Colonization and plasticity in population traits of the invasive Alburnus alburnus along a longitudinal river gradient in a Mediterranean river basin

Interpopulation Variability in Dietary Traits of Invasive Bleak Alburnus alburnus (Actinopterygii, Cyprinidae) Across the Iberian Peninsula

“…This lack of relationship is probably because the establishment stage was reached in a few years after bleak introductions (e.g., Bøhn et al [27]). As an example, a rapid and wide establishment of this species has been recently demonstrated in the River Segura [10]. Nevertheless, it must be clearly stated that data were limited (n = five Iberian rivers).…”

“…Thus, abundance of contrasting food items is a key factor to be analyzed for future research on bleak invasion. Similarly-as per other biologic attributes (e.g., growth and reproduction)-the high interpopulation variability is considered a mechanism for bleak to successfully invade novel Mediterranean freshwater ecosystems, from streams to large rivers [8,10,26]. Indeed, Iberian endemic species are specialized to narrow trophic niches [1] or alternatively, these fishes may display high plasticity to the natural variability in Mediterranean rivers.…”

“…Additionally, a professional fisherman sampled for bleak in the River Saône. To encompass the existing environmental variability, fish were collected from all meso-habitats present in the study rivers (e.g., runs, pools, shallows), as bleak can be found under contrasting river conditions in the Iberian Peninsula [10,14].…”

“…In the Iberian Peninsula, this species was mainly introduced in reservoirs during the 1990s as a 'forage fish' for non-native piscivorous fishes, such as northern pike Esox lucius L., 1758, largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides (Lacepède, 1802) or pikeperch Sander lucioperca (L., 1758) [7]. Since its introduction, the bleak has displayed a strong invasive character throughout Spain and Portugal, taking advantage of anthropogenic disturbances on Mediterranean freshwater ecosystems [8][9][10]. Moreover, this species threatens several Iberian fishes, mainly through hybridization, trophic competition and behavioral interference (i.e., aggression) [3].…”

Overlapping niches between two co‐occurring invasive fish: the topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva and the common bleak Alburnus alburnus

“…Despite its preference for lotic systems where it generally reaches high abundances, it shows wide environmental adaptability (Britton et al ., 2008; Yan & Chen, 2009), being a carrier for pathogens and parasites (Andreou & Gozlan, 2016; Combe & Gozlan, 2018; Gozlan et al ., 2010; Spikmans et al ., 2020) and competing for food with native fishes (Britton et al ., 2010; Declerck et al ., 2002). The common bleak Alburnus alburnus (Linnaeus 1758) is native to Europe, north of Caucasus, Pyrénées and the Alps, eastward to Ural and Emba, while not being native to southern Europe (Amat‐Trigo et al ., 2019). It generally prefers lentic habitats but can adapt successfully to lotic ecosystems (Almeida et al ., 2017).…”