Reproductive parameters of topmouth gudgeon (Pseudorasbora parva) from a heated Lake Licheńskie (Poland)

Abstract

Temperatureregimeisknowntohaveconsiderableinfluenceonthelife-historiesoffish.Topmouthgudgeonisaverysuccessful invader with high biological flexibility and phenotypic plasticity. The flexibility of topmouth gudgeon in a normal thermal regime has been well described, however there has been no information published about how it would cope with extreme conditions, e.g. permanently heated water. Several studies have demonstrated that phenotypic plasticity provides an important advantage to invasive species. To explain their invasion success, the theory of alternative ontogenies and invasive potential has been proposed. The aim of the present study was to examine if the reproductive parameters of a population living in permanently heated water differ from those living in habitats with a normal temperature regime, as well as to test a hypothesis derived from the theory of alternative ontogenies and invasive potential. Over a period of 8 years (2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011), a high variation in the reproductive parameters of topmouth gudgeon from Lake Licheńskie was found. With a small exception, all the observed results met the expectations predicted by the hypothesis tested. This indicates that topmouth gudgeon retains high phenotypic plasticity in life-history traits even in a habitat with extreme conditions, which is important for the species' invasion success.©VersitaSp.zo.o.

Morphology, sexual dimorphism and size at maturation in topmouth gudgeon (Pseudorasbora parva) from the heated Lake Licheńskie (Poland)

“…It started to produce much more oocytes (mean 5391 oocytes within six spawning periods in 2006−2011) than a population in a stable habitat, e.g. in Slovakia (mean 3 000 oocytes; Záhorská et al, 2013a). This led to an increase in the frequency of topmouth gudgeon's occurrence (60%; Kapusta et al, 2008) and thus it became a dominant fish species in a very short time.…”

“…Fluctuating thermal regimes can directly influence the timing and duration of spawning and the development and survival of juvenile fish (Fobert et al, 2011). As mentioned above, the population in Lake Licheńskie changed reproductive parameters as well as the amount of batches (increased up to five batches in the spawning season; Záhorská et al, 2013a). Besides that, global climate change will probably cause warmer water temperatures in northern-latitude lakes.…”

Unusually high production of oocytes in two invasive populations of topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva (Temminck and Schlegel, 1846)

“…Nonetheless, recent studies of non‐native P. parva populations from several regions and various habitats have reported that phenotypic plasticity in both morphological and reproductive traits also contributes to the invasive success of this species (Záhorská et al., , , ). Among these, two invasive populations from Bulgaria were studied with the aim to evaluate their reproductive parameters with regard to other P. parva populations in Europe, and within the context of the species’ invasive potential.…”

Rapid response of invasive round goby (Neogobius melanostomus ) (Pallas, 1814) to an environmental perturbation demonstrated in reproductive parameters of females

“…It has been observed recently that successful invasive fish species can respond rapidly to sudden changes in environmental conditions by altering their life‐history traits (LHT), especially those traits related to reproduction (Záhorská and Kováč, ; Záhorská et al., ; Hôrková and Kováč, ). Indeed, plasticity in LHT is considered very important for the adaptation of invasive species to the novel environment, especially at the beginning of an invasion (Ľavrinčíková and Kováč, ; Feiner et al., ; Záhorská et al., ).…”