于美欧和亚洲其他区域的有7种(15.9%)。入侵鱼类的进入引起塔里木盆地与其相关区域鱼类区系相似性显著上升(P0.01),并导致该区鱼类区系从单一的中亚高原山区复合体演变为多区系混合体。进一步利用鱼类个体生态矩阵分析方法研究显示,外来种在塔里木盆地适应性广泛,能够占据水域各种栖息生境,显著压缩了土著种的栖息空间,进而通过捕食、食物竞争及其他作用途径严重危及土著鱼类种群的续存,提示须采取有力措施限制入侵种的进一步扩散及对濒危土著物种迅速开展人工保育工作。     

澜沧江西双版纳段鱼类组成和物种多样性

根据2018-2020年澜沧江西双版纳段5次鱼类资源调查数据,结合相关文献资料,对该流域鱼类组成及物种多样性进行了分析。结果显示：澜沧江西双版纳段此次共调查到鱼类119种,隶属于11目28科79属,而历史记录鱼类共179种,隶属于12目34科106属。随着调查的不断深入,土著鱼类种数逐渐增多,但占比却逐渐下降,外来鱼类种数逐渐增多,占比也逐渐升高;本次调查到土著鱼类92种,占鱼类种数的77.31%,占比进一步下降;外来鱼类27种,占鱼类种数的22.69%,占比进一步升高。该区域鱼类优势种为云南吻孔鲃Poropuntius huangchuchieni和少鳞舟齿鱼Scaphiodonichthys acanthopterus,常见种为长臀鲃Mystacoleucus marginatus和宽额鳢Channa gachua。有《国家重点保护野生动物名录》（2021年）鱼类5种,《中国生物多样性红色名录脊椎动物卷》（2015年）受威胁鱼类8种。相对于我国其他江河,澜沧江西双版纳段有极高水平的鱼类物种多样性,其中澜沧江干流鱼类物种多样性相对于左、右岸支流较低,左岸支流鱼类多样性高于右岸,罗梭江鱼类多样性高于其他一级支流。虽然澜沧江西双版纳段鱼类物种多样性维持在较高水平,但土著鱼类占比下降趋势明显,仍面临着严重威胁,本文分析了受威胁因素,并提出了保护建议。     

上海大莲湖鱼类群落组成及生物多样性

于2009年4月11—19日、4月27—5月8日和5月20—29日3个时间段对大莲湖的鱼类群落特征及其多样性组成进行了调查,共收集鱼类样本24061尾,隶属11科17属22种。群落优势种为鲫(Carassius auratus),占样本个体总数的76.38%;Shannon-Wiener多样性指数(H′)为1.0027,Simpson优势度指数(λ)为0.5959,Pielous均匀度指数(J′)为0.3244,Margalef种类丰富度指标(D)为2.0816,相对稀有种数(R)为90.91%;鱼类群落可分为3个生态类型:江海洄游性鱼类有3种、河湖洄游性鱼类1种和定居性鱼类18种。鱼类食性可分为5种类型:食鱼性鱼类9种、食无脊椎动物性鱼类2种、杂食性鱼类7种、食浮游生物性鱼类有3种和草食性鱼类1种。研究结果表明:大莲湖鱼类群落的多样性指标处于较低水平,稳定性较低;相对于黄埔江下游地区,大莲湖的食鱼性鱼类比例较高,说明位于黄浦江上游的大莲湖之水质好于下游流域。为保护和持续利用大莲湖鱼类资源,应加强监管和对生态环境的保护。     

The response of amphibian communities to fish and habitat features in Mediterranean permanent ponds

Generalized linear models were used to test the effect of fish, using ponds with and without fish and habitat features as covariates, on richness and abundance of amphibian species. Five fish species and six amphibian species were recorded in 60 permanent ponds located in central Italy. The choice of covariates (macrophyte cover and pond surface area) was made after studying the correlations. The richness of amphibian species was not significantly affected by fish presence or macrophyte cover, in line with previous studies, since almost all the fish species were non-predatory. However, abundance of urodeles (newts) was negatively affected by fish and positively affected by macrophyte cover. Although fish may strongly influence the abundance and composition of amphibian communities, the results indicate that the cover of aquatic macrophytes may increase the available habitat for amphibians and therefore their abundance. Anuran species preferred ponds where fish were present, since both groups preferred larger ponds. Concordance between fish and amphibian species composition was not found by the Mantel and Partial Mantel tests. This indicates that the fish assemblages do not predict which amphibian species occur in the pond.     

枸杞岛岩礁生境主要鱼类的食物组成及食物竞争

基于2009年3月-2010年2月枸杞岛沿岸岩礁生境渔业资源调查数据,对岩礁生境中的3种定居性鱼类（褐菖鲉、大泷六线鱼和斑头六线鱼）和3种非定居性鱼类（花鲈、黄姑鱼和小黄鱼）的食物组成及食物关系进行了研究.结果表明： 麦秆虫、钩虾、褐菖鲉幼鱼、鳀鱼和中国毛虾等是6种鱼类的主要饵料生物,且饵料组成随季节而变化.3种定居性鱼类中,大泷六线鱼和斑头六线鱼在秋季食物竞争激烈;3种非定居性鱼类中,黄姑鱼和小黄鱼在夏季食物竞争激烈;非定居性鱼类和定居性鱼类之间,黄姑鱼分别与褐菖鲉（秋季）和大泷六线鱼（冬季）食物竞争激烈.黄姑鱼是引起岩礁生境中6种主要鱼类食物竞争的关键鱼种.枸杞岛岩礁生境中6种主要鱼类的摄食活动对褐菖鲉幼鱼的资源量有一定影响.     

黑龙江兴凯湖国家级自然保护区的鱼类资源

2009年5月～2012年1月,对黑龙江兴凯湖国家级自然保护区的鱼类资源状况进行了调查。调查结果表明,兴凯湖保护区共有鱼类7目15科49属67种,其中土著鱼类7目13科42属60种;鱼类组成具有典型的古北界区系特征,鲤科鱼类是其中最大的类群,构成区系成分的主体;经济鱼类种群以小型种类为主体,年龄结构偏低;渔获物种类小型化、个体低龄化;种群资源量和渔获量都在下降。兴凯湖保护区的鱼类资源呈衰退趋势。     

台湾海峡鱼类物种多样性研究回顾

台湾海峡位于中国福建和台湾岛之间, 其特殊的海洋环境使得其鱼类物种多样性水平较高并独具特色。本文综述了台湾海峡鱼类物种多样性研究的历程和成果。20世纪以来, 台湾海峡鱼类物种多样性的研究可以划分为早期研究时期、研究起步时期、系统调查时期和综合研究时期4个阶段, 从最初以新种描述为主的零星报道, 到大规模系统性的综合调查和研究; 目前为止, 大陆文献共记录台湾海峡鱼类1390种, 台湾地区文献共记录鱼类1525种, 总计台湾海峡鱼类1697种。这些种类多数为暖水性广布种, 鱼类区系以印度-西太平洋暖水区的印度-马来亚区和中-日亚区过渡海区种为主; 今后台湾海峡鱼类物种多样性的研究应加强两岸合作, 并充分发挥数据库应用的优势地位。     

怒江流域鱼类多样性及空间分布格局

怒江是我国西南地区重要的国际河流, 也是全球生物多样性热点区域之一。受地理位置和地形条件限制, 目前尚缺乏怒江流域鱼类物种多样性及其分布格局的系统研究。本研究利用近5年的全流域实地采样数据, 结合文献资料, 系统整理了怒江流域鱼类物种组成信息; 利用聚类和排序方法分析了怒江流域鱼类空间分布格局。结果表明, 怒江流域共有土著鱼类85种, 隶属于5目12科47属; 外来鱼类18种, 隶属于3目8科16属, 另外实地调查发现新记录外来种2种。怒江流域鱼类多样性从上游至下游呈明显的递增趋势。根据土著鱼类组成的聚类和排序分析结果, 可以将怒江25个亚流域分为3个部分: (1)西藏自治区内的上游河段, 分布有鱼类15种, 组成以裂腹鱼类、高原鳅类为主, 具有明显青藏高原冷水性鱼类区系特征。(2)贡山至泸水的中游河段, 分布有鱼类36种, 组成兼有上游冷水性鱼类和下游喜温的鲃亚科、野鲮亚科鱼类。(3)泸水以下的下游河段, 分布有鱼类74种。下游河段干流广泛分布有喜温的鲃亚科、野鲮亚科和 亚科鱼类, 支流则分布有数量众多的南鳅属(Schistura)、纹胸鮡属(Glyptothorax)鱼类, 鱼类组成以适应流水、激流环境的热带亚热带鱼类为主。2017-2021年的多次调查仅发现土著鱼类43种(占历史记录的50.6%), 土著鱼类资源衰退明显。过度捕捞、支流小水电开发、外来鱼类入侵等是主要威胁因素。随着人类活动的急剧增多, 怒江流域鱼类将面临更大的威胁, 亟需从流域层面开展系统的鱼类资源管理和保护规划。     

A concept to protect fisheries recruits by seasonal closure during spawning periods for commercial fishes off Taiwan and the East China Sea

The 72 most important commercial fish species as well as nine unidentified fish groups representing hundreds of fish species as the major and minor target species caught in waters off Taiwan and the East China Sea were selected from the ‘Fisheries Yearbook Taiwan Area.’ All available published and grey literature as well as the Fish Database of Taiwan and Fishbase websites were thoroughly reviewed for a total of 108 fish species, including 51 out of 72 major and 57 minor target fish species, on their reproductive periods in waters off Taiwan and the East China Sea. The spawning periods from these commercial fish species were then summarized. An imperative adjustment was recommended for the established fishing season closure, i.e. for an earlier start, from April to June, in the southern East China Sea. This suggested correction corresponded with the spawning period of most fishes so as to maximize the protection of spawning cohorts for at least 68 major and minor target fish species, which would account for over 53% of the total fish yield in Taiwanese offshore fisheries.     

An Analysis of Fish Species Richness in Natural Lakes

There is a growing recognition of the need to conserve biodiversity that has been conceptualised in the Convention of Biological Diversity. Maintenance of fish species richness is particularly important, because habitat degradation in inland waters continues to accelerate on a global scale. Here we develop empirical models for predicting fish species richness in natural lakes in various geographical regions of the world. In tropical lakes where fish biodiversity is richer than in temperate lakes, fish species richness can be predicted by a few variables such as lake area and altitude. Low fish species richness in most temperate lakes might be due to the effect of glaciation on colonisation and speciation of fishes. In US, Canadian and northern European lakes, lake acidification is one of the important factors influencing fish species richness. Although limnological characteristics influence fish species richness in temperate lakes, lake area and altitude have greater predictive power. This is in contrast to fish species richness in rivers, which can be reliably predicted by basin area. In the power curves, which describe the relationship between fish species richness and habitat size in lakes and rivers, the exponent is always greater in tropical regions than in temperate regions. Because fish biodiversity is greater in the tropics threats to fish biodiversity through habitat degradation are greater than those in temperate inland waters.     

Fish assemblage changes over half a century in the Yellow River,China

Riverine environments have been threatened by anthropogenic perturbations worldwide, whereby their fish assemblages have been modified by habitat changes and nonendemic species invasions. We assessed changes in fish assemblages by comparing the species presence in historical and contemporary fish data in the Yellow River from 1965 to 2015. The temporal change in species assemblages was found with increased nonendemic species and fewer natives. Fish species richness of the river declined 35.4% over the past fifty years. Moreover, the decreased mean Bray–Curtis dissimilarity among reaches suggested that the fish assemblages of different reaches in the Yellow River were becoming more similar over time. However, temporal patterns of fish assemblages varied among reaches. In the upper Yellow River, higher species richness and more invasive species were found than those in the historical record, while the lower reaches experienced significant species loss. Dam constructions, exotic fish invasions, and flow reductions played the vital role in structuring the temporal fish assemblages in the Yellow River. It is suggested that river basins which experienced different types and levels of stressors by anthropogenic perturbations can produce varied effects on their temporal trends of species assemblages.     

Species richness of resident and transient coral-dwelling fish responds differentially to regional diversity

Aim To determine whether the diversity of resident and transient coral‐dwelling fish responds differentially to gradients in regional species richness. Location Three regions in the Indo‐Pacific (Red Sea, western Indian Ocean, Great Barrier Reef) which contain increasingly larger regional diversities of reef fish. Methods I surveyed fish residing within branching coral species. Fish species were a priori categorized as resident or transient based on the degree of affiliation between the fish and live coral. To compare among regions that differ in coral diversity I used a modified species–volume relationship (SVR). Each point in the SVR represents the total number of fish species, resident or transient, found within the cumulative volume of a specific coral species. Empirical SVRs were further compared with random‐placement null models. Results For transient species, I found that the observed SVRs did not differ consistently from those expected from random samples drawn from the corresponding regional species pools. In addition, for a given volume of coral, more fish species were found in richer regions, indicating strong regional influences on local diversity. In contrast, resident richness was lower than that expected from random samples of the species pool, and richness in rich regions was reduced comparably more than in poor regions. The SVRs of resident species were similar among regions with different regional diversities. Main conclusion These results suggest that, within coral species, transient fish richness is mostly influenced by stochastic allocation of species from the regional pool. Conversely, richness of resident species within a coral species is limited, making it independent of regional diversity. Since higher regional diversity of resident fish was not accompanied by higher richness per coral species or by decreased niche breadth, higher regional diversity of resident fish species must be rooted in higher coral richness. Consequently, ecological interactions between functional groups (coral and fish) can be powerful drivers of regional biodiversity.     

夏季大亚湾鱼类群落结构与多样性

根据2018年8月大亚湾海域底拖网鱼类资源调查数据,分析了大亚湾夏季鱼类群落结构特征。结果表明:2018年大亚湾夏季渔获鱼类56种,隶属9目、34科、47属。其中,鲈形目(Perciformes)最多(39种,69.64%);物种组成以短吻鲾(Leiognathus brevirostris)、黄斑蓝子鱼(Siganus oramin)、拟矛尾鰕虎鱼(Parachaeturichthys polynema)、六指马鲅(Polynemus sextarius)和二长棘犁齿鲷(Evynnis cardinali)等小型低值鱼类为主;鱼类物种多样性存在明显的空间差异,表现为湾口海域最大,沿岸海域次之,湾中部海域最小。鱼类群落结构大体分为咸淡水湾内和海水广布湾口两个鱼类群组;对比1985—2017年夏季调查资料可知,30多年来大亚湾夏季鱼类群落物种多样性减小;优势种组成更替显著,由以大型中上层的经济鱼类为主演变为以小型底层、近底层的低值鱼类为主,其主要原因是人类活动对大亚湾生态系统的干扰,尤其是捕捞致使鱼类群落结构发生改变、趋向简单化。     

Dynamics of biological parameters of nonmigratory and invader fish in the basin of the lower Tom’ River

The species composition and dominating complexes of fish in catches are considered. The fraction of mass fish species in catches is shown (for small rivers and the channel zone). The structural (size and age) and functional (fertility) parameters of some nonmigratory and invader fish species are characterized. Main biological parameters are considered in the time-space aspect over the widespread and numerous fish species.     

Nestedness in riverine mussel communities: patterns across sites and fish hosts

The pattern of nestedness, where species present in depauperate locations are subsets of species present in locations with higher species diversity, is often found in ecological communities. Mussel communities examined in four rivers in the upper Tennessee River basin appeared significantly nested. Mussel species distributions were mostly unrelated to differences in immigration and only weakly related to downstream direction, giving some indication of structuring by differences in extinction. Mussel species distributions were not related to the number of fish species used as hosts for mussel larvae. Mussel species were more likely to overlap on common fish hosts; however, the host‐use matrix was not nested – groups of mussel species used different sets of host fish species in a pattern that appeared phylogenetically related. Sites with high fish host abundance may support high mussel diversity by promoting the survival of mussel species that are less able to attract and infect hosts. Thus, nestedness in freshwater mussel communities may be driven by the array of host fish resources, combined with differences in species’ abilities to use fish hosts. An understanding of the nested pattern in this region can aid conservation of this imperiled fauna.     

The food and feeding relationships of black oreo, Allocyttus niger, smooth oreo, Pseudocyttus maculatus, and eight other fish species from the continental slope of the south-west Chatham Rise, New Zealand

The food and feeding habits of black oreo and smooth oreo sampled at depths of 600–1200 m from the south-west Chatham Rise in 1983 are described, with notes on prey of eight other fish species. All these fish species fed benthopelagically. Black oreo preyed on hyperiid amphipods, salps and natant decapod crustaceans; smooth oreo on salps and amphipods. Dietary composition of both species changed with size of fish. Aspects of feeding relationships between the fish species were examined including dietary similarity and prey-size selection. Findings are compared with results of research on other New Zealand deepwater fish species.     

鄱阳湖湖区及支流修水夏季鱼类系统发育群落结构分析

群落的物种共存及构建机制是生态学研究的核心问题之一, 系统发育群落结构分析为探究群落的构建机制提供了新的方法。研究在鄱阳湖湖区及其支流修水设立24个采样点, 采用系统发育群落结构的方法分析了不同空间尺度下鱼类群落的构建机制。结果表明: (1)鄱阳湖鱼类主要以鲤形目、鲤科鱼类为主, 表现出东亚江湖鱼类的组成特点; (2)依据物种组成和空间位置, 鄱阳湖湖区及修水鱼类群落属于不同的组群, 鄱阳湖湖区鱼类群落可以进一步分为北方群、南方群和东部群; (3)在采样点尺度, 24个采样点中, 有12个采样点靠近鄱阳湖支流的入湖口区域, 环境特别, 群落构成表现为环境过滤作用, 有12个采样点相对容纳了较多的远缘物种, 群落构成表现为竞争作用; 在区间分析的尺度, 北方群、东部群及修水群表现为竞争作用, 南方群表现为环境过滤作用; 在湖区及支流流域的尺度, 鄱阳湖湖区群为竞争作用, 修水群转变为环境过滤作用。因此, 鄱阳湖的湖区和支流修水等鱼类群落具有不同的物种组成和群落构建机制。研究结果加深了对群落构建机制的理解, 可以为鄱阳湖鱼类资源的保护提供参考。     

Abundance and species richness as a function of food resources and vegetation structure: juvenile fish assemblages in rivers

Availability of food and habitat complexity are two factors generally invoked to explain the high density of fish in vegetated habitats. The role of food resources (zooplankton) and habitat complexity (expressed by a vegetation structural index) in determining juvenile fish abundance and fish species richness in three morphologically contrasted macrophyte types (Sagittaria, Ceratophyllum and Nuphar) was studied for a large, lowland river.
Our results showed that fish abundance increased with food availability, and was maximal for intermediate values of vegetation complexity. Food resources and vegetation complexity did not, however, explain the higher juvenile fish abundance observed in Sagittaria beds. We suggested that plant growth form, acting on fish foraging success and risk of predation, might influence patterns of juvenile fish distribution.
Species‐abundance relationships were similar among the three macrophyte types, but relationships between number of fish species (fish richness) and number of samples differed. Fish richness in terms of total number of fish species found at each sampling point showed the same pattern as for fish abundance: it increased with food availability and was highest at intermediate vegetation complexities. However, since both fish abundance and fish richness responded in the same manner to food availability and vegetation complexity, we were not able to distinguish statistically any effect for the specific fish richness formulated by the number of fish species per unit fish abundance. The current paradigm that structural complexity of vegetation provides a wider range of niches, increasing species diversity, was thus not verified. This finding indicates a simple species‐abundance relationship (the passive sampling hypothesis), and suggests that no special mechanism acts directly on fish species richness.