CONTENT - International Society of Zoological Sciences

ICZ2008 – Abstracts S22
Exotic and introduced fish species of Iran and their impacts
on native fishes
Hamid Reza Esmaeili and Azad Teimory
Department of Biology, College of Sciences, Shiraz University,
Shiraz 71454, Iran
In an effort to enhance, restore or re-establish fishery resources,
species have been moved across the globe and introduced in
totally new environments.
As in many countries of the word, many fish species have been
introduced to Iran and some of them have helped boost production
in composite fish culture and also control of malaria. Introduction of
fish species to Iran, dates back to the 1920s when mosquito fish
Gambusia was introduced as an anti malaria agent, and to the late
1930s when Cyprinus carpio was introduced for aquaculture
purposes. Since then, about 27 more fish species have been
introduced to inland waters of Iran and many more have also been
translocated. The exotic fish species of Iran belong to 8 orders and
8 families (Cyprinidae, Percidae, Salmonidae, Acipenseridae,
Anguilidae, Esocidae, Mugilidae and Poecilidae). The species are
dominated by the Cypriniformes (10 species). Some of exotic
fishes (ex. C. carpio, and Gambusia holbrooki) have already
established breeding populations, some others are regularly
stocked by fisheries department of Iran (ex. Hypophthalmichthys
molitrix, Ctenopharyngodon idella) and few others are occasionally
recorded from natural waters. Aquaculture, sport fishing, control of
malaria, ornamental purpose, research activities, demonstration in
national fairs and accidental introduction have been the main
reasons for this introduction. Pseudarasbora parva has been
introduced accidentally along with the exotic carps. Due to lack of
previous data, it is difficult to estimate the impact of these fish
introduction on the native aquatic organism. However, predation,
competition with native fishes, genetic changes through the
hybridization, habitats changes, introduction of parasites and
diseases are the main impacts of introduced fish species. Beside
the invasion of exotic fishes, other threats including habitat
degradation, environmental pollution, population growth, intensive
aquaculture, unusual methods of fishing (toxin, dynamite) and
drought have affected the ichthyodiversity of Iran. We briefly
discuss the issues related to the introduction of exotics and their
possible impacts on native fish fauna with certain possible
measures to protect ichthyodiversity.
Raccoon (Procyon lotor) as an invasive species for north of
Iran
Azita Farashi 1 , Bagher Nezami 2 , Ehsan Hadipour 2,3 , Hossein
Alinezhad 4 , Mohammad Dehdar Dargahi 5 , Najmeh Mahdianzadeh
1 , Mansour Aliabadian 6 and Mohammad Kaboli 1
1 Department of Fishery and Environment, Faculty of Natural
Resources, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran; 2 Islamic Azad
University, Science and Technology Branch, Tehran, Iran;
3 Department of Environment of Lahijan, Gilan province, Iran ;
4 Department of Environment of Rasht, Gilan province, Iran;
5 Environment Science, Islamic Azad University, Lahijan Branch,
Iran; 6 Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Ferdowsi
University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
Raccoon (Procyon lotor), as an invasive mammal, has been
reordered from several European and Asian countries. For first
time in 1991, Raccoon has been reordered from Iran, at Lavandvil
Wildlife Refuge (48° 52' 20" E, 38° 20' 45" N) near Iran-Azerbaijan
border. Since then incident of this species has not taken into
account seriously. Protection of this wildlife refuge by Iranian
Department of Environment has created a safe and suitable region
for breeding and dispersal of Raccoon into neighboring areas. In
this study, we recorded and observed the exponential dispersal of
Raccoon in Iran using direct observation, camera trapping, and
filling questionnaires from local people. Results confirmed that
Raccoon is already reached to about 250 Km far from its original
introduction place, either by replacing other native species or by
local people as pet. The first evidences of effect of this invasive
species on local wildlife have been recorded on breeding birds
including,
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Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), Pygmy Cormorant
(Phalacrocorax pygmeus.
It seems there is a significant relationship between Raccoon’s
density and recreational zone in Lavandvil Wildlife Refuge;
because garbages, which have left over from visitors, of this
protected area serve as good sources of food. Another important
factor, which has increased the population density as well as the
distribution of this invasive species into new habitats, is lacking of
any natural predators. Apart of beautiful appearance which makes
a pet animal of this species among local people, informing local
people of consequences of distributing this species needs a
serious programming.
Early phases of a successful invasion: mitochondrial
phylogeography of the common genet (Genetta genetta)
within the Mediterranean Basin
Philippe Gaubert, José-Antonio Godoy, Irene Del Cerro and
Francisco Palomares
UR IRD 131, DMPA – MNHN 43 rue Cuvier 75005 Paris France
The Mediterranean Basin, connected by cultural exchanges since
prehistoric times, provides an outstanding framework to study
species translocations. We address the early phases of the
invasion of the common genet (Genetta genetta), a small
carnivoran introduced from Africa to Europe during historical times,
by assessing mitochondrial nucleotide variability in 134 individuals
from its native and invasive ranges. We propose that the cooccurrence
in Maghreb of two divergent mitochondrial lineages
(autochthonous and western African) is du! e to secondary contact
through intermittent permeability of the Saharan belt during the
Plio-Pleistocene. Estimates of coalescence time and genetic
diversity, in concert with other available evidences in the literature,
indicate that the origin of European populations of common genets
is in Maghreb, possibly restricted to northern Algeria. The
autochthonous mitochondrial lineage of Maghreb was the only
contributor to the European pool, suggesting that translocations
were associated to a cultural constraint such as a local use of the
species, which might have artificially excluded the western African
lineage. Haplotype network and Nested Clade Analysis provide
evidence for independent events of introductions throughout Spain
(Andalucia, Cataluña, and the Balearic Isl.), acting as a
‘translocation hotspot’. Our demographic analyses support a
scenario of very recent introduction of a reduced number of
individuals in Europe followed by rapid population expansion. We
sugg! est that an exceptional combination of factors including
multiple translocations, human-driven propagation across natural
barriers, and natural processes of colonization allowed by a wide
ecological tolerance, promoted the successful spread of the
common genet into Europe.