Differential impact of anthropogenic pressures on Caspian Sea ecoregions

Lattuada, Matteo; Albrecht, Christian; Wilke, Thomas

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.03.046

Cited by 39 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 45 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Several species of Pontocaspian molluscs are even thought to have gone extinct during the past century [5]. The causes for these declines are not well established, given the general lack of data for most species [5], but may be linked to anthropogenic activity [79]. However, the same causes could have been responsible for the apparent population increase, such as by reducing competition.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Old lake versus young taxa: a comparative phylogeographic perspective on the evolution of Caspian Sea gastropods (Neritidae: Theodoxus )

et al. 2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Caspian Sea has been a highly dynamic environment throughout the Quaternary and witnessed major oscillations in lake level, which were associated with changes in salinity and habitat availability. Such environmental pressures are considered to drive strong phylogeographic structures in species by forcing populations into suitable refugia. However, little is actually known on the effect of lake-level fluctuations in the Caspian Sea on its aquatic biota. We compared the phylogeographic patterns of the aquatic Neritidae snail genus Theodoxus across the Pontocaspian region with refugial populations in southern Iran. Three gene fragments were used to determine relationships and divergence times between the sampled populations in both groups. A dated phylogeny and statistical haplotype networks were generated in conjunction with the analyses of molecular variance and calculations of isolation by distance using distance-based redundancy analyses. Extended Bayesian skyline plots were constructed to assess demographic history. Compared with the southern Iranian populations, we found little phylogeographic structure for the Pontocaspian Theodoxus group, with more recent diversification, homogeneity of haplotypes across the Pontocaspian region and a relatively stable demographic history since the Middle Pleistocene. Our results argue against a strong influence of Caspian Sea low stands on the population structure post the early Pleistocene, whereas high stands may have increased the dispersal possibilities and homogenization of haplotypes across the Pontocaspian region during this time. However, during the early Pleistocene, a more dramatic low stand in the Caspian Sea, around a million years ago, may have caused the reduction in Theodoxus diversity to a single lineage in the region. In addition, our results provide new insights into Theodoxus taxonomy and outlooks for regional conservation.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Old lake versus young taxa: a comparative phylogeographic perspective on the evolution of Caspian Sea gastropods (Neritidae: Theodoxus )

et al. 2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Taghavi Motlagh (2001) reported that beluga is an overfished species in the Caspian Sea. During the past three decades, the anthropogenic invasive species, pollution and poaching influenced all components of the Caspian Sea (Pourang et al, 2016;Luttuada et al, 2019). Also, Beyraghdar Kashkooli et al (2017) reported that the environment of the Caspian Sea is shifted to a new condition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological Parameters and Fisheries Indices of Beluga Sturgeon Huso Huso in the Southern Caspian Sea

Fazli

Tavakoli

Khoshghalb

et al. 2020

Croatian Journal of Fisheries

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is a significant lack of data for the biological parameters of beluga or great sturgeon, the largest fish in the Caspian Sea. The age, growth and fisheries indices for the stock status of beluga was investigated in the south Caspian Basin of Iran between 1990 and 2011. Fork lengths ranged between 113-420 cm and weights from 8.0 to 725.0 kg. The growth parameters were L∞ = 440 cm, K = 0.027 year−1, t0 = − 5.8 years. The age at first capture (tc) was 13.1 years. The long-term age composition data showed age up to 63 years, and the ages 12-19 years comprised 76.7% of the total catch. The generation length was 33 years. The values of “KF” were close to 1 or >1, indicating that beluga sturgeon is in a favorable condition in the southern Caspian Sea. The length distribution showed that 24.2% of the catch is comprised of juveniles. Based on the age structure and age at first maturity, recruitment and growth overfishing occurred in beluga stocks. Therefore, increased length or age at first capture in future fishery policies should be implemented. The mega-spawners represented 4.4% of the fish captured and revealed an unhealthy population structure.

show abstract

“…The projected Caspian sea level decline combined with the loss of the highly productive and seasonally ice-covered northern Caspian shelf will severely affect this unique ecosystem, which is already under immense stress due to pollution, over-exploitation and the introduction of invasive species 10 . The reduction in winter sea-ice area will affect pupping grounds for the endangered Caspian seal 11 .…”

Section: Biodiversitymentioning

confidence: 99%