BackgroundLeuciscinae is a subfamily belonging to the Cyprinidae fish family that is widely distributed in Circum-Mediterranean region. Many efforts have been carried out to deciphering the evolutionary history of this group. Thus, different biogeographical scenarios have tried to explain the colonization of Europe and Mediterranean area by cyprinids, such as the "north dispersal" or the "Lago Mare dispersal" models. Most recently, Pleistocene glaciations influenced the distribution of leuciscins, especially in North and Central Europe. Weighing up these biogeographical scenarios, this paper constitutes not only the first attempt at deciphering the mitochondrial and nuclear relationships of Mediterranean leuciscins but also a test of biogeographical hypotheses that could have determined the current distribution of Circum-Mediterranean leuciscins.ResultsA total of 4439 characters (mitochondrial + nuclear) from 321 individuals of 176 leuciscine species rendered a well-supported phylogeny, showing fourteen main lineages. Analyses of independent mitochondrial and nuclear markers supported the same main lineages, but basal relationships were not concordant. Moreover, some incongruence was found among independent mitochondrial and nuclear phylogenies. The monophyly of some poorly known genera such as Pseudophoxinus and Petroleuciscus was rejected. Representatives of both genera belong to different evolutionary lineages. Timing of cladogenetic events among the main leuciscine lineages was gained using mitochondrial and all genes data set.ConclusionsAdaptations to a predatory lifestyle or miniaturization have superimposed the morphology of some species. These species have been separated into different genera, which are not supported by a phylogenetic framework. Such is the case of the genera Pseudophoxinus and Petroleuciscus, which real taxonomy is not well known. The diversification of leuciscine lineages has been determined by intense vicariant events following the paleoclimatological and hydrogeological history of Mediterranean region. We propose different colonization models of Mediterranean region during the early Oligocene. Later vicariance events promoted Leuciscinae diversification during Oligocene and Miocene periods. Our data corroborate the presence of leuciscins in North Africa before the Messinian salinity crisis. Indeed, Messinian period appears as a stage of gradually Leuciscinae diversification. The rise of humidity at the beginning of the Pliocene promoted the colonization and posterior isolation of newly established freshwater populations. Finally, Pleistocene glaciations determined the current European distribution of some leuciscine species.

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A population of bullhead Cottus gobio inhabiting a mountainous river network, was examined for the influence of maternal condition (total length, L T , and age class in years) and environmental factors (water temperature and fish density) on fecundity, egg size and net annual reproductive effort (E R , defined as the ratio of total egg production mass to body mass) within several stocks. Regardless of location within the drainage network, bullhead reproduction was synchronous, with only a single batch and fecundity ranging from 69 to 896 eggs per female. As with L T fecundity increased with age, although the difference between age classes 5 and 6 years was smaller than between other age classes. Egg diameter also increased with age from age classes 2 to 4 years, but then tended to decrease for age classes 5-6 years. Multiple stepwise regression was used to examine the effect of female L T , water temperature and fish densities on bullhead egg production for each of the four age classes (2, 3, 4 and 5-6 years) separately. When statistically significant, water temperature always had a positive effect and fish densities a negative effect, on fecundity and egg size. The L T always had a positive effect on fecundity for all the age classes. In contrast, L T had a positive effect on egg size and E R only for female reaching maturity (2 years), whereas intermediate aged females (3-4 years) were insensitive and the oldest fish showed a negative response. # 2005 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles

BackgroundNowadays, aquatic organisms are used as bio-indicators to assess ecological water quality in western regions, but have hardly been used in an Iranian context. We, therefore, evaluated the suitability of several indices to assess the water quality for an Iranian case study.MethodsMeasured data on biotic (fish and macroinvertebrates) and abiotic elements (28 physicochemical and habitat parameters), were used to calculate six indices for assessment of water quality and the impact of human activities in the Tajan river, Iran. GIS, uni- and multivariate statistics were used to assess the correlations between biological and environmental endpoints.ResultsThe results showed that ecological condition and water quality were reduced from up- to downstream. The reduced water quality was revealed by the biotic indices better than the abiotic ones which were linked to a variety of ecological water quality scales.ConclusionThe fish index showed a strong relationship with long-term database of physicochemical parameters (12 years (94%)), whereas macroinvertebrates index is more correlated with short-term data (76%). Meanwhile, the biotic and abiotic elements in this study were also classified well by PCA. Pulp and wood plants and sand mining are indicated to have the most negative effects on the river ecosystem.

The grey wolf Canis lupus has the largest geographical range of large mammalian carnivores in west Asia. However, it is one of the least studied species, particularly in Iran. Feeding ecology is a critical aspect of predator ecology and has important implications when formulating species and ecosystem management strategies. Also, predation on livestock is a crucial cause of wolf-human conflicts throughout the wolf's global range. Accordingly, we investigated the diet of the grey wolf in Ghamishlou, an area with high population densities of wild and domestic ungulates in central Iran, between July 2007 and April 2009. Scat analysis indicated that livestock was the single most important prey species for wolves with 47.1% of total biomass consumed, whereas Persian gazelle comprised 27.0% and wild sheep 15.9%. Wild kills were significantly skewed towards males relative to their proportion in the population, and were mainly preyed on during post-rutting months. Based on interview surveys, less than 1% of mean herd size was lost to wolf depredation; however, almost six times more died from non-depredation causes during each winter. We concluded that the high occurrence of livestock in the wolves' diet is mainly because of scavenging rather than depredation; however, owing to high pressure of wolves on local herds during non-winter seasons in other areas with depleted prey populations, local people dislike wolves and try to eradicate them. Finally, management implications are discussed and solutions are recommended.

Summary The hypothesis of environmentally related life history variations between two Rutilus rutilus caspicus populations was investigated by comparing Gomishan and Anzali populations along the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. The roach growth rate in the Anzali wetland was higher than in the Gomishan wetland. There were significant differences in growth patterns between males and females from both wetlands, however the sex ratios were not significantly different. Fecundity or reproductive investment (Gonadosomatic index – GSI) of the Gomishan roach was significantly more than the Anzali roach. In both areas the absolute fecundity was significantly positive correlated to age and total length.

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