Spawning strategies in cypriniform fishes in a lowland river invaded by non-indigenous European barbel Barbus barbus

Abstract

Spawning strategies of lowland river fishes include single spawning, where reproduction generally occurs in early spring to provide 0+ fish with an extended growth season through the summer, but with a high risk of stochastic mortality events occurring, such as early summer floods. This risk can be reduced by multiple or protracted spawning strategies, where 0+ fish are produced over an extended period, often into mid-summer, but with the trade-off being a shorter growth season. The spawning strategies of cypriniform fish were explored in the River Teme, a spate river in Western England, which has non-indigenous European barbel Barbus barbus present. Sampling 0+ fish in spring and summer and across three spawning periods, B. barbus, chub Squalius cephalus and minnow Phoxinus phoxinus always revealed multiple spawning events, with 0+ fish of < 20 mm present in samples collected from June to August. Fish below 20 mm in August remained relatively small by the end of their growth season (October). For dace Leuciscus leuciscus, only single spawning events were evident, but with 0+ dace always being relatively large. Therefore, multiple spawning appears to be a common strategy that provides resilience in 0+ fish against stochastic mortality events in lowland rivers.

Going with the flow: Spatio‐temporal drift patterns of larval fish in a large alpine river

“…This was particularly evident in S. cephalus and B. barbus as well as in the first weeks of the investigation for C. nasus . These observations, in conjunction with the multiple proofs of drifting eggs of C. nasus (for >3 weeks) and S. cephalus (for 5 weeks) can probably be taken as an indicator for multiple spawning events of these species as previously observed by other authors (Gutmann Roberts & Britton, 2020; Peňáz, 1996; Poncin, 1989).…”

Spawning cohort trade‐offs of reproductive time and output in cyprinid fish along an elevation gradient

“…Studies have shown that multiple spawning in a year can significantly increase the total egg production and hatching success of fish (Hočevar et al., 2021; Wright & Trippel, 2009). For instance, the weakfish ( Cynoscion regalis ) increases recruitment success through a multiple spawning pattern (Lowerre‐Barbieri et al., 1998), and the common barbel ( Barbus barbus ) uses multiple spawning strategies to increase offspring survival (Gutmann Roberts & Britton, 2020). S. thermalis is similarly characterized by low fecundity, slow growth, and late sexual maturity (He et al., 2015).…”

Understanding Nutrition and Metabolism of Threatened, Data-Poor Rheophilic Fishes in Context of Riverine Stocking Success- Barbel as a Model for Major European Drainages?

“…Barbel zones have flows > 10 cm s −1 , much higher than other cyprinids prefer [ 43 , 44 ]. Temperature regime for active growth and feeding in European rivers range between ~15–19 °C, that lasts for only ~4–5 months a year [ 41 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ]. Moreover, barbels have a lower threshold temperature for growth (13.5 °C), below which they stop growing [ 41 ].…”