Freshwater fish distribution in the Maghreb: a call to contribute

Abstract

In order to update the IUCN Red List of all freshwater fish species inhabiting the Maghreb region, comprehensive knowledge of their respective geographic ranges is essential. Here we present site-scale distribution records derived from all known sources for native and alien freshwater fish species distributed in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Corrected data compiled from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility plus author contributions and digitised literature data are presented as GIS maps, and the wider scientific and conservation communities are called upon to help fill knowledge gaps and maximise the value of this new database for a region in which freshwater biodiversity is undergoing a serious decline.

Distribution of the alien Tubificid worm Branchiura sowerbyi (Beddard, 1892) in Morocco

“…However, it is still possible that the invasive worm could have escaped our captures in some of these localities. Our work confirms the existence of the alien tubificid B. sowerbyi in Morocco, and therefore, in addition to the leech Helobdella europaea Kutschera 1987, the number of exotic freshwater annelids amounts to two species, and the total number of aquatic alien species with confirmed presence in the continental waters of the country rises to 43 taxa (Mabrouki et al, 2019;Ford et al, 2020;Taybi et al, 2023). The main areas harbouring xenodiversity in Moroccan freshwaters correspond to protected areas such as Ramsar Sites and sites of biological and ecological interests known as SIBE, where almost half of the alien species were introduced intentionally throught fish restocking programs, mainly using 'Asian carps' such as the common carp Cyprinus carpio (Linnaeus, 1758), the bighead carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis (Richardson, 1845) and the silver carp H. molitrix (Valenciennes, 1844).…”

The occurrence, distribution and biology of invasive fish species in fresh and brackish water bodies of NE Morocco

“…Indeed, considering the habitat destruction and deterioration of the quality of surface waters currently occurring in Morocco (Mabrouki et al, 2016;Taybi et al, 2016;Bensaad et al, 2017;Mabrouki et al, 2017;Taybi et al, 2020b), in addition to the climate change effects and intensification of saline stress (Moss et al, 2009), both alien fishes would be in a better position to invade North African ecosystems. It is also of note that freshwater ichtyofauna of Morocco is still little known and new species are being recorded (Ford et al, 2020). Several native fish species could co-occur with the two invaders in eastern Morocco and in the Moulouya River basin, such as the North African shad Alosa algeriensis Regan, 1916 and many endemic barbels (i.e.…”