Ecología, distribución y conservación de peces continentales en el cuadrante suroccidental ibérico

Abstract

Freshwater fishes are among the most unknown and threatened vertebrates in the Iberian Peninsula. This work addresses the distribution, ecology and conservation status of fishes inhabiting the Guadiana, Guadalquivir, Tinto and Odiel basins plus various independent basins from Campo de Gibraltar (SW Iberia). The analysis of species-habitat relationships provided various habitat guilds according to their position along the upstream-downstream gradient. Exotic fishes, mainly centrarchids (Lepomis gibbosus and Micropterus salmoides), influenced the distribution, structure and composition of native fish community. Certain species, such as Anaecypris hispanica, a highly threatened species endemic to the Guadiana basin, only appeared in steams lacking exotic species. Moreover, centrarchid fishes were almost not consumed by the otter (Lutra lutra), the main fish predator in Iberia. Preventing the expansion of exotic species to non invaded areas is an essential issue for Iberian native fish conservation.